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What paperwork do I need to charter in France?
Short answer
The papers split into two piles.
Everything that belongs to the boat is arranged by the charter company.
Your certificate of competence, a radio licence, passports and crew details are yours,
and which certificates the base accepts is worth getting in writing before you book.
France is close enough that plenty of British and Irish crews charter there rather than sail their own boat south: the Côte d'Azur and the islands off Hyères, Corsica with the hop across to Sardinia, and Brittany, which feels familiar to anyone used to tides in the Solent or the Channel Islands. The paperwork works much as elsewhere. Registration, evidence of the safety equipment and the boat's insurance documents are arranged by the charter company and kept aboard. Your part is the skipper's certificate, passports for everyone on board and the details the base needs for the crew list.
The skipper's certificate deserves a careful look. French law ties the need for a licence mainly to engine power, but charter companies normally ask for a certificate that fits the boat and the area regardless of that threshold. Many accept the ICC and the common sea-going qualifications, such as an RYA Day Skipper with an ICC; an inland-only certificate is not enough for the sea. For the VHF set, bases often want at least one person aboard to hold a radio operator's certificate such as the SRC. In Brittany some bases also ask about tidal experience. Get written confirmation of which certificates the base accepts for the boat you are booking.
Afloat, checks can come from the Gendarmerie maritime, the Affaires maritimes or French customs, and they will ask for the boat's papers, your certificate and the crew list. At check-in make sure everything belonging to the boat is aboard, and keep your own documents to hand. Along the Mediterranean coast anchoring over seagrass meadows is restricted in many places, and national parks such as Port-Cros have their own rules; both are in the area notes the base gives you. For damage you do to other people with a chartered boat you answer personally, so sort out your own liability arrangements before you travel.
Worth remembering
Base
Registration, safety equipment records, the boat's insurance
You
Certificate of competence, radio licence, passports, crew details
Have the base confirm in writing, before you book, which certificates it accepts.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Is my Day Skipper enough to charter in France?
That depends less on the certificate than on what the base asks for on that boat and in that area. Many accept the ICC alongside common sea-going qualifications. Get the answer in writing before you book, then it is settled.
Do I need a radio licence to charter in France?
Whoever uses the VHF set on board normally needs a radio operator's certificate such as the SRC. Many bases ask for at least one member of the crew to hold one. Check before you book.
Can I anchor anywhere on the French coast?
No. Anchoring over seagrass is restricted in many Mediterranean bays, and national parks have their own zones and mooring fields. The limits are in the area notes the base hands over at check-in.
Related
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