May 30, 31 2023
We arrived in Canadian waters the 30th around 11:00 am. Both Marlene and I have Nexus passes so we called the Canadian Border Patrol to announce our arrival. We were put on hold waiting for an officer to answer for roughly 30 minutes. When we connected we provided the appropriate information (Boat name, registration id, number of persons on board, reason for visiting Canada, etc) and then the officer gave us our clearance number. We were then instructed to proceed to our intended entry point: Van Isle Marina and wait 20 minutes at the dock. If no officer arrived we could continue on to our intended destination: Sidney Marina. No officer arrived; we continued on.
A couple of thoughts here. We have been coming to Sidney for over 20 years and like to clear at Van Isle or Sidney Marina vs. Bedwell Harbor where the line up and wait can be significant. We had close boating friends clear customs at Bedwell last summer where they had to wait two and a half hours. Ouch! Sidney is much easier. For several years we cleared at Sidney Marina but the issue with this clearance is the limited space on the dock. The most it can handle is 2 boats. Van Isle Marina (www.vanislemarina.com) has a large dock that can accommodate roughly 4 to 5 boats, having both sides of the dock where you can tie up. There are also helpful, friendly dock hands at the marina always willing to help you tie up. Final item here, using your Nexus Card, if you have one, is probably not worth it when clearing customs by boat. It took us over an hour to get our clearance using Nexus. My guess is that if we had just gone straight to Van Isle Marina, tied up and called the boarder patrol on their dock phone we would have been through in less than 30 minutes. Also worth noting the ArriveCAN app that was implemented primarily for COVID but was used extensively last summer for clearing customs is no longer functional by boat. It’s only good for air travel.
Sidney is a beautiful quaint town filled with great restaurants and shops. It’s worth a visit to the distiller just outside the marina. They have tasting as well as light serve food and drinks. Last night we met up with our Canadian friends, John and Cathy. Long story short, Marlene is a quilter and when we were living in London she was invited by a friend to attend a mini-concert with the “Singing Quilter.” Cathy is a professional singer/song writer who took up quilting years ago when she was living in Perth, Australia. Along the way she came up with the idea of showing quilts and singing about them. They have been doing this around the world for over 18 years. Before you say, ahhh, hmmm, check it out. I think you will be pleasantly surprised: https://singingquilter.com/.
Tomorrow is the official opening to the 2023 Nordic Tug Rendezvous. There will be 54 boats present discussing all things tugging related.
This is all good information for getting through customs. Things change every year, every trip. Looking forward to reading along as you go north.
You are right about just tying up at Van Isle and calling on the dock phone. Shirley and I did that last year and it was about 25-30 minutes. Lovely marina and excellent help on the dock. We have Nexus and ArriveCAN, thanks for the heads up.
Last year we stumbled onto 4 Orca just outside the marina. We shut down and drifted while taking photos for 20 minutes!
Stay 1/2 mile or more West of North Pender Island along Swanson Channel as there are huge fines for boating in Orca feeding grounds there. Look up information on the WaggonerGuide.com website.
Twas joyous to spend the evening with you the other night, and I’m delighted that we’ll be able to follow your travels. Fair winds and following seas!
Cathy and John,
It was great spending the evening with you. We treasure your friendship.
Greg and Marlene
Great to see you on Tuesday evening – and thanks for dinner at RIVA.
Smooth sailing!
Thank you for the great information on crossing into Canada. This is my first time reading your blog and I’m very impressed.
Karin, thanks. Glad you find it helpful.