Without making any statistical inference here, I'm posting my experience crossing the U.S./Canadian border by car over the last two weekends, with a Feathercraft (purchased nine months ago in NYC) in the trunk, near Niagara Falls. Canadian Customs? No issues. Just a few questions about our destination, purpose, and whether we were importing any illegal firearms, etc.. U. S. Customs? Again, no issues. Just a request to remove my sunglasses and to present identification. The official then associated individually our four U. S. passports with the four passengers in our car, and asked a few more questions, including how long we had been in Canada, whether we purchased any items there, how much money was in our possession, and my birthplace. Prior to crossing the border for the first time, I had "car-topped" my kayak on the way to paddling Canadice Lake in western New York. The Achilles Heel of the Thule "Hull-a-Port," a plastic bracket that mounts the metal, J-shaped boat rack onto the car's rectangular (metal) load bar, broke in transit -- perhaps from the stress of a tightly screwed bolt, or the air turbulence in a region where the average driving speed seems to be about 80 m.p.h.-- and made a small "bang." Fortunately, I had tied bow and stern lines to the car in addition to strapping the mid-section of the kayak to the rack. The sight of a misaligned bow line told me immediately that something was wrong, and I was able to pull to the shoulder of the road and discover the break before any further damage could occur. My humble conclusions: (1) If you have plenty of time to spare before your trip (and nothing more important to do), you can request, from the web-site of the U. S. Customs Service, a form to itemize your possessions before departing the U. S.. (This form is delivered by "snail-mail" and it must be notarized after completed.) Then you may present it upon your return to the U. S. to avoid questions about duties paid on your kayak, laptop computer, camera, etc.. For the majority of people who do not do this, I suspect that the sight of a used kayak, coupled with a sales receipt or credit card statement showing proof of purchase will satisfy the officials at the border. (2) The importance of bow and stern lines on a "car-topped" kayak cannot be underestimated. (Thank goodness for the foldability of the Feathercraft, which saved considerable time and hassle after the break.) (3) Security at the U. S./Canadian border after 9/11 is not significantly different now, at least when compared to the conditions in NYC, so it doesn't matter whether you "cartop" your foldable or bring it in the trunk. Just this morning, while I was setting up my boat to commute from 125th St. to lower Manhattan, a motorist on the West Side Highway reported to the police that a scuba diver was about to enter the Hudson the the GW Bridge. (I was wearing a wetsuit.) The police officers who appeared on the scene (two had already been stationed there when I arrived) were somewhat amused and very polite, as was the Daily News photographer who had been listening to the radio dispatch. But, I'd have to say, considering there are no security restrictions on the shore of West Harlem (of which I am aware), most people do not consider 125th St. to be close to the GW Bridge, and a sole wetsuit does not constitute a Self-Contained, Underwater Breathing Apparatus, it was an enlightening experience for me. Emile Zen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: "Zen, Emile" <zen_at_nria.com> > (3) Security at the U. S./Canadian border after 9/11 is not significantly > different now, at least when compared to the conditions in NYC, so it > doesn't matter whether you "cartop" your foldable or bring it in the trunk. > Just this morning, while I was setting up my boat to commute from 125th St. > to lower Manhattan, a motorist on the West Side Highway reported to the > police that a scuba diver was about to enter the Hudson the the GW Bridge. > (I was wearing a wetsuit.) The police officers who appeared on the scene > (two had already been stationed there when I arrived) were somewhat amused > and very polite, That situation you describe is fascinating in that it shows the heighten state of alert applying in areas like NYC. Some one sees a "scuba diver" entering the water and immediately the police are not only alerted but show up ASAP. It wasn't because of any illegality but rather because of security concerns. Now if you were wearing the Ninja looking Greenland outfit (I always forget the name, something like tuliaq) then you would probably have been shot! :-) This is going to be a very inteereesttiiing paddling season in ports, near nuclear energy plants...i.e. just about everywhere except some isolated Boundary Waters setting. ralph diaz *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I'd hope my experience in Port Huron, Michigan the exception to the rule. This was last August, prior to the events of 9-11. Driving back from Maine to Iowa, I crossed into Ontario from Buffalo/Niagra and then spent the night in St. Cath. Driving up to a very un-busy point of entry at Port Huron, I was asked a series of what I took to be odd questions about why I had a 'boat' on the 'roof of my car'. I'll add that Iowa requires kayaks and canoes to be registered and affixed with State of Iowa decal, as well as 2 inch high, contrasting letters/numbers of registration. I was carrying a valid driver's license, my US Passport, and a notarized copy of my birth certificate. I carried proof of insurance on my vehicle, as well as the "boat on the roof of my car". I had bought nothing in Canada, save a motel room, dinner, breakfast, and the morning's paper. The US customs official was incredulous that anyone from Iowa would drive all the way to Maine with a boat on his roof. I politely suggested it reasonable that a 'sea kayak' might be taken to an actual 'sea'. I produced copies of the course materials given to me by MIKCO in Maine. This prompted a phone call to the main office, which then prompted them to issue a 'call out' order, which then required me to pull into a special area for further search and questioning. The search of my vehicle took an hour. They did everything except tear out the seats. They had me stand in a special area, empty all my pockets, and then subjected me to a body search. They were not pleasant, and several of them kept returning to the question about why Iowans would own a sea kayak. When they harped on about the possibility of having bought the boat in Canada, I suggested that the Iowa Registration sticker is awfully hard to come by in Ontario, and the proof of insurance, with NDK serial number noted, would be difficult to organize in a less than 12 hours stay in Ontario. This provoked a series of 'harrumphs' and a sequence of throat clearing snarks...but no actual spoken language or response. After ninety minutes, the 'desk officer' dumped my personal possessions across the counter and floor (they'd literally disassembled my wallet & contents, a flutter of receipts, notes, yadda yadda...) When I approached the desk/counter to collect my scattered stuff, I was barked at to 'stand back' and he then placed a rather large can of Mace on the counter before returning to some keyboard tapping. After another 15 minutes of standing in silence, he snapped, "You can go", put his Mace away and then walked into some back room. Maybe it was a slow day and I was the random chain to be jerked for their amusement. Maybe Port Huron thinks Brit Boats are overbuilt and overrated. Maybe someone with all of their paperwork in order arouses suspicion. Maybe, as an Iowan, I'm supposed to stay home and turn random cornfields into dream induced baseball fields and leave the kayak stuff to the pros. -Will *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:29 PDT