SAILING TO FRANCE AFTER BREXIT

The overcrowding of south coast marinas and anchorages, difficulties in getting a visitor berth, and the fact that we had done a couple of UK summer cruises the preceding years, meant sailing across the English Channel to France looked like an attractive option. In truth, we felt that south coast cruising just wasn’t fun anymore, and we had also come to the

conclusion that we don’t really feel like we are on holiday on our Jeanneau 30 until we are in France.

But a scan of the new regulatory requirements – the e-C1331 process to notify the authorities you were leaving or arriving in the UK, and the corresponding PAF (Police aux Frontieres) paperwork for the other side – was a bit depressing.

Advice on how to sail in the EU seemed to be ever-changing and incomplete. Below is what actually happened over a very limited 10-day French cruise to Cherbourg, then St Vaast in mid-July.

BE PREPARED

The first important thing to know is