"You are in violation of Canadian Customs law by reason of "Failure to Report", said the senior officer with a stern look across the customs office desk at Bedwell Harbour. He followed with a direct citing of the regulations per Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA):
"Failure to report may result in detention, seizure or forfeiture of the vessel and/or monetary penalties. The minimum fine for failing to report to the CBSA upon entry to Canada is CAN$1,000."
The dark haired, middle aged, stocky, armed officer then added that the same violation in the US
comes with a minimum $5,000 fine and seizure of the vessel.
I knew things were not going as normal when my usual call from the Bedwell reporting dock
phone ended with a dropped call directly after the answering official said "just a minute". I had sensed a disruption in the "force" when the usual question of "Where was your last port?", or "Where are you arriving from?", was altered slightly with the question, "Where did you come from TODAY"? The addition of "today" made me hesitate but answer honestly and without concern that today we came in from anchoring last night at Bedwell. That's when things went south... And I realized that we should have stayed south before coming directly to the reporting dock. After repeated attempts to reconnect with the reporting office, I finally got the original official on the phone and was informed that a couple of officers would be coming out to see me. Hmmm.
"How long will they be?, I humbly inquired. "
"Do you have a cell phone?", came the reply.
"Not with service here", I offered.
"Are we talking about hours"?, I added.
"They will be there as soon as they can. But if there's an issue, we like to have a phone to reach you", he said.
"I understand. Ok." and the call was finished.
I returned to the dock and informed Betty that we were going to paid a visit by a couple of officers. "Figure they will be arriving from Sidney by boat. We're suppose to wait."
And so the waiting began.
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