Heads up things are getting ....well you decide
 

This is no joke. A Canadian coast guard ship has been parked off a major Canadian channel along the us/ Canadian border the last couple weeks. This channel is frequently used for Americans to go from US waters to a popular US public beach via this Canadian channel for a few miles. I have been coming up to the islands for 20 years and have seen this ship two or three times before. This year I have seen it 3 times already and a few smaller Canadian boats. Not sure what they are up to with all of this but they can supposedly fine you a minimum of $1000 on the spot or confiscate your boat (this actually has happened).

Got a link to any verified stories of confiscated boats?

i googled it http://www.northcountrypublicradio.o...e-boat-seizure

Good read,

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/o...-laws-20150616

Here in Buffalo there is no way of entering Lake Erie w/o passing thru Canadian waters at some point, I work at a local marina and after 9/11 and the rule changes/enforcement we lost alotta boaters who were tired of the hassel, this is even worse given our waterways, if they start enforcing this I see many more boaters throwing in the towel, I will make a adjustment and start boating on inland lakes

Very interesting read. Thx to all above for the links.

Hey Sam, do you see this impacting the Poker Run?

Padraig

good question as it leaves and enters again Ca waters a number of times

sure they could offer a one day exception for participants, but what about spectators?
and what does that say if they continue to hassle the little guy the average fisherman or river rat like us?

what about going thru the rift? where the border runs right down the middle of one boat wide?

what a total bunch of BS
somebody pissed somebody off far above our heads.

I had seen this on the local news when it first broke and forgot about it. just put the boat in the water and glad you posted as first destination is Potters on a nice day!
I always go behind Grindstone between it and that batch of Ca state park islands. beautiful route to see and drive.
Can't believe I'd have to go around the US side longer us side route and PITA littered with shoals on the shortest of those routes

ya its getting worse and worse every year. as a US citizen our family owns property on the river on the canadian side.

my uncle, who owns the island next to us, (3 or 4 years ago) took his family into alex bay for ice cream after dinner, didnt bother checking in, because most of the time is really is a hassle, one way or another, the coast guard basically figured out that they did not check in, and gave him a huge fine, and it cost thousands in lawyers fee's just to allow him back into canada.

also, about 2 years ago i also heard of many fisherman's boat getting confiscated that summer.

none the less, even early this season we have noticed a drastic decrease in boats on the river in general. it was 80 and sunny all weekend and only saw really a hand full of boats... the canadians are getting NASTY with open containers on boats as well. made my mom dump a bottle of wine they had on the boat early this season just out for cheese and crackers and wine with friends on the boat with my father driving..

i am hoping something will change, but we dont see it changing any time soon. so many businesses are struggling with lost tourists up there.

I have family in the area and when i saw this i made a call, You need to call and get the advanced go ahead they will fine you and if you get cocky with the wrong guy your boat is gone its quite bad and getting worse each year.

what exactly is an "advanced go ahead"?

so ideally by law they should be enforcing universally, you would have to get the "go-ahead" by phone EACH TIME you cross back in to Ca waters?

so how many stops in open water for the runners to all use their cells to get a "go-ahead" into Ca again?

what about all the small boaters who wouldn't even know they have crossed?
This seems to be under assumption the dude in the little BR with the wife and two kids has the electronic means to know he a couple hundred yards across the border?
Ridiculous in the extreme.
So how 'bout the boat tours? Grant them an exception for them too?
and fine the limited budget small-timer 1K?

fisherman have always had to call when dropping a line into the water i believe, would not know, come near my boat with a hook and you get the hook!

I thought as long as you didn't set foot on canadian soil or drop anchor in canadian waters you could pass through. Hmm. Sam is right though, you cant get from the niagara river to lake erie without going into canadian waters. You could spend all day idling through the black rock canal though.

Just did some homework.

Source:http://www.glcclub.com/boating-and-uscanada-border

For Americans

Any U.S. boat entering Canadian waters has a duty to report with the exception that “boats in transit” do not have to report. If you intend to land you are required to report to a CanBSA designated marine reporting site and call the TRC from the phone provided to obtain clearance.

The “boats in transit” exception only applies if a U.S. vessel is traveling from point to point in the U.S. and its starting point and its destination point are different. The trip must be continuous, un-interrupted and without delays or stopovers. If a U.S. boat leaves a US port, crosses into Canadian waters and intends to immediately return to its U.S. port of origin, the “in transit” exception does not apply and the boat has a requirement to report.

In all cases, this “deemed landing” by crossing the international border on the water (unless the “in transit” exception applies), means that all persons on the vessel are subject to the usual border crossing and landing requirements. This includes laws governing the reporting of goods purchased or acquired outside of the country (including alcohol and tobacco), the carrying of firearms (which is generally prohibited in Canada) and the carrying of cash or negotiable securities in a value of $10,000.00 or more.

Private boaters that are strictly weaving in and out of Canadian waters but are not in transit, are required to call the TRC only once at the time of their initial entry into Canadian waters.

Your report can be made by cell phone. If you are without a cell phone you must proceed to a CanBSA designated marine telephone reporting site and place a call to the TRC to obtain clearance.

If this activity changes, i.e., the vessel docks in Canada or takes on new persons or goods while in foreign waters, the boaters must report to a CanBSA designated marine reporting site and call the TRC to obtain clearance.

Im surprised to hear this. In my experience its the Americans who take things too seriously

The Windsor Police and the OPP both expressed the primacy of their mandate as being safety on the waters. As such, the rather blunt suggestion was that the primary mandate of the Canadian police forces policing the Canadian waters did not involve enforcing reporting requirements. The suggestion was that these requirements would only be enforced in companion with other more serious safety violations or criminal violations observed by Canadian law enforcement officers on the water. Simply put, the representatives of all these police forces indicate that they simply do not have the manpower to attempt to enforce the reporting requirements as primary charges. Nonetheless, they all urge compliance.

Note that Canada Border Patrol currently has no dedicated vessels locally in the Windsor/Detroit area.

You must be prepared to encounter different interpretations of the regulations on a regional basis.

Also realize the answers given by these officers reflect their beliefs concerning the rules they are charged to enforce and our interpretation of their statements. We should all be prepared to encounter an authority whose beliefs may not completely jibe with these.


Primary mandate- "safety on the waters"...well you can never go wrong or get shot down with that pretense! So, the way I read it- if you get hassled or not, even truly "in-transit" depends on somebody's mood that day. That's par.

another question is, if I'm going from my US hailing port to a US day destination, if I plan to return to my hailing port same-day, will they say that I am not "in-transit"? Good chance I betcha!

Any U.S. boat entering Canadian waters has a duty to report with the exception that “boats in transit” do not have to report. If you intend to land you are required to report to a CanBSA designated marine reporting site and call the TRC from the phone provided to obtain clearance.

The “boats in transit” exception only applies if a U.S. vessel is traveling from point to point in the U.S. and its starting point and its destination point are different. The trip must be continuous, un-interrupted and without delays or stopovers. If a U.S. boat leaves a US port, crosses into Canadian waters and intends to immediately return to its U.S. port of origin, the “in transit” exception does not apply and the boat has a requirement to report

define or interpret "immediately"? Same day?

The biggest "enforcement" of this seems to be near us in the islands (from cape vincent to a bay). Anyone going to potters on Saturday couldn't miss the CA coast guard ship off the beach. During the Abay poker run we ran right buy the same ship coming through the main channel near the american bridge. It would be very difficult to get to Potters without going into Canadian waters, you would have to hug very close to grindstone which is not the best of ideas.

There was a meeting two saturdays ago at Clayton with canandian coasties regarding this issue and many people left frustrated and more confused than they went in. We couldn't go because of the poker run conflict but we heard it didn't go well. This should be an interesting summer.

American $$$ should be spent in America.

RIPPEM, your comment about the officers mood that day is KEY! i got a speeding ticket last summer, not that my cafe went that fast anyways, i think it was "40 in a 35" zone or something of the like, and after trying to reason with the officer about how my speedo wasnt hooked up and i was using a GPS on my phone, he said "i dont care im sure you can afford the ticket driving a boat like this"... and other times i got stopped just for having them check for life jackets and make sure i wasnt drinking and i ended up chatting with the officer for 15 minutes about boats and cars and trucks! HAH. thats how it is with anyone now a days all depends on their mood, but its such a shame because the islands are a beautiful place to boat with lots of open water to really rip and to beat waves and towns to visit etc. but they are steadily killing the tourism up there. locals and out of towners alike.

and vance, oh cmon grindstone isnt that bad!! lol :boat:

I got boarded (not really see below) last Thurs by the USCG. Was launching my boat for the season at Hutchinsons and saw them out front early am, not unusual.

thought to myself "I'm gonna met these guys today" 'cause well, not too many boats, and notta big perf boats running around at 9-10 am weekday.
Funny thing is I thought the same thing last fall on hauling day as I also took a 10 min tour to run in some Sta-bil...and they were out front went right by me then.

Anyway ran downriver shakedown turned around and headed back there they were coming downriver towards goose bay
we were a wide channel apart, saw him change course and I just brought the boat down and waited it was obvious to likes of an 80's guy like me (eye for the man if you follow LOL)
his course was right for me hit the blues and came over asked me to the side of the channel.
They were cool up front, I ask for the opportunity to put out fenders, no prob.
all went well. at an early point I asked if the cockpit guy needed to board (I was sure he'd oblige seat towels)
"no, not necessary"
produced all paperwork immediately handy in the glovebox answered the standard questions, produced the asked safety gear pronto.
The mechanicals of the stop took 7-8 minutes, the paperwork on their part 20.
All in all very friendly and professional. Gave me a boarding report.

In the mix was I went to high school with the helmsman's uncle and knew several of his family ect.
Noted me as a longtime River/boating enthusiast via our conversation and seemed just as intent I ensuring my cooperation (which I thought was cool)
as in -"you're a local guy and know the River, If you see anything that doesn't look right to you, please call the local number of the station right there on Wellesley
.
That seemed like a noble purpose.

completely contrary to the ridiculous experience with a "hassle-stop" on a weekday morning by the Border Patrol a few years ago...

how about the US services involved in border security treat all the French Canadian boaters the same next month?

isn't the seat of the Canadian Government in that province?

and another thought: wouldn't you think to enforce this there would need to be a clearly visible border on the water?
razor wire, laser beams, somebody paint a stripe?

I mean I just don't get how it can be enforced if it was in-country and not an international affair, it would get tossed for sure. you can't reasonably expect people to know where the border is, and respect it when it's not marked and on moving water!

No disrespect but you guys make it sound like the US boarder services is operating some kind of welcome wagon service into the US . The rules are not any different for me if I want to visit the New York State side of the lake coming out of Toronto.
RG.

Perhaps you should think about boating along our southern border. I hear the rules are not enforced as aggressively.
Just saying/thinking.

Icall. Bullchit and raise you 20 million mexicans

that's a good point considering there is no justification based on experience that I have ever heard of in 50 years right here for making this such an issue on the US/Can boating boarder in a location where the border weaves in and out of islands, or rather the islands and navigable waters weave in and out of the border.

Whereas I believe you could find plenty of justification on our southern border

just sayin'/thinkin'