Channel crossing - ICC needed?

Nigelhargreaves

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I'm planning my first channel crossing Dover to Boulogne. Do I need the International certificate of Competence or will the Powerboat 2 suffice?
 
not The Rance or Cean Canal

The latest edition of the Channel Pilot says that an ICC is required in the Rance (though it does go on to suggest that maybe you should ignore it :) ). I know the book's not the fount of all knowledge, but did this change recently?

(No controversy over the OP's question of course - no qualifications needed for him)

Pete
 
...in other words, ICC is not required for coastal French waters but required (with CEVNI endorsement) for inland waterways.

The CEVNI endorsement is only required on French waterways that are controlled by VNF. The Rance and Vilane are not VNF waterways.
ICC not required for boats that navigate to France but are if the boat is trailed across and launched in France.
 
If the OP would like a warm fuzzy feeling by having an ICC, then he can apply to the RYA for one: his Powerboat Level 2 will qualify him for an ICC. It is fairly unlikely that any French authorities will ask to see it. For example, we've sailed extensively in the Med for the past six summers and have never been asked for our ICCs. Indeed, all we've ever been asked to produce are the SSR, insurance documents and passports.
 
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ICC not required for boats that navigate to France but are if the boat is trailed across and launched in France.

Oh dear I may no longer be going to France by Ferry!

Your evidence is ?

I am not a party to the locked advice from the RYA for France has this changed recently?

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/countries/Pages/default.aspx


Does this mean all those dinghy sailors that go to world championships etc now need an ICC?

This advice is suggesting that boat registration is a requirement trailed or sailed but not an ICC?

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/Pages/boatingabroadpaperwork.aspx


Am I am off the hook here as I arrive by water not via the tunnel?

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/icc/Pages/eocrequired.aspx
 
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It could be said that the ICC is a condensed version of Coastal Skipper.

Huh? My parents with no serious navigation experience popped down to Lymington and did theirs in half a day. My mother is a good sailing helm but has practically zero manoeuvring experience as my dad always does it; she passed and described the test as "really noddy".

Pete
 
Oh dear I may no longer be going to France by Ferry!

Your evidence is ?

I am not a party to the locked advice from the RYA for France has this changed recently?

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/countries/Pages/default.aspx


Does this mean all those dinghy sailors that go to world championships etc now need an ICC?

This advice is suggesting that boat registration is a requirement trailed or sailed but not an ICC?

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/Pages/boatingabroadpaperwork.aspx


Am I am off the hook here as I arrive by water not via the tunnel?

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/icc/Pages/eocrequired.aspx

This is going back a bit, but a friend had his Laser entered on the small ships' register so he could to take part in a regatta at Spa.
 
It could be said that the ICC is a condensed version of Coastal Skipper. The Theory required is to that level, while the practical part focuses on boat-handling in a confined space, so doing a Theory Course and then the ICC would do you no harm.

The RYA give it out to any holders of a Day Skipper ticket who ask (& pay if not members). They argue that DS more than covers the requirements. The ISA did the same last time I looked. Has that changed?

The requirements I've seen for the exam can hardly be described as 'focusing' on boat handling. Get off a pontoon, turn the boat and get back onto one.
 
Huh? My parents with no serious navigation experience popped down to Lymington and did theirs in half a day. My mother is a good sailing helm but has practically zero manoeuvring experience as my dad always does it; she passed and described the test as "really noddy".

Pete
I did it a few years ago as I needed it for chartering in Croatia. It was done over two days, the first being for training/familiarising, the second for assessment. The first day was spent buoy bouncing, pontoon bashing and turning 360degrees on the spot, the second consisted of a two-hour written Theory test in the morning, followed by an assessment of picking up moorings and coming alongside pontoons both hammerhead and inside, in a particularly tight marina. There is supposed to be a universal standard covering all countries signed up to this qualification, but perhaps the standards are applied more strictly in Ireland.
 
There is supposed to be a universal standard covering all countries signed up to this qualification, but perhaps the standards are applied more strictly in Ireland.

The RYA's syllabus is on the third page of this PDF: http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/cruising/Web Documents/Boating Abroad/ICC Form.pdf

Within that there's room for the level of rigour to vary a bit; my parents' experience on their day was that it was fairly lax and casual.

Pete
 
I... but perhaps the standards are applied more strictly in Ireland.

I doubt it, but I can well believe they string the thing out to make more money.

Anyway, you've pretty much defeated your own argument re ICC Vs Coastal Skipper. The RYA DS is 5 days theory plus 5 days practical. The ISA DS is equivalent (5 day practical but theory is slightly different I believe). RYA Coastal Skipper is another 5 + 5 and that's assuming you mean the modern defn of Coastal Skipper without the independent exam. It's implausible that 20 days worth of training is in any way equivalent to 2 days worth.

Anyway, there's a pretty clear summary of what is expected on the ISA website.

http://www.sailing.ie/Portals/0/ICC/Guide to the ICC.pdf
 
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