Cherbourg & Douane

[Daydream believer]

I know this has been done to death, but I have just made some holiday plans with the family. I am going to meet wife, daughter & her boyfriend in St Peter Port on 11 June for a few days. Normally I would sail Single Handed to Boulogne & along French coast & get there a few days early. However, Boulogne is a no no because they cannot accept visitors & there is no customs post for us there.
So plan is to get to Portsmouth or Cowes (Just hope I can get a berth) then cross to Cherbourg & check in & out of France there so I can time my passage through the Alderney race.
I do not want to go Portsmouth to St PP in one go as I do not want to end up getting the tide wrong through the race & it is a slog being SH at 75 years of age.

So does anyone know if there is a customs post at Cherbourg, that us sailors will be able to use, within a simple walk, or even bike ride from the marina. I am hoping that by June a few sailors will have trodden the route & can fill us forumites in with any special details

I imagine with the relaxation of covid the crossing will be like the M25 at rush hour & St PP will be pretty full. It is pretty close to the bank holiday as well.
That is another issue as my daughter & boyfriend will rent a B & B whilst my wife will come aboard with me. So stopping at another port is not an option.

 

[Lightwave395]

Why not go Solent to Alderney and wait for the tide right next to the race or maybe better, the Swinge ?
Easy day sail from Portsmouth or Yarmouth and no entry issues, Guernsey just 20 odd miles away through Swinge

 

[Daydream believer]

Why not go Solent to Alderney and wait for the tide right next to the race or maybe better, the Swinge ?
Easy day sail from Portsmouth or Yarmouth and no entry issues, Guernsey just 20 odd miles away through Swinge

No marina at Alderney

 

[Bobc]

I suspect that you'll have to walk round to the ferry terminal, which is about 30 mins walk each way.

 

[DJE]

Recent experience here. Jump to about 6 minutes into the video. Seems like no problem at all.

 

[rjandhl]

Clearance instructions for Cherbourg as a port of arrival are detailed on the Cherbourg marina website.

 

[DJE]

Clearance instructions for Cherbourg as a port of arrival are detailed on the Cherbourg marina

Clearance instructions for Cherbourg as a port of arrival are detailed on the Cherbourg marina website.

Here?

Votre escale à Port Chantereyne

 

[rjandhl]

Yes, click on the box on the left hand side

 

[wilkinsonsails]

If you go into the marina office in Cherbourg ,they’ll phone the customs office for you. They can come round to the boat and save the walk

 

[ashtead]

Interesting the last time I saw the customs who were quite friendly etc at cherbough marina in 2020 once they saw we had a British passport they had no interest in us even though I expected at least a few questions more to pass the time of day - I wonder if the same relaxed attitude prevails though.

 

[Sailfree]

We used to do a Scuttlebutt Cruise to Cherbourg on a September weekend.

I have fond memories.

How times have changed and IMHO not for the better.

 

[st599]

If you go into the marina office in Cherbourg ,they’ll phone the customs office for you. They can come round to the boat and save the walk

At the moment.

But from later in the year, you need to get your fingerprints taken at the biometric scanner on entry and exit (and from sometime next year the same entering and exiting the UK). I doubt that will be at the marina.

 

[LadyInBed]

I've always found that the staff in the marina office are very helpful. I've downloaded the form in their link but will still go to them on arrival to pay dues, get toilet and wifi codes and ask them what the procedure is.

 

[migs]

So how does the procedure work at ports other than Cherbourg? (See this from Yachting Monthly)

“Skippers arriving in France from the UK or the Channel Islands will now be able to enter the country through any port, following work by the Cruising Association (CA).”

UK cruisers can now enter France through any port - Yachting Monthly

How many (and which) other ports are covered by the Cherbourg entry form?

Is there a list of ports with similar forms; and which ports are covered by these forms?

Do you need to have your passports stamped on entry (and exit)?

How is this done at small ports, and would this involve significant travel?

Can you exit from a different port to your arrival port?

I couldn’t find answers to these questions on line (e.g. RYA site etc.), but maybe somebody here can help?

 

[st599]

So how does the procedure work at ports other than Cherbourg? (See this from Yachting Monthly)

“Skippers arriving in France from the UK or the Channel Islands will now be able to enter the country through any port, following work by the Cruising Association (CA).”

UK cruisers can now enter France through any port - Yachting Monthly

How many (and which) other ports are covered by the Cherbourg entry form?

Is there a list of ports with similar forms; and which ports are covered by these forms?

Do you need to have your passports stamped on entry (and exit)?

How is this done at small ports, and would this involve significant travel?

Can you exit from a different port to your arrival port?

I couldn’t find answers to these questions on line (e.g. RYA site etc.), but maybe somebody here can help?

YM were wrong - each French region is different, they extrapolated from the form for Normandy.

Cherbourg form is for Cherbourg. Each large marina in Britanny has its own form.

Passports stamped on Entry and Exit, until the EU Entry and Exit System goes live. Then it's all on a central database, but as said requires you to use a biometric scanner and have fingerprints and biometric data checked against passport.

The main marinas in Britanny are organising it, elsewhere Port of Entry only, you can't just go in to any port any longer.

 

[Lightwave395]

Heading out of the Solent down to Roscoff Wednesday, I'll report back on the entry procedure there

 

[st599]

Heading out of the Solent down to Roscoff Wednesday, I'll report back on the entry procedure there

http://www.plaisancebaiedemorlaix.com/sites/default/files/preavis_roscoff_0.pdf

And the exit procedure - you need the matching stamp.

 

[ashtead]

What happens if no exit stamp available ? Let’s say you are park up the river Dreux? On anchor say and need to depart ?

 

[Fr J Hackett]

What happens if no exit stamp available ? Let’s say you are park up the river Dreux? On anchor say and need to depart ?

You will be obliged to get your passports stamped with an exit date it is up to individuals to arrange their itineraries such that they leave from an appropriate port. Failure to do so will almost certainly result in some sort of fine and or exclusion the next time you attempt to go to an EU country.

 

[Daydream believer]

What happens if no exit stamp available ? Let’s say you are park up the river Dreux? On anchor say and need to depart ?

You could be considered to have exceeded the 90 day stay & may be fined when trying to re enter, if not having entry refused altogether
Therefore, it is up to you to go to a customs point & get checked out.
Edit
Sorry crossed with post #19