A 49-year-old man from Washington was fined $1,000 this week under Canada’s Quarantine Act after he crossed in Canadian waters to meet his girlfriend in Surrey.
On Sunday, RCMP members with the ShipRider program encountered a Seasport cabin cruiser out of Bellingham that was anchored in the Crescent Beach channel near Blackie Spit, an RCMP news release notes. The two occupants aboard the boat were a Bellingham man and a 50-year-old woman from Surrey.
Investigators found that the man had left his home port earlier that morning and picked up his girlfriend at Ward’s Marina, near the Historic Stewart Farm. The man had failed to report his crossing into Canada and he did not meet the entry requirements under quarantine restrictions, according to police.
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In consultation with Canada Border Services Agency, police arrested the man and his vessel was seized for failure to report inwards. A search of the boat “confirmed that the trip was simply personal in nature and no other criminality was involved,” police said.
The man was fined $1,000 under the Quarantine Act and released. He was also required to pay an extra $1,000 for the return of his boat and to leave Canada immediately.
The woman was taken to Crescent Beach Marina, where she received a ride to her vehicle. Police said her plan was to self-isolate for 14 days and get a COVID-19 test if she experiences any symptoms.
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