What are your plans for next year?

[Daydream believer]

Interesting that nobody has answered my question about my simple crossing the channel & likelyhood of available berths- More a "I have sailed further than you" set of replies
Is there no one out there on the south of the UK who does actually want to do a jolly, cruising to more accessible places in their AWBs, or are AWBs just for marina gazing?
Current response suggests I will get plenty of space along the other side of the channel.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I don't think it any thing to do with ( anyone sailing further then anyone else )
The thread was about people plain for next season .
It just happen the thread getting reply from cruisers and not weekend sailor .
We not in the UK as I sure you know but unless France close its doors again to the UK there no reason you couldn't sail there the way I see it .
Or are you looking for others to sail in company?

 

[Wing Mark]

Interesting that nobody has answered my question about my simple crossing the channel & likelyhood of available berths- More a "I have sailed further than you" set of replies
Is there no one out there on the south of the UK who does actually want to do a jolly, cruising to more accessible places in their AWBs, or are AWBs just for marina gazing?
Current response suggests I will get plenty of space along the other side of the channel.

Well we are hoping to be making passages to those accessible places in the English Channel.
But it's not something that we've planned in specifics 10 months ahead.
We'll be more likely planning 10 days ahead.
The only fixture already in my calendar for next year is a dinghy event.

Personally I suspect a lot of ordinary working people will have had some mixed experiences holidaying in the UK this year and will want to go further.

 

[Daydream believer]

Or are you looking for others to sail in company?

Only for the 2 club cruises. Then it becomes a problem getting enough berths. Ideally it is nice to be berthed close to each other as well.
However, as a SH sailor, getting into port is essential to me & I do not want problems when tired & sometimes sea sick. I just feared a mass of south coast sailors coming out of cold turkey, filling up the closest harbours. Bear in mind that the Dutch are quite nomadic as well.

 

[Lightwave395]

Interesting that nobody has answered my question about my simple crossing the channel & likelyhood of available berths- More a "I have sailed further than you" set of replies
Is there no one out there on the south of the UK who does actually want to do a jolly, cruising to more accessible places in their AWBs, or are AWBs just for marina gazing?
Current response suggests I will get plenty of space along the other side of the channel.

I'll be crossing the channel back to Brittany next year to my new berth in Roscoff marina.
I have only sailed around 300 miles this year almost all of which was bringing my boat back to Falmouth from Arzal. I doubt you'll have much problem with space south of the channel, there still seem to be a lot of nervous people worrying about reasons not to go.

I brought the boat back more due to my partners health issues rather than Covid or the B thing and as these health issues are well on the way to being thankfully solved we can't wait to get back to the other side of the channel and beyond.
We chose to go to Roscoff this time for a few reasons - the ease of going either East - Trebeurden, Treguier etc for shorter trips or West into Southern Brittany for two or three months.
We can also sometimes leave the car in Plymouth when it suits which saves money and yes, we will be paying for an extended stay visa.

We're both retired and although my West country swinging mooring is very picturesque and has been delightful in the unusually frequent Easterlies this summer I can't be bothered with all the hassle of tenders and no services, I have the wrong boat for that, my bow roller is already slightly bent through being tied to a mooring buoy in a couple of SW gales as we're on the East side of Carrick Roads - my admiration to all who enjoy that, I can't wait to be back in a marina, each to their own !

 

[Daydream believer]

yes, we will be paying for an extended stay visa.
I can't wait to be back in a marina, each to their own !

I did not know that one could pay for extended stay visas. It would be interesting to know the procedure & how you get on applying. How you deal with the questions etc.
As for marinas- I agree 100% .
I HATE anchoring. Virtually all my passage plans are based around 24 hour entry. Only shorter reliable trips use the tidal restricted marinas for obvious reasons
It was for this reason that I am worried about berth availability. The channel coast, being the closest, must surely be attractive to those who have had the last 2 years plans curtailed.
However, in post #43 the suggestion that some, having explored the UK, may want to go further, may mean that sailors realise the Uk does have attractions & they want to go north rather than south. Lot to be said for that - as I know from 2 SH round UK trips.

 

[LadyInBed]

Interesting that nobody has answered my question about my simple crossing the channel & likelyhood of available berths- More a "I have sailed further than you" set of replies
Is there no one out there on the south of the UK who does actually want to do a jolly, cruising to more accessible places in their AWBs, or are AWBs just for marina gazing?
Current response suggests I will get plenty of space along the other side of the channel.

Before corvid kicked off I was thinking of revisiting Rouen as I hadn't been there for several years. I've done virtually nothing these last couple of years as day or two day outings don't hold much appeal so Rouen and Honfleur are still on the cards.
PS and then I can get some use out of my e-scooter ?

 

[John_Silver]

I did not know that one could pay for extended stay visas. It would be interesting to know the procedure & how you get on applying. How you deal with the questions etc.

The application process, for a 6 month French visa doesn't look too onerous here. Main elements seem to be proof of medical insurance, including death and repatriation cover (so an in date EHIC isn't sufficient), proof of funds in the bank and a £90 application charge. I'm getting my application in the post as soon as my renewed passport arrives.

The plan is to get over to the French side early in the season - before the June rush of Dutch and German boats through Boulogne, Dieppe, Fecamp. After that the choice of ports is pretty wide.....all the way down to northern Spain, should one wish. The choice of ports will spread the 'traffic' out, is my thinking. (It certainly did during the 2020 'unlock' surge). More so than in the West Country and Solent, which were pretty packed this year. Stargazer went 65 days, at one point, between alongside berths. Finally finding one in a near deserted St Peter Port - which I had expected to find full of South Coast boats, with the easing of entry restrictions......so predicting where will be crowded is a tricky business! The French coast does start off with the advantage of being longer and possessed of far more harbour infrastructure than the UK's though......

I'm watching with a keen interest to see whether the electronic Schengen log in scheme (ETIAS?) will be in place for us in 2022. Otherwise we need to enter or leave via a port of entry (effectively a ferry port), in order to get our passports stamped. That would mean, for East Coast sailors, entering at Dieppe (or Calais, but that always seems a lot of effort to get in and out of to me)

 

[Lightwave395]

The application process, for a 6 month French visa doesn't look too onerous here. Main elements seem to be proof of medical insurance, including death and repatriation cover (so an in date EHIC isn't sufficient), proof of funds in the bank and a £90 application charge.

Interesting to see how we both get on with this as it seems for stays up to 6 months the GHIC would be acceptable according to France visas 'Visa wizard'

 

[John_Silver]

Interesting to see how we both get on with this as it seems for stays up to 6 months the GHIC would be acceptable according to France visas 'Visa wizard'

Missed that…..Thank you!

 

[Daydream believer]

I'm watching with a keen interest to see whether the electronic Schengen log in scheme (ETIAS?) will be in place for us in 2022. Otherwise we need to enter or leave via a port of entry (effectively a ferry port), in order to get our passports stamped. That would mean, for East Coast sailors, entering at Dieppe (or Calais, but that always seems a lot of effort to get in and out of to me)

Not so anymore. UK boats can enter though any port on the French coast
Entry to ports

 

[John_Silver]

Not so anymore. UK boats can enter though any port on the French coast
Entry to ports

Has that been implemented on the ground now? I know, from talking to the harbour staff, that the forms were up and running in Roscoff, Le Havre (including Fecamp) and Cherbourg. But when I contacted Boulogne, they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Although that could be a reflection on my language skills!

Fantastic news, if the facility is in place. Certainly the forms for the 3 ports mentioned are identical, which suggests central coordination. ....

 

[doug748]

.............l, there still seem to be a lot of nervous people worrying about reasons not to go. ..........

I think you are correct, people understandably worry about catching the bug. Some are also apprehensive about the paperwork and dreaded apps. Both are not insurmountable but I imagine folk will still hold off. I think overall it will be quite quiet in France next season

Very few/no UK flagged boats about in 2020 in N Brittany, esp during June/ early July.

As someone said, Guernsey was deserted of tourists and pontoons empty last year. More people about in Jersey but not many visiting yachts. One thing I noticed was that visitor berths had filled up with local boats in some places, I don't imagine this will be an issue in France but you never know. Marina operators no doubt would rather have a 15ft motor boat in a visitor berth than see it empty.
Some businesses have closed and not reopened three eateries I noticed in Guernsey, bike hire difficult in Jersey (though there were lots of electric bike if you have the App) no motor scooters ("not worth it this year") and car hire more tricky than usual. Minor tribulations really and I don't imagine there will be a problem in France.

Roscoff is a grand place love it. I wonder if your bike will still be there (it was you with the bike, Lightwave?)

.

 

[geem]

Should you push on round cape st vincent, you will be able to sail a lot through the winter.

That's our plan?

 

[Ningaloo]

Once in the EU, Covid had little affect on my plans. Left UK in June, now in Sardinia. Tunisian politics (and red Covid status) changed my overwintering plans and I now plan to get lifted in Sardinia for the winter.
Crew have been affected more, mostly due to the additional cost and headache of organising various Covid test prior to travel to and from the boat. Of course EU crew haven't had so much of a problem as it seems possible to travel within the EU without and additional tests.
Brexit has complicated things as I felt I had to rush through Portugal and Spain before my 90 days were up.
Next year's plans include Sicily, Croatia and Greece.

 

[Lightwave395]

I

Roscoff is a grand place love it. I wonder if your bike will still be there (it was you with the bike, Lightwave?)

.

Yes that was me... I retrieved my bike, to my surpirse it was still there. It seemed I was going to be haunted by it so I brought it back on my return to UK and having paid £15 + a new chain for it (originally expecting to abandon it) I sold it locally again for £25 !

 

[Lightwave395]

Has that been implemented on the ground now? I know, from talking to the harbour staff, that the forms were up and running in Roscoff, Le Havre (including Fecamp) and Cherbourg. But when I contacted Boulogne, they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Although that could be a reflection on my language skills!

Fantastic news, if the facility is in place. Certainly the forms for the 3 ports mentioned are identical, which suggests central coordination. ....

The form didn't seem to be actually in use yet when I left Roscoff on June 30th ?

 

[dslittle]

I think overall it will be quite quiet in France next season

Very few/no UK flagged boats about in 2020 in N Brittany, esp during June/ early July.

I don't imagine this will be an issue in France but you never know. Marina operators no doubt would rather have a 15ft motor boat in a visitor berth than see it empty.

We are still in France. Although we have always managed to get a berth this season, the Marinas have been noticeably busier (and there have been occasions when the initial response has been that they are full…) Now, as we are getting towards the end of the season, the hammerheads frequently have three yachts rafted out.
There have been less yachts out sailing, resulting in fewer berths being available - a sign of these strange times…

 

[doug748]

Interesting, where are you in France?

The north coast has traditionally had a good proportion of visitor berths, many of which were taken up by visiting UK boats. One thing is pretty sure, operators will not have berths generally empty and if the Brits don't come the slack will eventually be taken up by local boats.

.

 

[dslittle]

Interesting, where are you in France?

The north coast has traditionally had a good proportion of visitor berths, many of which were taken up by visiting UK boats. One thing is pretty sure, operators will not have berths generally empty and if the Brits don't come the slack will eventually be taken up by local boats.

.

Southern Brittany just now. Most Marinas do keep Visitor berths available, as you say, but a lot of French boats do normally move around using the Passeport Escales. It seems that this year they didn’t and spaces were quite limited (despite there being far fewer UK boats here…)