I have sailed into Canada a few times both on the Great Lakes and the Gulf
of Maine (NB and NS). I have also sailed into the Bahamas, the Virgin
Islands (British and US), Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, St. Vincent,
and Grenada.

The flag thing is the easy part. When entering a foreign port you fly the Q
flag from your starboard spreader to indicate that you are quarantined and
that no one can come aboard or leave the vessel except the skipper to go to
check in. The skipper goes to check in with the customs and the immigration
authorities on behalf of his vessel and his crew. When the proper check in
has been completed the Q flag is lowered and a courtesy flag is raised in
its place. The courtesy flag is a miniature version of the national flag of
the country checked into. When your visit is completed then you need to
check out of the country and lower the flag as you leave.

I cannot speak accurately about the fees involved because it has been a few
years since I have been to any of the above countries except Canada. There
are fees usually assessed to check into a country and some countries also
have a cruising fee which is based on the time that you will be in their
waters and sometimes on a per person basis.

Checking into Canada is relatively easy, usually during a call to the
customs people they will ask you the usual questions of do you have any
drugs, weapons, etc and how much booze are you carrying. If you answer
everything to their satisfaction they will check their computers to see if
you are some crazy and then they will give you a cruising permit number. You
have to give that number to any coasties who ask.

Ansley Sawyer
SV Pacem