Sailing outside GB waters

[ronsurf]

One of my plans for the future is to sail across the channel from Plymouth to either France or Channel Islands. I own a Corribee built in the 1970s and have full confidence that the boat is capable of it at least.

The technicalities are documentation. as I have none. I understand that visiting the Channel Islands should not be a problem, and France may be. Do I need to have anything stamped on arrival in France, and does that dictate where my first port of arrival will be?

However, my main concern is coming back. (Face to face with UK Border Force: lessons learned - Yachting Monthly). I have no evidence of VAT on my boat (I bought it in 2006), and since a previous owner has managed to grind away the hull number I don't even have any idea how old it was. The last Corribee was made in 1980, and taking this to an extreme, there's not even much evidence that the boat IS a Corribee...

Anyway, in the event that a trip outside GB happens, what documentation should I carry for the boat I have?

 

[dk]

You will need SSR registration. You’ll obviously have to guess at a reasonable date. You’ll also need proof of ID and insurance. Any other docs you can get might also help - bill of sale, certs of competence etc. Don’t forget flares and make sure they’re in date or you could be fined. Most likely no one will particularly care unless you get them on a bad day. No worries about the boat making it - Corribees are pretty tough boats!

 

[ronsurf]

Thanks for your reply. To complicate matters, I'm considering changing the name of her following a refurb. I registered with the SSR when I first bought her so I would have to change the name. Evidence of mooring to prove I was in GB would be redundant then, surely?

 

[awol]

I came back to GB last Sunday. No officials took a blind bit of notice!

 

[st599]

I came back to GB last Sunday. No officials took a blind bit of notice!

Presumably the official on the end of the YachtLine phone took some notice.

 

[Gary Fox]

Presumably the official on the end of the YachtLine phone took some notice.

Doubt it.

 

[st599]

Do I need to have anything stamped on arrival in France, and does that dictate where my first port of arrival will be?

Yes, the way it's done is different on a country by country basis and in some areas a region by region basis.

In France, you should enter at a port of entry, then take passports and crew list to the Douane for stamping. Once that's done you can enter the country. You then do the same when you leave.

 

[cherod]

You will need SSR registration. You’ll obviously have to guess at a reasonable date. You’ll also need proof of ID and insurance. Any other docs you can get might also help - bill of sale, certs of competence etc. Don’t forget flares and make sure they’re in date or you could be fined. Most likely no one will particularly care unless you get them on a bad day. No worries about the boat making it - Corribees are pretty tough boats!

it is not compulsory to carry flares , cert of competence nor insurance in UK waters for a vessel of that size , ( although certain private entities , eg marina , port authorities ) may require .

 

[Gary Fox]

It depends which way you approach life.
You might 'love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts', get fulfilment from outwitting shiney-@rsed pen-pushing little hitlers whose main joy in life is to spoil your adventures with an overwhelming onslaught of petty rules, and maybe you sail on the sea because it is adventurous, difficult, dangerous and exciting.
Or you might be someone who undertakes your hobby/lifestyle/vocation because you always have a nagging worry, that there might be a rule, regulation or decree which you might not have complied with, and you have a deep need to kowtow, comply and conform, keep your paperwork up to date and ready to show on demand.
Each to their own.
By personal inclination, I'm in the former category myself.

 

[awol]

Presumably the official on the end of the YachtLine phone took some notice.

They never called me.

 

[ronsurf]

I'm in the former category, but things have changed and if there's one thing I know it's that you don't mess with the GB Border Force. They are the only authority that can enter and search your property without a warrant, after all.

Having seen the experience in the YBW link i posted, I'd rather have my paperwork in order when asked for it.

I'm in the fortunate position that the Border Force are unlikely to consider I've sailed outside the UK, and would assume I've just drifted in from Salcombe or Fowey

 

[awol]

I'm in the fortunate position that the Border Force are unlikely to consider I've sailed outside the UK, and would assume I've just drifted in from Salcombe or Fowey

Are Cornwall and Devon actually part of the UK?

 

[lustyd]

I have no evidence of VAT on my boat (I bought it in 2006), and since a previous owner has managed to grind away the hull number I don't even have any idea how old it was.

Call HMRC to explain and they will give you a certificate showing VAT is deemed paid.

 

[LittleSister]

Having sailed numerous boats of that age and sort of size to France, etc. over the years, none of which had definitive proof, and few any documentation at all, to prove VAT status, I have never had a problem, or even been asked about their VAT status.

If your boat looked like it was was worth £xmillion, obviously originated overseas, or somehow your activity raised suspicions, perhaps someone might query it, but otherwise the reality is no-one is interested in our sort of boats and their VAT status, and I very much doubt that Brexit would have changed that.

 

[cherod]

Having sailed numerous boats of that age and sort of size to France, etc. over the years, none of which had definitive proof, and few any documentation at all, to prove VAT status, I have never had a problem, or even been asked about their VAT status.

If your boat looked like it was was worth £xmillion, obviously originated overseas, or somehow your activity raised suspicions, perhaps someone might query it, but otherwise the reality is no-one is interested in our sort of boats and their VAT status, and I very much doubt that Brexit would have changed that.

but things have changed, not just the brexit stuff but the cov - antics have brought all sorts of little hitlers out of the wood work .

 

[Daydream believer]

The RYA website has all the information as to the information one needs when sailing across the channel. I would also point out that if going to Cherbourg having an RYA membership card will get you 20% discount. So if not a member it could be financially worth while joining. Failing that membership to the tufty club, or a sailing club, may work if the staff behind the desk are in a good mood
But then you have to resort to the forum for info

 

[st599]

They never called me.

Legally, you have to post the C1331 and then ring them. It's in the Notices to Mariners for yachts entering the UK.

 

[awol]

Legally, you have to post the C1331 and then ring them. It's in the Notices to Mariners for yachts entering the UK.

Oh, no I don't! I didn't declare Charlie Barley's speciality on the way out either.

 

[Daydream believer]

I was in Ramsgate at end of August & a French yacht had arrived. The crew included an English guy who had lived in France for the past 14 years. It seems that they just sailed out of Dunkirque to Ramsgate, no entry or exit papers each end. No ensign to show nationality. They were in the Royal Temple YC drinking as large as life & bragged that they had no intention of complying with any law, customs, covid or otherwise; either here or France.
The interesting thing was that they were berthed within 75 yds of the border force vessel.
Their blatant disregard made me think seriously about phoning the customs to advise them of their presence. In the end I did not.

 

[capnsensible]

It depends which way you approach life.
You might 'love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts', get fulfilment from outwitting shiney-@rsed pen-pushing little hitlers whose main joy in life is to spoil your adventures with an overwhelming onslaught of petty rules, and maybe you sail on the sea because it is adventurous, difficult, dangerous and exciting.
Or you might be someone who undertakes your hobby/lifestyle/vocation because you always have a nagging worry, that there might be a rule, regulation or decree which you might not have complied with, and you have a deep need to kowtow, comply and conform, keep your paperwork up to date and ready to show on demand.
Each to their own.
By personal inclination, I'm in the former category myself.

Love the plan.

When you get south of Europe do please let us know how you get on.