Island Gathering - Michigan/Windsor (May 2)???

cmdionne, no problem either way. About 1 week before the post, I will post meeting times and the marina locations where I will be shuttling people from as well as directions on how to get there from the border.

I would offer to pick up folks on the U.S. side with my boat, but I suspect that would land me in jail!!!!! Since you have that nice little jeep you shouldn't have any trouble coming across the boarder. Perhaps there might even be some car-pool opportunities as there are a few folks from Michigan who are attending. Try to cross the boarder with a guy who doesn't have a criminal record :D

Glad to hear that you are able to come. You have enough degrees under your belt to understand the lack of significance of any graduation ceremony :D

I'm married to an American - I could never figure out the fixation you folks have with the 'high school' graduation. In Canada, you get a little speech from both parents: 'You Graduated Highschool, good now get a job or go to college/university!!!!!, Oh and this would be a good time to start paying your share of the car insurance....'
 
what required to get across the board legaly and can i bring some of my knives
 
kgd said:
cmdionne, no problem either way. About 1 week before the post, I will post meeting times and the marina locations where I will be shuttling people from as well as directions on how to get there from the border.

I would offer to pick up folks on the U.S. side with my boat, but I suspect that would land me in jail!!!!! Since you have that nice little jeep you shouldn't have any trouble coming across the boarder. Perhaps there might even be some car-pool opportunities as there are a few folks from Michigan who are attending. Try to cross the boarder with a guy who doesn't have a criminal record :D

Glad to hear that you are able to come. You have enough degrees under your belt to understand the lack of significance of any graduation ceremony :D

I'm married to an American - I could never figure out the fixation you folks have with the 'high school' graduation. In Canada, you get a little speech from both parents: 'You Graduated Highschool, good now get a job or go to college/university!!!!!, Oh and this would be a good time to start paying your share of the car insurance....'
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I could make it over in my jeep, the only thing is that I've got a nice big crack across my windshield at the moment, and I have a feeling that people at the border might not like that all that much. It would likely be enough for a secondary screening, which would probably limit the knives I could bring over. Something like "It just happened yesterday, I've got an appointment to get it fixed" might help.

Perhaps I could manage to borrow a car or get my windshield fixed before, if not I could perhaps carpool with some other people.

My buddy thinks he's gonna be home from college by then, in which case we could take his boat over. He's from Windsor originally (dual citizen now) and getting his degree in environmental health, so I'm sure he'd be interested in meeting you and hearing about your research.

I really don't know what the border has to say about bringing knives over, I've never crossed with anything more than a pocket knife and I've never declared it because in my mind it's not a "weapon". Unless we bring the boat, I'm likely going to limit the goodies I bring over to probably a SAK and my JK EWOK (under 3" blade, very traditional looking, I hope it would be able to stay "under the radar").

You're right about the criminal record thing too, last time I crossed for a party my girlfriend's sorority was having in Windsor (so the 19 and 20 year olds could drink too) I guess I looked shady on the bus and I got called out so they could run my record. My g/f was pretty embarassed as I was the only one on the bus that got called out. But I'm squeaky clean, so no problems there.

Eastr77 All you need to get across the border is a Drivers Liscense and a Birth Certificate, although a passport will work as well. It's not really getting into Canada that's the problem, it's getting back into the US.
 
I crossed the border with 12 swords and about 20 knives after a show at Gibralter. As long as they are all legal in Canada (No pushknives, autos/assisted, or butterflies) you should have no problem. The only thing they may turn you around on is if it looks like you are going over on business to sell them. (like if you had a couple dozen SAK's still in the boxes.) Just be straight with customs if confronted and tell them you are meeting for a BBQ with friends (NOT internet friends!!!) who have the same hobby as you. Make sure you know our "real names" and where you are driving to.



***** edit

I just read that you were more worried about comming BACK to the U.S. side.... those guys are "wildcards" over there.... I've been turned back about 10 times for stupid reasons like "not having enough money in my wallet", "not having a good enough reason to go over. (I guess checking out surplus stores was not a good enough reason)" and some not so stupid reasons like "wearing a holloween costume complete with facial prosthetics", "laughing at them for stupid questions", "cursing at them for stupid questions", "throwing a cheeseburger at the booth" and "not remembering who's car I was driving".

HEY! Do you want ME to come pick you up?

Rick
 
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cmdionne said:
I can't believe you threw a cheeseburger at the booth. Wow
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Yeah.... I was around 24-25yrs old when I did that... set me back about 3.5hrs in customs.... I wouldn't dare try that, nowadays.:eek:.... probably get shot.
 
cmdionne said:
Not if you have a driver's license and birth certificate.
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thanks then i am in. i can bring my 3 fav fixed blades and my sak multi tool and sak forester. i will be coming from spencer IN. is there a time posted i might have missed it
 
Yes no problem for knives. As Rick indicated, bali's are illegal here as are switchblades. Folding knives can be a bit blurry if they are auto-assisted. Fixed knives and SAK's are no problem. My recommend is stick to them or a simple folder. Leave the auto assists at home. Nobody at W&SS gives a poop about that stuff anyhow!

When going though customs, make sure that your knives are packed away with your camping gear. Don't wear knives on your person. Don't have a fixed blade on your belt of have a clip hanging from your shirt of pants pocket. This isn't illegal to have in Canada, but you don't want to be wearing this stuff when going though the border. You might be asked to get out of the car for a search. Make sure they are secured in your sheath. Try not to have a bag full of knives in sheath, but include some other gear with you like a fuel stove or picnic stuff.

They will be looking for: 1) guns; 2) alcohol; 3) cigarettes (boxes or cartons not a package used for personal use) 4) drugs. These are the things that are on their radar for smuggling. Obviously don't have any of these things with you or in your vehicle. Absolutely do not bring firearms. Do not bring firecrackers. Don't bring liquor or more than 2 packages of cigarettes. These will get you turned around. If you are asked if you are bringing in any weapons - the answer is no. Knives are not weapons, they are camping gear. Your answer is you are bringing in camping gear for a bit of hiking. This is the truth - stick with it.

Birth certificate and legitimate photo-id are acceptable, a passport is better. As mentioned, the U.S. will give you a harder time on re-entry than Canada. The U.S. likes passports better than birth certificates. Legally they can't refuse a legitimate citizen entry back into their country. However, if they don't like you that can make your life miserable. When returning to the U.S. don't bring back any food items especially fruits of vegetables. For some reason, Americans fear fruits and vegetables. That is why they keep wanting a to build a fence across their boarders. To stop the floating apples from coming across there :D
 
kgd said:
Folding knives can be a bit blurry if they are auto-assisted.
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For a folder.... hold it (closed) upside down with the spine facing down and give it a quick "dropping dip" to try and open the blade. If the blade slides open the slightest bit.... it is illegal and will be taken away. (BTW... most storebought folding knives will fail this test... its a crock... and only enforced if you are being a prick)


kgd said:
but include some other gear with you like a fuel stove or picnic stuff.
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No fuel cannisters/stoves allowed in the tunnel crossing... they take this one seriously... though, they don't stop you until AFTER you're through... never understood that one.

kgd said:
When returning to the U.S. don't bring back any food items especially fruits of vegetables. For some reason, Americans fear fruits and vegetables. That is why they keep wanting a to build a fence across their boarders. To stop the floating apples from coming across there :D
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No meat either.... including MacDonalds burgers..... and don't throw em at the booth when they refuse you entry... they don't like that.


Rick
 
Magnussen said:
No fuel cannisters/stoves allowed in the tunnel crossing... they take this one seriously... though, they don't stop you until AFTER you're through... never understood that one.
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I don't understand that one either given that your vehicle has 75L of the flammable stuff.....:rolleyes:

The bridge gives you a prettier view anyhow!!!
 
Alright, so bring a couple of knives that "I'm going to use to cut up my lunch with", and pack em away with my tarp and crazy creek and mess kit / whatnot.

No booze? I'm surprised to hear this, as I would think that you would be able to bring "personal use" quantities of booze in as you can cigarettes. Wanted to bring over some Michigan microbrew to share with everybody.

I might actually be +2 for the trip. My best friend is going to be home on leave from the Navy (he just spent the last week in the Northern Pacific, something to due with a satellite launch?:p)

Anyway hoping I can make it, looks promising. Looking forward to enjoying a nice Cohiba while I'm over there too.

The worst I got hassled is when I was coming back to the US from an impromptu three day trip to Toronto. Four of us in a small pickup truck (jumpseats) and none of us had any luggage. They had a hard time understanding that it is possible to spend three days somewhere without any luggage.

EDIT: Also make sure you know who the vehicle you're in is registered too, if it doesn't match your ID they usually start to ask some questions.
 
Officially - booze is not allowed on the park. If you choose to conviently disobey this rule, just use discretion. Don't drink out of a beer bottle or can, pour your liquor into your bottle pot cup or equivalent. I will probably bring some spirits,wine and a few brews along. I can provide directions to the nearest 'beer store' which has 100's of beers in stock. One of the advantages of having regulation of beer stores in Ontario is that each Ontario Beer store is stocked to the nines with different types of beer.

In all truth you can probably get away with bringing in a small amount of booze for personal consumption. You will need a name and address of who you are staying with if questioned further. I can give you my details by pm if that is required. If they ask you if you have alcohol and you say no and they search you and you have some. Well game over. You will get the rubber glove, probe the anus, treatment.

One thing you can do and enjoy while in Canada is buy some cuban cigars. There are some mighty fine American cigars, but cuban cigars have the mystique of being hand rolled by genuine virgins (that was the 50's slogan). You may just find that the naughty pleasure of smoking a cuban cigar is in fact no better than some of the fine American brands I've had in my lifetime. Then again you might come to a different opinion on that. Again, I can provide some info on who sells them...I can pick one up for folks who confirm they are coming....Just send me a pm. There is an age restriction - you must be 18 years old to buy tobacco products in Canada and I won't give you one if you are younger than that sorry...

Man - I feel like the prissy teacher here. I think we will have fun. The island has lots of room and tonnes of trails that people can go play on. There are designated fire pits in different areas that you can use. The forest is a unique mix of old growth forest and swamp that is difficult to find in S. Ont. or Michigan. It will be a great time. We can all have a BBQ later in the afternoon.

Cmdionne - I routinely go the other way - to the US and bring about 4 knives distributed in different pockets of my packs. I was actually pulled over and searched once but the customs dude didn't have any problem with the four knives - they were packed in different pockets and spots of the backpack and I had other gear in there as well like flashlights and stuff.

All this activity on this thread is getting me excited about it. I think this is going to be a good time!
 
i dont like autos or butterflys dont owen any and never will they serve me no purpose. i only care for my folders aka saks and lock back spyderco. and fixed blades mine are for bush work aka enjoyment not for show or fighting. cause no matter how good you are there is always someone better:D..thanks for the info will see you there.
 
I'll likely be coming over by boat anyway, so we'll have a little more leeway. I'm pretty sure we're allowed to have booze onboard when we hit Canadian soil because the boat has a head and a galley. (This is how I understood the rules to be). If the boat does become a definite, I'll post here to see if any other Detroiters want to hitch a ride over with us. It's a 25' sailboat so we can take quite a few people.


Once I know I'll PM you regarding some stogies, or else I might just bring something from here (I've enjoyed Cuban cigars both in Cuba and in Mexico and the UK, and I actually do enjoy them) The thing is I was spoiled when I was in undergrad by an excellent local tobacconist in Ann Arbor, and there isn't really anything comparable on the East side of Detroit.
 
one more thing i hope you guys dont mind i am hearing inpaired i carry on conversion fine but dont always catch what is said so please dont take offens:thumbup:
 
Oh, boy... I had a girlfriend who was "hearing impared"..... all that meant was that she could see what I was saying from across a crowded, noisy bar... That got me into a lot of trouble... Can you read lips? I'll hire you to keep an eye on Ken and Jimi to make sure they ain't talkin' bout me.

Rick
 
eastr77 said:
one more thing i hope you guys dont mind i am hearing inpaired i carry on conversion fine but dont always catch what is said so please dont take offens:thumbup:
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If Magnussen shows up, you're probably better off. :rolleyes:, although he may throw a cheeseburger at you. :(

JK, Rick. I do want to emphasize what Rick said about gravity knives. Many folders can be opened with a 'flick' of the wrist and if so, they are illegal. This includes Benchmade AFCK's for example. Sold in sporting goods stores here, but if you have a warranty claim and send them to Benchmade, they can and do, get seized by Customs on those grounds when coming back to Canada.

Doc
 
Does this include holding the blade and dropping? I'm thinking about my spyderco's that are my normal EDC folder. Of course if I'm bringing a fixed blade or two I guess I could get by with just a SAK for folders.

However, I do find myself over in Windsor a fair bit, and could my spyderco's be seized because they can be "spyder dropped"?
 
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