French inspect life jackets...

Seven Spades

Seven Spades

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In this months PBO there is a letter from a chap boarded by French customs and he mentions that they inspected his flares and life jackets.

I was wondering what they are inspecting the life jackets for, because as far as I can see they do not have any dates at all on them, except the sealed gas bottles and those dates are not use by dates they are manufacturing dates. Were they inspecting to check if he had life jackets?
 
If like other European countries (including non EU Norway), they were probably just checking that there were lifejackets for all persons onboard. Fairly standard stuff.
 
[ QUOTE ]
but beyond their remit i believe for UK Reg boats

[/ QUOTE ]I think you're correct but can't be sure. I don't believe that small UK reg pleasure yachts are required to have any lifejackets or flares, are they?

Or are they required to have lifejackets and flares when sailing in French (other countries) waters? Does anyone know the rules?

At the back of my mind I have an idea that Brit yachts need not carry flares but if they do they must be in date. Is this correct? I could be completely wrong.
 
[ QUOTE ]
but beyond their remit i believe for UK Reg boats

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, right. So you're going to tell them that are you? I bet they will find something they can hold you, or impound the boat for (& possibly both)

It's daft enough telling a UK copper how to do his job, but I would definitely think better of doing that to a Froggie Official.
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
but beyond their remit i believe for UK Reg boats

[/ QUOTE ]

Having a red, blue or white ensign does not mean that when abroad you don't have to comply with that country's safety regulations.

In France you have to carry a lifejacket for each person on board - common sense really.
OTOH, carrying a liferaft is not compulsory, but if you do have one it must be 'in date'. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Not really common sense - if you're not required to have one, what do they care if it's in date?
 
If you have a DSC radio you don't need flares in France.
However if you do have flares (even if you did not need to have them), they must be in date otherwise you risk a fine.
 
No, you do not have to comply with French requirements. That is the whole point of having your UK registration because that means your boat has to comply with UK requirements only, which for a pleasure (not commercial/charter) are effectively non-existent as far as equipment is concerned. So they can inspect you but not "impound" or do anything like that. The possible exception is flares where if you do carry them they must be in date. You are also required to show your registration on demand and can get an on the spot fine if you don't. This applies to French boats as well as UK.

This subject has been done to death on the fora and there are many misconceptions. I know many posters don't have time for the RYA but they do publish detailed guidance on the website and published an excellent review article covering the main principles of taking your boat abroad in last Autumn's members magazine.

Happy reading!
 
Been a big thread about this recently.

For a UK flagged boat sailing in French waters the rules vary depending on the size of the boat > or < 7 metres and how far offshore you plan to go > or < than 6nm.

Assuming that you are in a boat greater than 7 m (ie not a small trailer-sailer) and will be more than 6nm from a safe haven (not just > 6nm offshore) then:

1. You must carry in date flares and they must be 3 red hand held; 3 parachute and 2 floating smoke. This is incidentally the standard "coastal" pack bought in French chandlers.

2. You must carry a lifejacket for each crew member.

3. You must carry a liferaft(s) that will accommodate all crew carried - you only do not need one if you are only sailing less than 6nm from a safe haven.

The list is far longer than this but these seem to be the items that the French police look for most often.

The comment above about having a DSC/VHF and not needing flares is incorrect. The new rule is that if you have a DSC/VHF but do not go more than 6nm from a safe haven, you only need 3 red hand held flares. This would only apply to boats that are based in France and doing short coastal hops say in the Gulf of Morbihan or similar.

Obviously you can take the risks if you wish but having witnessed a "dawn raid" by the gendarmes openly carrying guns, I for one am sticking to the rules!!

Also almost every time I have been offshore I have seen the French customs boats out and about just keeping an eye on what is going on although I have not seen them stopping anyone at sea.
 
Deleted -- superseded by previous posts before I sent the post.
 
Sorry, you are absolutely wrong. If your boat is on the UK register it does not have to comply with French registration requirements. Please read the RYA material if you don't believe me. I could summarise it all in about 500 words, but better you get it from an authoritative source.
 
I absolutely support Tranona's post. The international maritime laws are very clear on this subject. If you are flagged to a particular country, it is that country's regulations that you must adhere to, not the country being visited.

There is however, plenty of room for foreign enforcement agencies to either ignore or be ignorant of this legal fact.
 
You are right that at one time NZ tried to impose its own requirements on non-NZ vessels in contravention of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, when challenged I believe it climbed down and did just the same as any other Coastal State under the Convention. The legal concept is "comity" where one state respects the laws and requirements of another. So in the case of ships (including yachts) the responsibility for determining registration requirements lies with the Flag State. The Coastal State will allow foreign flagged vessels to enter territorial waters without demanding the vessel meets local requirements.

If this was not so, you would not be able to go to France from UK on Condor whose ferries are registered either in Singapore or Bermuda (unless they have changed since I last looked).

See the RYA article for a more detailed explanation (pages 17-19)
 
And what exactly is so wrong with having to carry lifejackets for your entire crew /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I do - don't you?

PS: couldn't find anything relevant on the RYA website (no change there), only some drivel about lifejackets on planes.
 
I'm with you, unfortunately we will never convince those that wish to over regulate themselves.
There is nothing wrong with people observing tighter regs that ours, but they should not be stated as 'gospel' for UK registered boats.

PS: From the MCA Site
One of the MCA's current three year safety themes is a Lifejacket Awareness Campaign

We aim to work with our partner organisations, including the RNLI and the RYA, to promote the carriage and wear of lifejackets within the leisure sector.
 
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