IRS Form 8840 - Canadian Skippers in US Inland waters

BandB · Dec 26, 2016

boatpoker said:
On our recent trip from Toronto to Lakeworth. it was our understanding that we only had to report in at each CG District. We cleared in Oswego and were given a "Notice of Violation" further down the Hudson a few days later for not reporting each stop within the same District. We were then told we had to report in at each Port and were given a list of phone numbers to call. We received a second Notice of Violation in South Carolina for not reporting when we anchored and were told we had to call in each time we stopped whether we went ashore or not.

Most of the phone numbers given were wrong and we spent hours on the phone with people who didn't give a damn. ...
"Why are you calling us " was heard on several occasions.
"This number cannot be reached from your area" was a frequent recording.
"Our office doesn't handle that" was common and they would give us another number that was also .... wrong !

Most often we got voice mail so left a message and went on our way (hope that was ok). We are now in the Bahamas and dreading re-entry to the US. Thousands of Canadian cruisers who spend our retirement funds in the US appear to be not wanted anymore. We are seriously considering storing our boat in Bahamas this summer just to avoid the nonsense of buying multiple phones and phone packages so we can call in to a completely disinterested party whenever we stop to spend money on fuel.

I've been traveling the US East coast since 1994 and never experienced anything like this before, The American people are awesome but the system is beyond help and I may not be back.

Where did you get these wrong numbers? I've found the numbers on CBP's website to be very reliable.

Here are the professional service managers.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/customer-service/professionalism-service-manager

You can also go to the map of ports and then click on the city for the numbers for the field operations offices.

Now, what I'd really recommend is the Small Vessel Reporting System.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/pleasure-boats-private-flyers/svrs

You can register online and schedule an interview. Then you'll get a boater registration number and SVRS password.

This is really no different than we experienced going in and out of Canada. We checked in at every Canadian port. We also checked back in each time to the US. No different than our travels in other countries where we had to check in to each port. I would suggest the SVRS if you're doing much traveling.

boatpoker · Dec 26, 2016

BandB said:
Where did you get these wrong numbers? I've found the numbers on CBP's website to be very reliable.

Here are the professional service managers.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/customer-service/professionalism-service-manager

You can also go to the map of ports and then click on the city for the numbers for the field operations offices.

Now, what I'd really recommend is the Small Vessel Reporting System.

We were given a list of phone numbers by CBP on the Hudson. Most were incorrect. many of the 1-800 numbers given have very limited areas of use. From that point on 6 out of 10 officers we talked to told us we had the wrong number and then gave us other numbers to call which were also often wrong.
i.e. wrong as is in still a CPB office but not one that handled boaters.

When I cross into the US I do so at Oswego NY. One video phone call and I'm cleared and they fax the Cruising License to me at Oswego Marina within minutes. How the SVRS improve on that ? The SVRS certainly doesn't help find a phone signal when you anchor in the Georgia swamp and CPB in Florida has never heard of it.

What are they trying to accomplish ? I can cross the Border in an RV and wander around your beautiful country for months and never have to report in with anyone.

BandB · Dec 26, 2016

boatpoker said:
When I cross into the US I do so at Oswego NY. One video phone call and I'm cleared and they fax the Cruising License to me at Oswego Marina within minutes. How the SVRS improve on that ? The SVRS certainly doesn't help find a phone signal when you anchor in the Georgia swamp and CPB in Florida has never heard of it.

.

Then don't do SVRS or anything different. However, rest assured that CPB in Florida is very familiar with it as many of us use it constantly for trips to and back from the Bahamas. It works great and most of the time then we don't have to report in person. The US regulations are very consistent with other countries.

koliver · Dec 27, 2016

BP
Not the only broken system in the US
Thread Drift
I encountered the same sort of difficulty trying to deal with the DMV in Ca. I bought a car in California last January. Since I couldn't get it to the Canadian border until my scheduled return in April, I licensed it in Cal. Then when I returned to Canada, I put it in storage so as not to have to tow it or have my wife drive it, as the car I took down was being towed behind the RV. Then, on return, to re-licence for the coming season...completely broken. Took two hours in their lineup, a week of hassle, 17 phone calls, and yes, I will be taking it to the Canadian border this April, importing to Canada, then using the unbroken Canadian system from then on.

sunchaser · Dec 27, 2016

Keith

CA is set up to deal with illegals. When a non resident legal comes along the system indeed struggles.

Seriously though, in AZ it is easy for those from Canada who buy and leave cars, or so we hear. Is the issue the lack of a permanent US address that DMV can use for mailings?

Now let me tell you about trying to get our life raft re-packed in Canada. Nowhere on VI or the mainland to get it done as it was made in France and sold to us in the US. Legally it cannot be carried in our vehicle on a ferry with the explosive device armed. So we broke all sorts of Canadian laws and carried it in our vehicle on a BC ferry to a US legal repacker in Tacoma where it awaits illegal ferry transport back to VI. This took a lot more than two hours.

I've been doing this cross border dance for work and play for 45 years. The stories never stop. On the US East Coast many of the silly reporting in maritime laws go all the way back to prohibition. That good Seagrams was quite popular in the US back in the twenties.

koliver · Dec 27, 2016

sunchaser said:
Keith

CA is set up to deal with illegals. When a non resident legal comes along the system indeed struggles.

Seriously though, in AZ it is easy for those from Canada who buy and leave cars, or so we hear. Is the issue the lack of a permanent US address that DMV can use for mailings?

Now let me tell you about trying to get our life raft re-packed in Canada. Nowhere on VI or the mainland to get it done as it was made in France and sold to us in the US. Legally it cannot be carried in our vehicle on a ferry with the explosive device armed. So we broke all sorts of Canadian laws and carried it in our vehicle on a BC ferry to a US legal repacker in Tacoma where it awaits illegal ferry transport back to VI. This took a lot more than two hours.

I've been doing this cross border dance for work and play for 45 years. The stories never stop. On the US East Coast many of the silly reporting in maritime laws go all the way back to prohibition. That good Seagrams was quite popular in the US back in the twenties.

Tom

Now that I have been through the system, I know where I went wrong. I should never have given the DMV my US mailing address. Because I didn't know they would be sending me time limited stuff, I was unaware when they cancelled my registration for putting storage insurance on the car instead of leaving full liability insurance on it for the 7 months it would be in storage. My bad for that.

But the broken part of the system is how to get back onto the registration. I spoke on the phone to a rep who advised that there is a 3 day wait from paying for the "re-registration" document that was to ensure that you put that liability insurance back on. I had already done so by the time of that conversation, and was told it had already shown up on their computers. Waive the 3 days? Not a chance. Oh, and Sunday doesn't count.

No more. That car goes home, 6% duty, 5%GST, 7%PST and all. At least I will have it when I get home.

BandB · Dec 27, 2016

koliver said:
Tom

Now that I have been through the system, I know where I went wrong. I should never have given the DMV my US mailing address. Because I didn't know they would be sending me time limited stuff, I was unaware when they cancelled my registration for putting storage insurance on the car instead of leaving full liability insurance on it for the 7 months it would be in storage. My bad for that.

.

Good warning for all on mailing addresses and forwarding and changing and being sure you're getting the mail or seeing it all. People get burned all the time by things being mailed to their last known address and that considered as delivery to them. I've seen corporations lose cases and have judgments against them because they failed to change their registered agent. Unfortunately, he was their corporate lawyer and they fired him. Notices sent to him were considered delivered and received. Needless to say he did not inform the company. Even when you give a change correctly, don't bet on a substitute postman not delivering some mail to your old address.

IRS Form 8840 - Canadian Skippers in US Inland waters

BandB

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