Activist Canadian Sailor Is Making Money in the U.S. Is That Legal?

Anchoring Advocate Advertises U.S. Gigs as Migrant Crackdown Intensifies

This is the profile picture for Wally Moran’s “Sail to the Sun” Facebook page. The red boat, Moran’s own Gypsy Wind is shown leading the pack during one his annual paid rallies on the Intracoastal Waterway.

“I have no way of knowing where Wally is. From what I understand he's on a boat traveling all over the world.”—Mike Spanos, president, SeaWater Pro.

Canadian anchoring-rights activist Wally Moran spends much of the year living aboard a boat in Florida. This has some fellow cruisers wondering whether Moran, a foreigner, is obeying immigration laws when he sells marine products or acts as a paid rally guide.

Right now, Moran is politically active, campaigning against 2025 Florida anchoring legislation. At the same time, federal and state authorities are cracking down on immigration violations, and a new rule has been enacted that specifically targets Canadians.

Moran has worked hard over the years to raise his profile as a crusader for anchoring rights, having become a public figure under both the ordinary and legal¹ definitions of the word. He says he is president of the Cruisers Rights Network of North America, a group created by him.

His prominence means that Moran’s paying gigs are likelier than ever to invite official notice. That might be bad news for him if those income-producing enterprises are not authorized under a work visa program for foreigners.

According to Moran’s Rallies to the Sun website, Moran has been leading “Rallies to the Sun” every year since 2014, having guided dozens of boats at an advertised price of $995 each.

Moran is promoting yet another rally for later his year, advising, “Best to sign up now before all the spaces are taken.” Rally slots are taken mostly by inexperienced owners seeking the safety of a group on their first transit of the Intracoastal Waterway from the Chesapeake Bay to South Florida.

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His two other gigs are sales roles for Mantus Marine anchors and Seawater Pro watermakers. Moran advertises on his Scotty McFrugal Facebook page that he is an “authorized dealer” for both companies (see below).

Moran cruises on a Dufour 34 called Gypsy Wind, anchored at Daytona Beach at the moment.

Wally Moran lists his address as a private home in Annapolis, Maryland. He apparently controls a corporation in Wyoming called North Channel Sailing LLC. He had a Florida corporation called Cruisers Rights Network of North America, which was listed as non-profit and is now inactive. Once, when asked how he processes sales of marine products, Moran said it was done through a Canadian corporation.

If Moran lacks some type of U.S. visa allowing him to earn money in the U.S., these activities are likely unlawful, according to immigration lawyers consulted for this story.

Scott T. Pollock and Associates of Chicago defined “unauthorized work” with this paragraph:

For foreign nationals, working illegally in the U.S. can be anything you do for a living, including running a part-time home business. Even a hobby you work on during your spare time could be in violation of the law. Something as simple as buying and selling through eBay or continuing an online business while living in the U.S. could be considered unauthorized work if you’ve been living in the U.S. for more than 31 days.

Moran is online a lot. He has Facebook groups, at least one website and a Substack publication like this one. He posts on a variety of other people’s social media and boating forums. His status as a Canadian doing business in the U.S. gets mentioned from time to time; occasionally someone challenges him.

One such challenge came from someone with the social media handle “Sailing Kyan II.” Loose Cannon has interviewed this individual, who has asked that his name not be used because of the potential hassle of having to deal with online attacks by Moran or his supporters.

The kerfuffle played out after a cruiser posted a question on the Cruisers Rights Network Facebook page—one of Moran’s—asking whether Moran was a dealer for Mantus anchors. Moran said yes and promised to send her pricing by private message.

That’s when Sailing Kyan II posted a question of his own: “You’re Canadian. How can you sell in the USA?” Here, Moran could have simply referenced his U.S. visa allowing him to conduct sales.

Instead, he deleted the comment and chastized Sailing Kyan. Moran set Sailing Kyan’s status to “post approval,” meaning that Moran would review any further comments by Sailing Kyan before they posted.

These are pieces from an exchange between Moran and Sailing Kyan.

Jeremy Richards is a U.S. immigration lawyer who specializes in helping Canadian citizens conduct business in the United States. Richards said the penalty for a foreign national that operates a guide service or sells products without authorization is deportation with the possibility of being barred from ever returning.

Richards encouraged Moran to get in touch with his firm to discuss options, including obtaining an E2 visa specifically for Canadian investors looking to start or manage a business in the U.S.

The Richards interview happened before the latest wrinkle in the Trump Administration’s battle against illegal immigration. Recently, an announcement was made that applies to many Canadian snowbirds, presumably to include liveaboard cruisers.

So, does Wally Moran have a U.S. work permit or not?

Wally, please just post a copy of your work papers on any one of the platforms you control. It will be re-posted here as part of a follow-up story.

A January 20 decree, signed by President Trump, declared that foreign nationals visiting the U.S. for more than 30 days would have to register with the government in order to avoid penalties. The decree specifically mentioned Canadians, who heretofore had been exempted from the rule.

The decree won’t apply to all Canadians. Those who have flown in, for example, have been issued an electronic visa through their airline that meets U.S. requirements. Many of those who came by land, however, are not routinely issued that type of visa at the border.

As part of registering, Canadians will be asked to write a summary of activities they have engaged in or expect to. Answers are considered to be sworn under penalty of perjury. Successful applicants will be issued paperwork they will be expected to carry with them while in the U.S.

For Moran, the irony is that he has history of public support of Donald Trump on social media, yet Trump policies may prove more harmful to him than anything done by previous administrations.

The question is: Could his status also jeopardize the companies whose products he sells? Again, assuming no work permit, the letter of federal law suggests it may be a possibility:

Title 8 USC 1324a(a)(1)(A) makes it unlawful for any person or other entity to hire, recruit or refer for a fee, for employment in the United States an alien knowing the alien is an unauthorized alien, as defined in subsection 1324a(h)3…

A person or other entity who uses a contract, subcontract or exchange, entered into, renegotiated, or extended after November 6, 1986, to obtain the labor of an alien in the United States, knowing that the alien is an unathorized alien…shall be considered to have hired the alien for employment in the United States in violation of paragraph (1)(A)…

The term “unauthorized alien” means with respect to the employment of an alien at a particular time, that the alien is not at the time either (A) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or (B) authorized to be so employed by this chapter or by the Attorney General.

The president of Mantus Marine would not respond to an email, but Mike Spanos of SeaWater Pro was willing to answer questions. Spanos was asked whether he was worried about any potential legal jeopardy from his company’s relationship with Moran, given the Trump Administration’s enhanced enforcement policy. This was Spanos’ answer:

I am a Trump supporter and I have gold status with the RNC. SeaWater Pro is a small company with five employees. All employees that work here are U.S. citizens. We also have affiliates all over the world that do not require work permits. We have no way to know where Mr. Moran is located, nor do we have any way of tracking every affiliate’s location…

I have no way of knowing where Wally is. From what I understand he's on a boat traveling all over the world.

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1. Cornell Law School: A public figure, according to Gertz v. Robert Welch , is an individual who has assumed roles of especial prominence in the affairs of a society or thrust themselves into the forefront of particular public controversies to influence the resolution of the issues involved.

The law firm of Lubin Austermuehle Ditommaso: “The Supreme Court has defined public figures as those who hold government office and those who have achieved a role of special prominence in the affairs of society by reason of notoriety of their achievements or vigor and success with which they seek public’s attention.”