Canadian boating - Great Lakes and Atlantic region

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by Sam8989

I am heading over to live for a month in Canada to sail (I already applied for tourist visa through https://visa-canada.info). Can anyone offer some information on if this is possible in either of the above. Also as I won't have a boat, any yacht clubs you know that are looking for crew on a regular basis and welcome short term members.

I sailed a lot as a child and after 8 years living in land locked cites I would love to get back on the water to LIVE MY LIFE

Canada is great- totally get why you want to visit. However, you can’t. Even if you could- you’d have to quarantine for 14 days, so that just leaves two weeks to do anything- like LIVE YOUR LIFE.
Not really sure what you had in mind? Showing up at a marina and asking someone to live on their boat to crew? The logistics of your plan don’t make much sense with the information you gave... but either way, I don’t think that this is the year for that!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Sam8989

I am heading over to live for a month in Canada to sail (I already applied for tourist visa through https://visa-canada.info). Can anyone offer some information on if this is possible in either of the above. Also as I won't have a boat, any yacht clubs you know that are looking for crew on a regular basis and welcome short term members.

I sailed a lot as a child and after 8 years living in land locked cites I would love to get back on the water to LIVE MY LIFE

Not sure where you're coming from Sam, but as others have said, our international border is still closed to non-essential travel. You should check with Canadian officials before attempting to travel here.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...xemptions.html

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by Sam8989

I am heading over to live for a month in Canada to sail (I already applied for tourist visa through https://visa-canada.info). Can anyone offer some information on if this is possible in either of the above. Also as I won't have a boat, any yacht clubs you know that are looking for crew on a regular basis and welcome short term members.

I sailed a lot as a child and after 8 years living in land locked cites I would love to get back on the water to LIVE MY LIFE

Adding to the other reasons mentioned: most Ontario yacht clubs that I'm aware of are restricting access to members only - no visitors, no transients. Our private marina only allows groups on boats if they reside at the same address, and strongly discourages interactions in the marina. Racing season is cancelled so nobody is looking for crew. And so on.

Nice plan, but this is the wrong year for it.

[TrentePieds]

Sam8989 sez he's already APPLIED for a visitor's visa, then refers to a site that is operated by a PRIVATE organization that charges a fee in addition to the application fee charged by the Canadian Government for its "service" of forwarding the "application" to the Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration. There is NO guarantee that an application will result in the granting of a visa.

All Canadian Government sites look like the one Mike O'Reilly kindly refers to. If a site doesn't have that distinctive header, it is not a Canadian Government site.

I recommend that Sam8989 take some time to learn from the CANADIAN GOVERNMENT what it takes to enter Canada both under the present conditions of Pandemic-caused border closures, both federal and provincial, and under "normal" conditions which we won't see again for a long, long time - certainly not as long as the infection rate in many other nations continues to rise.

The site Sam8989 refers to is, IMCO, a outright scam.

TrentePieds

[Mirage35]

Good man for checking that, Trente. I thought something looked sketchy but didn't take the time to verify.

[Northbound44]

Last release from CBSA:

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reminds all boaters that crossing the border for recreation or tourism is currently prohibited.

Boaters are still permitted to navigate across international waters if needed, but are not allowed to enter Canadian territorial or boundary waters for discretionary, leisure (non-essential) reasons, including entry for touring, sightseeing and pleasure fishing.

Boaters who enter Canada without reporting to the CBSA (including for the purpose of refuelling) may face severe penalties, including monetary penalties, seizure of their vessels and/or criminal charges. The minimum fine for failing to report to the CBSA upon entry to Canada is $1,000. Furthermore, non-compliance by foreign nationals may affect their immigration admissibility and ability to re-enter Canada in the future.

Conditions for a Reporting Exception
Persons who enter Canadian waters are not required to present themselves and report their goods to the CBSA if they:

do not land on Canadian soil and do not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance while in Canadian waters; and
do not disembark or embark any people or goods in Canada.
Persons who leave and re-enter Canadian waters are not required to present themselves and report their goods to the CBSA if they:

did not land outside Canada and did not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance while outside of Canadian waters; and
did not embark or disembark any people or goods while outside Canada.

Ref. https://www.canada.ca/en/border-serv...y-reasons.html

Other exceptions:

(a) a vessel that is in distress or providing assistance to a vessel or person in distress;
(b) a vessel that is forced to navigate, moor or berth to avoid immediate danger;
e) a foreign vessel in Canadian waters that is exercising the right of innocent passage in accordance with international law and article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982;

Ref. https://www.tc.gc.ca/en/initiatives/...ease-2019.html