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Trailing your boat abroad

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Rob Johnstone:
The RYA has just announced that thete seems to be a require.ent to fill.in some sort of customs declaration she  taking your boat on a trailer to Europe. The s at is no.one seems to know what form this declaration will take. In the meantime the recommendation is to take your boat egg through the RED channel.
Rob J
 

Rob Johnstone:
Sorry about the above typo ridden posting. Here it is in plain language:
The RYA has just announced that there seems to be a requirement to fill in some sort of customs declaration when  taking your boat on a trailer to Europe. The the snag is that at the moment there's no consensus on what forms need to be completed to make the declaration.  The RYA report that "several" boat owners have been fined for non compliance by the French police. In the meantime the recommendation is to take your boat into Europe through the RED channel when you tow it off the Ferry (assuming there's one running).
Here's a link to the RYA news article:
https://www.rya.org.uk/blog/trailing-a-boat-abroad-in-2022?utm_campaign=RYA%20Cruising%20News%20-%20May%202022&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_content=&utm_medium=email

Rob J

Graham W:
Zut alors!  Last time I trailered abroad (in 2016), there were problems with autoroute blockades and vehicles being hijacked in the vicinity of Calais.  To avoid all that nonsense, we took a Stena ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland and bypassed France almost completely.  Not a cheap option but partly offset by avoiding autoroute tolls and filling up with very cheap fuel in Luxembourg.  And the Stena ship was in a different league to the utilitarian ferries on the Dover-Calais run, with a decent restaurant and comfortable cabins.

This idea is no help at all if you’re holidaying in France itself but might be an alternative if going further afield.  A further benefit would be missing out on the gridlock around Dover and the delights of P&O. 

I assume from the RYA report that it’s currently only the French authorities who are finding fault with UK paperwork, not other EU countries, who may perhaps be more accommodating about such things. Plus ça change…….

Graham W:
Alice Driscoll has written an amusing article in the summer edition of ‘Practical Boat Owner’ about trailering a tall and wide J24 back from the Italian lakes.  The main problems encountered seem to have involved TomTom diverting them away from motorway queues and up into the very narrow roads of hilltop villages.

There’s no mention of Rob’s EU paperwork in the main article but the trip did take place some time ago, before Brexit.  There’s a recommendation in a side box to the article to consult the RYA website for current documentary requirements.

Carol Lawson:
Hi Rob,
I too read that RYA article, but I write from the Spanish Mediterranean sitting on our BC26 Iris.
We came through Spanish Customs off the Plymouth-Santander Ferry on Thursday 23/6/22, ready to divert into “something to declare” channel as advised by RYA, we weren’t given the choice.
Directed over to the uniformed Guardia Civil, he wanted to see our MCA registration and check that against our SSR number on the boat. He also was keen to know if the inside of the boat was “ empty”. Now, as many can attest, Iris is far from “empty” (although Carol did take one of the three coffee pots off for this trip). He didn’t get in but had a very good look inside. I think he meant empty of people. After this inspection and noting the SSR registration, we were allowed to go on our way.
The Spanish Passport control was more interested in the boat as access to Ibiza!
Prior to leaving Plymouth, we were approached by Border Police, very chatty, but clearly checking all the while. They talked about a ‘carnet’ available from them that helps clear customs. I shall look into it but at £400 or so, We might also take our chances.
Incidentally for those trailering their Swallow on this ferry, another boat had £100 worth of flares confiscated and we lost 5 litres of spare diesel - almost the same cost at today’s prices!!
I shall post any further customs adventures on return.
BW Alistair

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