Border Crossing with a Trailer Sailer

[Tedd]

I live just north of the BC-WA border. For the trailer sailors in this area, if you were going to, say, Sucia Island and you lived on the BC side, would you:

(a) Launch on the Canadian side and clear customs in Blaine; or
(b) Tow across the border and launch in Blaine?

I've never cleared customs when crossing by water before so my inclination is tow across the border. Fewer unknowns. But perhaps there are factors I'm not considering?

If there were no border I would launch on the Canadian side. I'd enjoy the extra few nm more in the boat that in my truck. But the difference is small. It's the border crossing issue that will determine which route I choose.

 

[sesmith]

Not sure of the boarder crossing wait times in your area, but where we cross into Ontario I'd much rather spend time on my boat then wait in traffic on a land crossing.

Checking into the US by boat should be no big deal. If you can use the CPB roam app, that would be the way to go. We traveled across last year with a Canadian friend on another boat, and he was able to do it with the app. The only catch with the app is you have to have a login.gov account and I'm not sure how you do that as a Canadian citizen. It definitely would speed things up if you have nexus or global entry. We go back and forth by boat once or twice a season and it's never an issue.

 

[Tedd]

Thanks, @sesmith . Being retired, I normally have the luxury of being able to time my border crossings to minimize wait times. But, on a sailing trip, that flexibility will be constrained, so it's definitely a factor worth considering. Waiting for clearance on the boat would definitely be better than waiting in line at the border!

 

[AaronD]

I have a very small sample size (n=1) with on-the-water check-in. See that write-up.

Our experience is as US citizens; your experience going the other way (Canadian -> US and back) might be different. Note that I've usually found US border patrol to be a lot more painful than Canadian; this was a notable exception.

Beforehand: I downloaded the Canadian 'ArriveCan' and US 'CBP ROAM' apps; uploaded all our boat info, personal data, passport photos, etc. to the relevant websites; and ensured they were all present in both apps.

If I recall correctly, we started the check-in process from the app (both ways).

The Sidney process was really time-consuming; lots of waiting, with no obvious explanation why. Someone told me that the phone number we called from Sidney is actually at the Victoria airport - I don't know if that was accurate; if so, maybe the airport customs was backed up that day?

Coming back to the US, we started the in-app check-in as soon as we got US cell service (before we passed Roche Harbor, just in case they decided we had to pull into the harbor for some reason). The first video call failed, but - shockingly - the agent followed up and tried again, and it worked great. They just wanted to see faces for everyone onboard (presumably comparing to the passport photos on file). I think I had the physical passports out and available, but if I recall correctly, they never asked to see those.

 

[Michael Davis]

The last time I sailed into Blaine they told me it isn’t a port of entry. Ended up sending an agent up from Bellingham rather than someone from Peace Arch border crossing. Coming down from the Vancouver area you could stop at Point Roberts to clear customs.

 

[Tedd]

Thanks, @Michael Davis . I've considered Point Roberts but they don't seem to have a boat ramp, so it's no good to us as a launching site. But it might be a good place to clear customs. Certainly, if Blaine's not an option, then it's a better choice that Bellingham.

 

[Michael Davis]

Not sure about a boat ramp but there is/was a customs dock in the marina.

 

[CaptainStan]

Most small boats do not have registration numbers on them. If you have less than 10 HP motor you do not need a registration number but I just found out recently that if you are going to cross the border you do need a registration number on the boat.
Has anyone had a problem crossing the border without a registration number on their boat?

 

[Tedd]

Has anyone had a problem crossing the border without a registration number on their boat?

I haven't done it but I have crossed the border with other types of unregistered vehicles, such as racing cars and racing motorcycles. Since no registration applies, registration per se is a non issue. But you do need to be sure to have proof of ownership of some kind (e.g., a bill of sale), preferably with some kind of identification number (HIN, etc.) on it. It might be smart to have separate paper for the hull and motor, in the case of an outboard. And, of course, the trailer needs to have proper registration and paperwork.