Schengen, Gib to UK, looks like we may exceed 90 days

[blampied]

Bringing our boat back up from Gibraltar to Channel Islands, 90 days looked plenty when we departed Gib but the weather has been unusually changeable throughout the journey, we have now completed 80% of the trip.
Unfortunately the current unexpected long lasting summer storms has held us up just south of the Brest Peninsula.
Unless there is a weather window soon, we are likely to exceed the 90 days in Schengen.

Is there a simple way to request an extension?
Or is Schengen intended to force boaters to put to sea in dangerous/ unsuitable conditions ?

 

[newtothis]

It is you, not your boat, that has to get out of Dodge. The simple solution is to book a marina slot for three months then pick it up when your personal clock resets.
That will put you into the middle of winter so you will probably need to leave it there for six months and come back next spring.
Such is sailing in the sunlit uplands.

 

[dunedin]

Or if no weather window for a week or more, leave boat and return to UK pronto whilst still have some days left. Monitor weather from the UK and once find a decent weather window dash back, then check out of Schengen and sail direct for the UK.
It is very annoying our own goal, but means must plan allowing a safety margin for bad weather days.

 

[John_Silver]

OR…..Book boat into a Benodet Bay marina (sounds as if that’s where you are) and return to UK (as above). BUT immediately apply for a 6 month VLS-T, as soon as you are home. Having a French marina address will simplify the process, which was on a 10 day turn around (back in Jan/Feb). Then head back to the boat, visa in hand. And sail her home at whatever pace suits you and the conditions. Hopefully the current weather isn’t autumn come early (we’re hunkered down in Port La Foret)!

 

[stranded]

Bringing our boat back up from Gibraltar to Channel Islands, 90 days looked plenty when we departed Gib but the weather has been unusually changeable throughout the journey, we have now completed 80% of the trip.
Unfortunately the current unexpected long lasting summer storms has held us up just south of the Brest Peninsula.
Unless there is a weather window soon, we are likely to exceed the 90 days in Schengen.

Is there a simple way to request an extension?
Or is Schengen intended to force boaters to put to sea in dangerous/ unsuitable conditions ?

With respect, Schengen has not and will not force you to do that. It is quite clear what the rules are and visitors who want to be allowed back in the future need to abide by them. It is our responsibility to have contingency plans, not Schengen’s.

That said, to the suggestions of getting out while you have some Schengen time left and popping back when the forecast looks good, or booking a marina for the winter, I would add just leave the boat and get a delivery company to bring her home - we are in southern Britanny and considering all three options as the Met has now extended the rubbish forecast right through August and I don’t want to spoil our trip by making a just in case early dash home. (We are actually here on a visitor visa but when that expires we would have to return to the UK to close the visa then back to France to start Schengen time.)

 

[Trident]

You could check out where you are (or at least where you end up at day 89) and plan to head to Alderney or Jersey etc, whichever is nearer and out of Schengen. Then so long as you do not need to go back in to a marina and can anchor without going ashore you can be on "innocent passage" through French coastal waters and that allows you legally to sail and anchor when rest is needed or weather demands without being in Schengen as you are not ashore.

 

[dunedin]

You could check out where you are (or at least where you end up at day 89) and plan to head to Alderney or Jersey etc, whichever is nearer and out of Schengen. Then so long as you do not need to go back in to a marina and can anchor without going ashore you can be on "innocent passage" through French coastal waters and that allows you legally to sail and anchor when rest is needed or weather demands without being in Schengen as you are not ashore.

Read the RYA website and others on the limitations of “innocent passage”, as I believe many people over estimate what this allows. It would appear that anchoring in most bays would constitute inshore waters and therefore not included in innocent passage.

 

[Daydream believer]

Is it really so hard to do day hops. Assuming that you are somewhere like Benodet then Audierne, or even Douarnez, Camaret, Laberwrach, Roscoff (book out there) & St P Port
Could all be done in 5 single, day hops. Although weather could be rough, they are not long legs. One could just motor the yacht, if you have a decent inboard. Having come from the Med we could assume that everyone aboard is reasonably experienced
The hardest leg would be Roscoff to Guernsey at 70 miles.

 

[Trident]

Read the RYA website and others on the limitations of “innocent passage”, as I believe many people over estimate what this allows. It would appear that anchoring in most bays would constitute inshore waters and therefore not included in innocent passage.

As I understand it if forced to seek shelter it still counts and the OP would only be anchoring if weather was unsuitable to continue - thus innocent passage. It was tested in the Med last year when a Brit boat had to do Gib to Montenegro - always coastal and with stops most nights for crew safety or because of weather and this was accepted as innocent passage - frankly between Brest and the CI I can't imagine anyone really giving two hoots. Its not like the Douane are trolling about looking for over stayers .

The problem may be that the boat, if I remember correctly from Cartagena where I saw it, is more suited to inland waterways so may not be safe to anchor out in poor weather.

 

[Daydream believer]

- frankly between Brest and the CI I can't imagine anyone really giving two hoots. Its not like the Douane are trolling about looking for over stayers .

The problem is that one has to get one's passport stamped on exit (say, Roscoff)& questions will be asked then.

You may be able to get stamped out at Roscoff as soon as you arrive, then delay a day departing, on the grounds that weather is worse than expected. There is a good chance that no one will come & check that you have actually left.

You could get stamped out at Brest & hope no body checks where you are, provided you started day hopping straight away. If challenged just say that you are heading to Roscoff to sign back in ( & out)

 

[Seven Spades]

At the moment the only record of your ins and outs are the stamps in your passport so nothing is joined up. If you are near Brest why not go and stamp out with the intention of going to the UK non-stop. If you have to divert to another French port along the way most are operating the informal form system. No one is going to join the dots. When the EES cones in then it is going to be a different ball game.

No one is actually looking at the dates and counting the days of your entries, what they do look for is a stamp in to stamp out against.

 

[westernman]

At the moment the only record of your ins and outs are the stamps in your passport so nothing is joined up. If you are near Brest why not go and stamp out with the intention of going to the UK non-stop. If you have to divert to another French port along the way most are operating the informal form system. No one is going to join the dots. When the EES cones in then it is going to be a different ball game.

No one is actually looking at the dates and counting the days of your entries, what they do look for is a stamp in to stamp out against.

Are you sure they are looking at stamps?

In the airports I have been to, they scan the passport and look at the screen to see whether you have overstayed.
I don't think any immigrations staff actually do the counting themselves.

 

[[3889]]

Are you sure they are looking at stamps?

In the airports I have been to, they scan the passport and look at the screen to see whether you have overstayed.
I don't think any immigrations staff actually do the counting themselves.

There is no means, prior to ETIAS introduction, for one EU state to check Schengen entry date via another state other than passport stamp or a specific police enquiry.

 

[blampied]

As I understand it if forced to seek shelter it still counts and the OP would only be anchoring if weather was unsuitable to continue - thus innocent passage. It was tested in the Med last year when a Brit boat had to do Gib to Montenegro - always coastal and with stops most nights for crew safety or because of weather and this was accepted as innocent passage - frankly between Brest and the CI I can't imagine anyone really giving two hoots. Its not like the Douane are trolling about looking for over stayers .

The problem may be that the boat, if I remember correctly from Cartagena where I saw it, is more suited to inland waterways so may not be safe to anchor out in poor weather.

Hi Trident

thank you for the advise.
It’s good to hear from someone we overwintered with in Cartagena. Hope you are well.

Looks like my avatar which was of our old boat (the Aquastar 33 MoonSpirit) was confusing things, we sold her 2 years ago. only 33 feet but a very solid seaworthy based on a fIshing boat design. We went everywhere in that little single engine boat, I would have felt far safer at anchor in it than our new 42 foot plastic fantastic flybridge gin palace,

The Jeanneau flybridge may be a gin palace, but we’re still live aboards, (just getting older and liking creature comforts) it’s our floating house. We have spent the last couple of years living on it in Gib, but are now relocating it back to our home port of Jersey. It’s bigger with more room than the aquastar, but I wouldn’t like to be out at anchor in it if the weather is blowing, Jeanneau are just not built solid like the Aquastars.

I’ve now updated the avatar to show the Jeanneau.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Tomorrow doesn’t look like a good time to be at anchor or on passage anywhere in Brittany

 

[blampied]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

We can hold out for another week, in the hope the weather May calm down, before making a final decision.

Leaving the boat in a marina and heading home a couple of days before our 90 days is up, so we have a couple of days to hopefully come back over and grab the boat when a weather window appears, looks like the best solution.

 

[harvey38]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

We can hold out for another week, in the hope the weather May calm down, before making a final decision.

Leaving the boat in a marina and heading home a couple of days before our 90 days is up, so we have a couple of days to hopefully come back over and grab the boat when a weather window appears, looks like the best solution.

Hope it works out for you Paul, you missing the Aquastar then?

 

[blampied]

Hope it works out for you Paul, you missing the Aquastar then?

Defiantly, the Aquastar was a solid boat with personality. We wanted to upgrade from the Aquastar 33 to a Aquastar 38,
We had our eye on two while we were selling but both were gone once we had sold ours (amazingly got 50% more than we paid for it and that’s after almost 10 year living on it and motoring around -France, Spain, Gib, Morocco, Monaco Italy)

Covid was coming to an end and there was very little for sale, bought the Jeanneau because it was the only thing going in my budget and I get depressed when I haven’t got a boat. It’s Lovely but but just not really me.

One day I will find another Aquastar.

 

[Lightwave395]

I don't know how many days you have left but Meteo consult has the back half of next week looking fine, I would have thought a 42 Ft Mobo could easily do around 180 NM from Benodet (or thereabouts) to Jersey in a day ?

 

[blampied]

I don't know how many days you have left but Meteo consult has the back half of next week looking fine, I would have thought a 42 Ft Mobo could easily do around 180 NM from Benodet (or thereabouts) to Jersey in a day ?

hi Lightwave
Yes we’re keeping an eye on that possible weather window.
We’re not quite at Benodet,
but 35 mile before there in Lorient, sitting at Port KERNIVAL opposite the submarine pens.