Border concerns

[simcoediver]

I would like to dive some wrecks in the St Lawrence this summer , some of the wrecks like the Keystorm are in US waters . I have my own boat and will come in from the Canadian side, how does it work for getting cleared with U.S border? Do I just need to carry my Canadian passport on board?

 

[frndrfoe]

I guess you would have to prepare as if you were to have boat troubles and be forced to land on U.S soil (drift, emergency)

I think that border crossing is enforced at landing

 

[Diver Rick]

Trust me, you need to report to US Customs BEFORE you head to the wreck sites. The one at Bolt Castle opens at 10am.
US law enforcement officials visit the mooring sites of the Keystorm and the America on a regular basis if they don't have you noted as having reported to Bolt Castle first, you can be in big trouble.

You then need to make a call to Canadian Customs upon return. Sometimes they come out personally, sometimes they check you in over the phone.

Many get away with diving these sites without reporting in, but I wouldn't recommend the risk.

For the longest time officials on both sides didn't consider mooring at the wreck sites as having "landed" in the US, but not after 9/11.

 

[gcarter]

Diver Rick covered it. Every time I have gone to one of those wrecks, the boat has first gone to Boldt Castle.

Or you could do a land crossing to the US side if you are trailering your boat, but I don't know what that might involve.

 

[Diver Rick]

Going over by land is another way, some prefer it feeling that its less hassle to go through the land border than lining up with your boat at the Castle Customs station.
However, you can't just re-enter Canada by boat. If someone else brings your car & trailer back, you would be obliged to call Canada customs when you land back in Canada by boat. It would make sense if you trailered your boat over, you should re-enter the same way.

Once you've passed through US Customs by land, launch your boat from the US side, you can freely go to the wrecks and then back to the US side all you want. However, I wonder what you would have on you if US customs visits you on the wreck sites to prove you've crossed over by land?

I guess they call your name in by radio and find if you're entered into their computers the same way they'd check to varify if you'd checked by boat.

 

[Blue Quaker]

We have taken our boat over to the US side on the trailer to launch to dive the Oconto and Jodrey...no problems on the US side, BUT, I have been asked for registration cards to prove that I had purchased/registered my dive gear in Canada before crossing. Also on the return trip overland I have been asked if I had bought the boat in the US....even thought the trailer had Ontario plates and the boat had a Canadian registration number on it. The Canada customs alarm bells seem to sound if you are on a day trip to the US, have a lot of gear, and are returning after only a few hours on the US side of the border.

 

[Stoo]

Good info here... 9/11 really messed up diving down that way. I generally took my own boat down and the "rule" was that as long as you didn't land on the US side, you could flip back and forth between US and Canadian wrecks no problem. (I say "rule" as opposed to "law" because I suspect that the law said you would have to clear US customs, but it wasn't enforced).

Apparently, once you moor on a site in US waters, you are considered to have landed in the US, so failing to clear customs would be a really bad idea. If you return to Rockport, you call in to Canadian Customs and 3/4 of the time, they will clear you over the phone. On the charters, they require that you stay on board until that is done.

With all the grief, I find it easier just to take a charter.

 

[2airishuman]

The other way to do this is to get a Nexus card, if you're eligible, and then you can clear customs by phone when crossing the border and do not need to visit a customs checkpoint in person.

The Nexus cards are a hassle to get, cost, time, fingerprints, in-person interview with both U.S. and Canadian authorities, but save valuable time when traveling. I believe that most boaters who cross the border regularly have them. They're good for five years.

 

[rhwestfall]

Here on the other end of NY with our diving in Lake Erie that is US & Canadian waters, the last two years they have loosened the regulations to what resembles pre-9/11. A cell phone call to Canadian Customs/Immigration when entering Canadian waters (when tied up to the mooring), and an exchange of information as to all who are on the boat (you are issued a number), and a call to US Customs/Immigration when back at your dock in the US seems to be working again. It was like that years ago in the St. Lawrence when we were making yearly trips up there. Passports/Enhanced Driver's Licenses/NEXUS should be carried.

Funny part is, last year, US Immigration got all grumpy with us calling in upon our return.... said we didn't have to as we hadn't gone ashore in Canada... go figure...

I'd suggest calling US & Canadian Customs/Immigration in the region you are going to be visiting, and get a first hand explanation. Document who you talked to (ID #), and proceed...

 

[Stoo]

That's good... it's a bit of a hike to the opposite shore in Lake Erie! I sometimes think that these rules are enforced at the whim of a specific customs officer, but I suspect it's best to err on the side of caution.