Bob Hudspeth
Member
My wife and I recently returned from the Gulf Islands of BC to WA State and were met with a threat of $10,000.00 dollar fine and our boat confiscated for "not checking in with customs immediately upon return from a foreign country" from the US customs agent at Friday Harbor.
Obviously there is more to this story. We left Wallace Island with a planned stop at Ganges Island and would make the trip to the San Juan's and customs at Roche Harbor the next morning. Unfortunately Ganges was packed tight so we proceeded Eastward. We hit some weather and outgoing tide which put us coming into Roche in the dark which I chose not to do. We anchored out at Stuart Island after dark and headed for Friday Harbor first thing in the morning. There was no cell service (AT&T).
All was going good until the agent asked when we returned to US waters and I truthfully said "last night at 2100 hours. OMG I think she about had a stroke. We were ordered to go to the office where we waited for over an hour for a decision to be made about our fine and impoundment.
After the decision by her superiors was made we were allowed to leave with a warning citation and a lecture on proper reporting.
What the take home point was, it is a mandate by the US Government for all of us to report entrance either in person to a customs agent, by cell phone, direct line from customs docks or to the US Coast Guard by radio if there is no other alternative.
Has anyone else had similar experiences or am I the only one that did not know the law to the impth degree. I appreciate the job they do but this seemed a little over the top, when I truly believed I had done everything right and safe for my boat and passenger.
Obviously there is more to this story. We left Wallace Island with a planned stop at Ganges Island and would make the trip to the San Juan's and customs at Roche Harbor the next morning. Unfortunately Ganges was packed tight so we proceeded Eastward. We hit some weather and outgoing tide which put us coming into Roche in the dark which I chose not to do. We anchored out at Stuart Island after dark and headed for Friday Harbor first thing in the morning. There was no cell service (AT&T).
All was going good until the agent asked when we returned to US waters and I truthfully said "last night at 2100 hours. OMG I think she about had a stroke. We were ordered to go to the office where we waited for over an hour for a decision to be made about our fine and impoundment.
After the decision by her superiors was made we were allowed to leave with a warning citation and a lecture on proper reporting.
What the take home point was, it is a mandate by the US Government for all of us to report entrance either in person to a customs agent, by cell phone, direct line from customs docks or to the US Coast Guard by radio if there is no other alternative.
Has anyone else had similar experiences or am I the only one that did not know the law to the impth degree. I appreciate the job they do but this seemed a little over the top, when I truly believed I had done everything right and safe for my boat and passenger.