[PUP] Ships Stores in the PNW

[John Marshall]

That sounds normal... if, however, you'd said you had a couple of  
cases of wine, it would have gone very differently.

You can have 1.5 liters of wine a person OR 40 ounces of hard liquor  
per person OR 24 bottles of beer a person. Note the OR's, although  
they don't object to mixes of the three as long as they more or less  
add up. For example, a bottle of wine per person and twelve beers a  
person.

If you are just a bit over the booze allowance, they'll usually let it  
pass with a reminder of the limits. But if you're much over, then the  
duty game begins.

By the way, Canpass is a special trusted traveler document you have to  
apply for in advance, which allows you to enter Canada without landing  
at a custom's dock. You can call from your boat cellphone instead of  
the dockside phones. The US equivalent is the I68, although both are  
gradually being superseded by a newer program called Nexus.

In contrast, the number they give you on the phone after you clear is  
a Clearance number, not a Canpass number. You have to display it in a  
window where it's visible from the dock when tying up, or give it  
Canadian CG if they hail you.

The tendency is for people to understate the booze on board during  
phone reporting. But be aware, they do actually come down and check  
boats very thoroughly, although not often. But when they do, they are  
more intrusive than Homeland Security in the US. I've known people who  
had their boats gone through for hours, also boats they've chosen to  
unleash their new Customs trainees on by having them by practicing an  
intrusive search (in Bedwell Harbor, BC no less).

They also keep detailed computer records on your crossings and the  
names of people who routinely travel on your boat, and if you are  
inspected and found to have misstated what's on your boat, a red flag  
is put on your name or boat. Having a red-flagged passenger on board  
is also bad. Then the easy, friendly, "welcome to Canada, glad you  
came" telephone customs thing becomes physical cavity search time  
forever more.

Stories:
One friend (from rural Utah) who has always carried a handgun in his  
car door once forgot about it when crossing the border by car. When  
the Canadians asked him about firearms, he remembered that handguns  
are never, EVER allowed and told them about it. They surrounded his  
car as he got out, hands up, after telling them where the weapon was.  
They completely searched the car, taking the weapon. But when he said  
he'd turn around and go back to US, they gave the now unloaded weapon  
back with a strong warning. He later crossed into Canada on our boat  
(without the weapon, of course) and I was worried about him being red- 
flagged, but he wasn't. They recognized the honest mistake and his  
cooperation and didn't penalize him.

On the other hand, some friends of ours once traveled south from  
Alaska to the Canadian Queen Charlotte Islands, assuming they could  
clear Canada Customs there. Unfortunately, there wasn't a Customs dock  
in the Queen Charlottes at the time. When they called Canada Customs  
over in Prince Rupert to try and report in by phone (that's the  
closest 365days/24hour customs location), they were told they had to  
travel across Queen Charlotte Strait immediately to clear in Prince  
Rupert, and then return to the Queen Charlottes. The one-way distance  
is 93 miles, so their request was ridiculous, especially given it was  
late in the day and it was starting to blow. Our friends refused to  
cross that nasty body of water at night, claiming they were exhausted  
and safety issues. Customs was not amused by their refusal. They made  
them call back every few hours all night and then demanded they come  
over first thing in the morning -- it was still blowing fairly hard --  
and then hassled them to no end. Bottom line, they'd broken the rules  
by landing at the wrong place and then "refused to cooperate".

Don't get me wrong, entering Canada with telephone clearance at their  
custom's docks (even without CanPass or Nexus) has always been easier  
for us than re-entering the US, where a CBP agent will generally come  
onto our boat. Play strictly by the rules, and Canada customs is  
incredibly friendly, helpful, easy and quick. They really act as if  
they want you there (as opposed to Homeland Security, who act like  
suspicious gatekeepers). But if you get caught breaking the rules, or  
you refuse a Customs request, even a ridiculous one like with our  
friends in the Queen Charlottes, you quickly find that the friendly  
kitten truly has fangs and has no qualms about using them.

It isn't worth the risk for those of us who cross the border  
constantly. You gotta stay squeaky clean and not be seduced by the  
easy telephone check-in.

John Marshall
Serendipity - Nordhavn 55
Sequim Bay, WA

On Dec 19, 2008, at 7:42 AM, Paul W. Weakley wrote:

> We crossed into Canada at Kingston, ONT this past July.  We cleared  
> customs
> by telephone.  Never saw a real person.  We were asked about firearms,
> alcohol, cigarettes, pets and people.  We had no firearms and no  
> cigarettes,
> since we do not smoke.  We did have several bottles of alcohol and  
> beer.  I
> told the customs agent we just had "ships stores".  She asked, How  
> Much?  We
> told her just what we had and she had no further comments.  She gave  
> us our
> Canpass number, which we then wrote in our log and posted in our  
> window.  I
> was quite concerned when we brought back some of our US purchased  
> alcohol
> and a few bottles of Canada purchased alcohol.  The US customs never  
> asked
> about alcohol.  Most likely because the cost of alcohol products is  
> about
> twice as expensive as in the US.    Why would anyone smuggle booze  
> from
> Canada into the US when it's twice as expensive?
>
> Good Luck,
>
> Paul
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