Boats still heading north

Since the U.S. and Canadian governments announced the closure of the border to non-essential travel Canadian boatowners have been pulling their boats out of the Point Roberts Marina.

The 1,000-slip marina is down to 30 percent occupancy, according to acting marina manager Zihao Ding. “Approximately 40 percent of the slips still have a contract but only about 30 percent are being used,” he said.

Philip Cragg, owner of Pacific Coast Yacht Sales, said the exodus isn’t over. “When the border closed in March, the next day the phone rang and I moved the first boat,” Cragg said. “It’s slowed down a little bit but the phone’s still ringing on a daily basis.”

While Cragg’s business has mostly been selling yachts in the marina, today it’s mostly moving them out. Since March he has moved over 60 boats out of Point Roberts.The Point Roberts resident is a dual citizen hired to skipper the boats from a U.S. to a Canadian port.

“While the owner could not come and do it without quarantining, I can as a hired skipper because I’m working,” he said, so the travel is deemed essential as part of his job.

Overall, Cragg said he had moved over 150 boats since the border closure, including boats moving north from Point Roberts, Semiahmoo and Blaine marinas and in rare cases moving large yachts south from B.C. marinas to the San Juan islands.