Med boaters - will you get to your boat this year?

John100156

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It is just below the 2D Barcode box, '2D barcode expiration date: for instance: '13 July 2021'

We had an excellent trip, going over via Galicia, arrived in the marina around 3pm ES time yesterday.

Similar to my last trip last lockdown, when I travelled from UK to ES in December. Just complete the mandatory Health Declaration Form FCS (v3) which they give you at the check-in booth before boarding. You complete it whilst on board. I ticked 'Tourism' at Item .31 'Purpose for Travel'. The crew collected the form and took your temp when in the car awaiting disembarking, not a rectal but digital thermometer, so all good o_O!

We were about car 3 off the ferry, no waiting at Passport Control, just asked if we were resident or not, I said no, just visiting, passport stamped, very polite officer seemed genuinely happy to welcome us, moved on, no queue at Customs, just asked to stop whilst they checked vehicle Reg-No. on an iPad and then waved on, 10-15 mins in total.

What's more, plenty on Gin & Tonics on Galicia, bar open, very pleasant trip indeed.

Wait in your cabin until your deck is called, no major traffic on stairs , much better than it ever was prior to C19. Remember queueing on stairs prior to car deck doors opening - yuk!

Fantastic drive down from Santander - SCM, so all good 'so far' boat has grown a beard since I was out 5m ago but going for a bum wash on Wednesday, probably new AF later this year but will see, just eager to take her out for a run down the coast, which should be fine for this trip.....!

Expect aggravation getting back to UK, but 10d quarantine will not bother me too much as the majority of the meetings I do nowadays are Teams, we shall see.....

Nicer cabin booked to go back on Galicia in July, had to take an indoor when Bilbao ferry was cancelled at short notice :(
 
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Deleted User YDKXO

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FWIW here's a tip from a boat salesman who I met at the British Motorboat Show on Saturday and who had returned from the Palma boat show earlier in the week. If you've got any reason at all, however tenuous, to claim an exemption from quarantine on the UK passenger locator form, then do so and do not pre pay for the ridiculously expensive 2 + 8 + 5 day tests up front. If you do get interviewed by border control on your return to the UK (not a given) and your claim for exemption gets refused, only then book the tests as required

In case of this salesman, he claimed exemption as a seaman on his return to the UK and did not get interviewed on his return to Gatwick which is why he was standing on a boat at Swanwick on Saturday only a few days after his return from Palma
 

Moonstruck

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FWIW here's a tip from a boat salesman who I met at the British Motorboat Show on Saturday and who had returned from the Palma boat show earlier in the week. If you've got any reason at all, however tenuous, to claim an exemption from quarantine on the UK passenger locator form, then do so and do not pre pay for the ridiculously expensive 2 + 8 + 5 day tests up front. If you do get interviewed by border control on your return to the UK (not a given) and your claim for exemption gets refused, only then book the tests as required

In case of this salesman, he claimed exemption as a seaman on his return to the UK and did not get interviewed on his return to Gatwick which is why he was standing on a boat at Swanwick on Saturday only a few days after his return from Palma
Doesn’t sound like a very clever thing to do to me? Mix with thousands in Majorca and then mix with thousands at a U.K. boat show? If you are going to spread a pandemic that’s probably the best way to do it!
 

jointventureII

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FWIW here's a tip from a boat salesman who I met at the British Motorboat Show on Saturday and who had returned from the Palma boat show earlier in the week. If you've got any reason at all, however tenuous, to claim an exemption from quarantine on the UK passenger locator form, then do so and do not pre pay for the ridiculously expensive 2 + 8 + 5 day tests up front. If you do get interviewed by border control on your return to the UK (not a given) and your claim for exemption gets refused, only then book the tests as required

In case of this salesman, he claimed exemption as a seaman on his return to the UK and did not get interviewed on his return to Gatwick which is why he was standing on a boat at Swanwick on Saturday only a few days after his return from Palma

Loads of British crew over here in Italy have flown back in the last few months, and I think every single one I spoke to said they were asked to show their Seamans book (asked upon their return to the UK, in Italy no one asks anything and you just walk out the airport unchecked in almost all cases...).
 
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Deleted User YDKXO

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Doesn’t sound like a very clever thing to do to me? Mix with thousands in Majorca and then mix with thousands at a U.K. boat show? If you are going to spread a pandemic that’s probably the best way to do it!

I have several responses to that
  1. He said he had already been double vaccinated and according to the UK govt double vaccinated people are significantly less infectious than unvaccinated people. If that isnt the case then the whole UK vaccine strategy is a waste of resources
  2. Both the Palma boat show and the British Motorboat show were conducted strictly in accordance with Covid protocol with temperature tests at the gate, social distancing and masks inside boats. As for thousands of people, make that tens of people. By all accounts the Palma show was dead and when we were at the British show on Sat afternoon, I doubt if there were 20 visitors on the pontoons at any one time
  3. Nobody ever caught Covid outside in the open air
  4. The salesman did not break any law
 

julians

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FWIW here's a tip from a boat salesman who I met at the British Motorboat Show on Saturday and who had returned from the Palma boat show earlier in the week. If you've got any reason at all, however tenuous, to claim an exemption from quarantine on the UK passenger locator form, then do so and do not pre pay for the ridiculously expensive 2 + 8 + 5 day tests up front. If you do get interviewed by border control on your return to the UK (not a given) and your claim for exemption gets refused, only then book the tests as required

In case of this salesman, he claimed exemption as a seaman on his return to the UK and did not get interviewed on his return to Gatwick which is why he was standing on a boat at Swanwick on Saturday only a few days after his return from Palma

sounds like a high risk approach for avoiding isolation and testing requirements to me ........ sounds ripe for getting your collar felt and going through a load of hassle regardless of whether any laws were actually broken or not.

Wonder whether your example got lucky in not being challenged on arrival , or whether there are loads of other similar cases?

note : I am not passing judgement on whether avoiding isolation/testing in this way is morally justified, or whether he was at high risk of passing the virus on.
 

Hooligan

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I have several responses to that
  1. He said he had already been double vaccinated and according to the UK govt double vaccinated people are significantly less infectious than unvaccinated people. If that isnt the case then the whole UK vaccine strategy is a waste of resources
  2. Both the Palma boat show and the British Motorboat show were conducted strictly in accordance with Covid protocol with temperature tests at the gate, social distancing and masks inside boats. As for thousands of people, make that tens of people. By all accounts the Palma show was dead and when we were at the British show on Sat afternoon, I doubt if there were 20 visitors on the pontoons at any one time
  3. Nobody ever caught Covid outside in the open air
  4. The salesman did not break any law
I am afraid many people in the UK seem not to wish to allow people ever go outside again. One has to feel for the utter nonsense of restricting weddings to 30, or , pubs etc etc when football fans are allowed to have street parties or cricket fans allowed to crowd into stadiums. Or what is likely to happen later which may allow bigger weddings but not allow other gatherings. Whole thing is a joke frankly and I think you will find far more common sense in Europe now where they seem to be getting on with it. Just arrived in Romania, showed my vax passport from the NHS and all ok. Very few restrictions left here now and people seem to be acting sensibly. Italy and Greece next week and then back to diseased island for 3 tests and a daily call for 10 days. Joys.
 

Moonstruck

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I have several responses to that
  1. He said he had already been double vaccinated and according to the UK govt double vaccinated people are significantly less infectious than unvaccinated people. If that isnt the case then the whole UK vaccine strategy is a waste of resources
  2. Both the Palma boat show and the British Motorboat show were conducted strictly in accordance with Covid protocol with temperature tests at the gate, social distancing and masks inside boats. As for thousands of people, make that tens of people. By all accounts the Palma show was dead and when we were at the British show on Sat afternoon, I doubt if there were 20 visitors on the pontoons at any one time
  3. Nobody ever caught Covid outside in the open air
  4. The salesman did not break any law
Figures quoted in the European press are stating 16k visitors to the Palma boat show over 4 days!
 

Clancy Moped

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Figures quoted in the European press are stating 16k visitors to the Palma boat show over 4 days!
Me being one of them. Tickets could only be bought in advance (QR code), and they restricted numbers until it was a one in-one out. On entering there was a temperature test, and you had to activate the track and trace app on your phone, plus the QR codes were checked again on the way out. Personally I thought for an outdoor show on the water it felt safe and well run.
 
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Hooligan

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Me being one of them. Tickets could only be bought in advance (QR code), and they restricted numbers until it was a one in-one out. On entering there was a temperature test, and you had to activate the track and trace app on your phone, plus the QR codes were checked again on the way out. Personally I thought for an outdoor show on the water it felt safe and well run.
Aha……but was it ZERO risk……:)
 

Sandydog2

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Medicspot seems expensive, you can get a better deal from Boots!

rtdiagnostics seems good value, for 2+8 tests, has anyone on here successfully used them?
We used them for our day 2 tests last week. Posted at 16.30 pm on Friday, results on Sunday at 14.30 pm. But there are awful reviews for them on Trustpilot so I wouldn't use them before flying. There seem to be 2 main issues. Whichever company is cheapest on the government list gets inundated with orders then it all goes wrong. Also problems with Royal Mail. 'Results in 24 hours' are from the lab receiving them. If they are posted on a Saturday they don't reach the lab until Monday (Tuesday on Bank Holidays). But now more countries are allowing antigen tests for travel from the UK it is much less of a problem. Apparently they can be bought for as little as £20, though £25 is the cheapest I've found.
 

Hooligan

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We used them for our day 2 tests last week. Posted at 16.30 pm on Friday, results on Sunday at 14.30 pm. But there are awful reviews for them on Trustpilot so I wouldn't use them before flying. There seem to be 2 main issues. Whichever company is cheapest on the government list gets inundated with orders then it all goes wrong. Also problems with Royal Mail. 'Results in 24 hours' are from the lab receiving them. If they are posted on a Saturday they don't reach the lab until Monday (Tuesday on Bank Holidays). But now more countries are allowing antigen tests for travel from the UK it is much less of a problem. Apparently they can be bought for as little as £20, though £25 is the cheapest I've found.
In Romania I just did my Antigen test - an enormous £12. If I asked then to come to the hotel that would have risen to £15. PCR would have been £15 as well. I think fair to say one has to look at these tests in the U.K. as either charity or a tax.
 

Sandydog2

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In Romania I just did my Antigen test - an enormous £12. If I asked then to come to the hotel that would have risen to £15. PCR would have been £15 as well. I think fair to say one has to look at these tests in the U.K. as either charity or a tax.
Yes it's still overpriced, but coming down fast. Randox were £120 for a pcr a few weeks ago, then £60, now £43.
 

ari

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I am afraid many people in the UK seem not to wish to allow people ever go outside again. One has to feel for the utter nonsense of restricting weddings to 30, or , pubs etc etc when football fans are allowed to have street parties or cricket fans allowed to crowd into stadiums. Or what is likely to happen later which may allow bigger weddings but not allow other gatherings. Whole thing is a joke frankly and I think you will find far more common sense in Europe now where they seem to be getting on with it. Just arrived in Romania, showed my vax passport from the NHS and all ok. Very few restrictions left here now and people seem to be acting sensibly. Italy and Greece next week and then back to diseased island for 3 tests and a daily call for 10 days. Joys.

There does indeed seem to be a staggering appetite for covid restrictions from much of the UK population. Quite worrying really.
 

Bouba

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On an incredibly hot week, we have been on our travels to get our Torqeedo fixed. We feared the worst but luckily it’s been diagnosed as a faulty circuit board. €350 to fix. Although there maybe some supply issues from the German headquarters, we will find out soon.
 
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