PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Frederique Pichon and Benoit Lafleur spent $1,000 to fly 60 miles from Montreal so they could tend to their sailboat, Mia, for the first time since the U.S.-Canada border closed to nonessential travel in March 2020.

“It’s sad because we see all the boats there,” said Pichon, 52, noting dozens of boats still in winter storage at the Plattsburgh Boat Basin Marina, many of which are labeled as being from Quebec or Montreal.

“It’s like a cemetery,” he said. “So, it’s sad. C’est triste.”

This week, New York Sen. Charles Schumer also visited the marina, where he repeated calls for action by the U.S. to at least open the border to Canadian visitors if an agreement between the countries is not reached soon.

“Now don’t get me wrong, my top priority would be a bilateral agreement with Canada so we can flow both ways,” Schumer said at a press conference Tuesday. “But if Canada is still intransigent on that, we should do what we can do and do this on our own.”

While the border remains closed to most vehicle traffic, Canadian travelers such as Pichon and Lafleur can fly back and forth. The Canadian government this week dropped its quarantine requirement for vaccinated travelers returning to the country.

The physical 5,525-mile border, however, remains closed to nonessential travel until at least July 21. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference in British Columbia Thursday that it’s unlikely to open even then, particularly for travelers from outside Canada.

“I can tell you right now that’s not going to happen for quite a while,” Trudeau said, according to CNN. “We need to continue to ensure the safety of Canadians.”

In the spring, Schumer, the Senate majority leader, called for both countries to work together on a plan to reopen the border.

The only progress on Canada’s end has been the lifting of the quarantine rule for vaccinated Canadians returning home. Trudeau has said plans to fully reopen the border will be announced in the coming weeks.

Schumer said Tuesday that allowing Canadians to enter the United States will “put pressure on Canada to open it both ways, let’s hope.”

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, who co-chairs the House Northern Border Caucus, has also called for unilateral action, with immediate moves to allow Canadians with family, property or business dealings in the U.S. to cross into this country.

Before the pandemic, an estimated 2 million Canadian travelers spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the economy in northern New York.

Last year, amid a COVID-19 lockdown that closed the border to all but essential travel, traffic at two major regional ports of entry was down 98%.

Schumer pointed to vaccination rates in New York and elsewhere in the U.S. that have been followed by declines in case numbers. As in the U.S., COVID-19 case numbers are down significantly in Canada, as vaccination rates climb higher.

“So, it’s clear that an agreement can and should be reached to accommodate the border communities without compromising the fight against COVID-19,” he said.

Owners of the Plattsburgh marina, who also own four other marinas, said the vast majority of people who store their boats with them are Canadian.

They said it is illogical not to allow property owners to cross.

North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas said those who can afford to fly will visit.

Still, he noted the boats grounded at the Plattsburgh Boat Basin — a sight that translates to “campgrounds and restaurants and all kinds of other businesses who typically would be depending on our Canadian visitors who are just up there.”

“We can almost see them,” he said, “but we can’t get there and they can’t get here, and we’re past the point where that’s necessary.”

Pichon, who lives in Montreal, and Lafleur, 57, who lives in St.-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a city at the northernmost tip of Lake Champlain, said they are disappointed and discouraged with the Canadian government’s decision to postpone reopening the border.

Lafleur said he’s been coming to Lake Champlain in New York for more than 30 years, adding that his two sons, now 30 and 27, were “born on the lake” and enjoyed wake boarding, fishing and tennis in the area.

Lafleur, a teacher with summers off, said he and Pichon plan to spend the rest of the season on their boat, which was set to go in the lake later this week.

They also made the decision to visit so they could perform necessary maintenance.

“It’s like a house, so we have to do that,” said Pichon. “So, we decided to come.”