Sailing to Netherlands and Belgium 2022

In addition to all the paperwork I expect you need travel insurance for the medical cover ?
 
That is going to be awkward for a 75 year old. The trouble is that they include so much ancilliary rubbish like luggage, flights etc that one does not need when one is just sailing up the channel coast. I have tried the cheaper ones & they want proof of departure & return in flights, ferries etc & of course, I cannot supply these.
All one needs is medical, inc transport & associated items connected with medical, repatriation, passport loss, money theft, mugging & legal aid. Some firms will not cover one if one goes 12 miles off shore. But try explaining that one does not need cover then & it does not tick their boxes. Some put sailing down as a dangerous hobby!!.
People like Bishop & Skinner just take the p..s with prices.
 
Try and get travel insurance linked to your home insurance that might be a better option

Reading all of this I am very pleased I have no inclination to take my boat to the EU unless it is actually far easier in practice than it sounds
 
I would like to go to the Netherlands or France in the future and when I am retired .

The requirements do seem to deterrent but its the UK's choice , not the fault of the EU. I expect its a matter of having all the paperwork prepared in advance.
Having to check in and out does seem to be a pain and a possible delay if waiting for a customs office to be open.

All this must be more significantly affecting people who have a holiday home or a boat kept in the EU .
 
One had to go through customs in the 70s & once one had understood the system it just became the norm was no big deal-
Apart, that is, from the time I got arrested in Ostend & dragged onto the pontoon :eek: & then the time the customs officer in Burnham stripped my boat:( & then the time he gave a boat I was on when returning from the Harwich Ostend EAORA race some serious hassle, because he recognised me:rolleyes:. Life really was fun in those days:D
Has not changed much, The bar stewards in Ostend nearly fined me 2000 euros about 10/12 years ago ----for helping them.
One just has to go with the flow. ;)
 
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On the insurance points: France accepts the EHIC or GHIC cards for stays of under 6 months. Assuming this is the case across Schengen. (although a Visa is required for stays of over 90 days - only offered by France and Sweden). Worth checking for Belgium and Netherlands

Daydream re Boulogne trip: Have just been e mailing with the port at Boulogne regarding entry / how to contact Police aux Frontieres. They are stating that Boulogne has no Police aux Frontieres. They advise that the nearest ports of entry, with PAF, are Calais or Cherbourg……..

(PS Thinking on, I’m sure I’ve seen an on line pre-Avis form for Le Havre. Plus, on CA website a note that Fecamp, under auspices of Le Havre, were ports of entry. Nearer than Cherbourg. But, either way, it seems that Boulogne is not).
 
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A few years ago, I used the RYA Bishop Skinner travel insurance scheme. Sail cruising is considered as a "dangerous sport", and the costs are enormous, RYA scheme was less than half the next best quote
 
I'm hoping that this will be much simpler in practice than it appears to be at the moment, but it would be good to know how it is supposed to work.
In the past I've always carefully carried all the correct documents but have never found anyone who wanted to see them even when proffered. Only been boarded twice. Once in the 70s in Amsterdam, uniforms showed us a list of wanted criminals and asked if we were on it. More recently in Breskens a nice old chap came on board but didn't want to see any papers, just had a chat and some refreshment.
Hopefully this state of affairs will continue, but we might get a grumpy official, so want to be prepared.
 
John_Silver said:
Daydream re Boulogne trip: Have just been e mailing with the port at Boulogne regarding entry / how to contact Police aux Frontieres. They are stating that Boulogne has no Police aux Frontieres. They advise that the nearest ports of entry, with PAF, are Calais or Cherbourg……..
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Very odd reply considering Dieppe, for instance, is a ferry port. Boulogne has been listed as a port of entry in recent documentation. The fact that Dieppe has been missed might suggest that the reply has come from an ill informed official. But I may be totally wrong. I hope so
 
Daydream believer said:
Very odd reply considering Dieppe, for instance, is a ferry port. Boulogne has been listed as a port of entry in recent documentation. The fact that Dieppe has been missed might suggest that the reply has come from an ill informed official. But I may be totally wrong. I hope so
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Yes, I agree. Something doesn’t quite add up.

Did you manage to find a French Government sourced list (in case of encountering an ill informed official, on arrival) of Entry Ports? So far I’ve failed. Either Googling or e mailing various ministries / ports.
 
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Daydream believer said:
That is going to be awkward for a 75 year old. The trouble is that they include so much ancilliary rubbish like luggage, flights etc that one does not need when one is just sailing up the channel coast. I have tried the cheaper ones & they want proof of departure & return in flights, ferries etc & of course, I cannot supply these.
All one needs is medical, inc transport & associated items connected with medical, repatriation, passport loss, money theft, mugging & legal aid. Some firms will not cover one if one goes 12 miles off shore. But try explaining that one does not need cover then & it does not tick their boxes. Some put sailing down as a dangerous hobby!!.
People like Bishop & Skinner just take the p..s with prices.
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And B&S stops offering policies at 80
 
has any one any idea what the Belgians are going to do when we turn up with red in our tanks now we are out of the EU
 
Daydream believer said:
Very odd reply considering Dieppe, for instance, is a ferry port. Boulogne has been listed as a port of entry in recent documentation. The fact that Dieppe has been missed might suggest that the reply has come from an ill informed official. But I may be totally wrong. I hope so
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Yes, odd. Dunkirk is a ferry port as well
 
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