Flares, documents and travel insurance for sailing in France
Flares – information from The Cruising Association.
- if you are on 'innocent passage', ie passing through French waters without stopping or
starting in a French port, then UK-Flag rules apply (assuming you are UK-flagged of course).
Since UK Flag rules do not require the carriage of pyrotechnics on small leisure yachts, let
alone say anything about TEP, then no problem, anything goes. But if your yacht is a 'coded'
vessel, ie in commercial
use/ has been in commercial use/ chartered, etc then since the code does require carriage of
in date flares then you must have these and no TEPs even if surplus to those legally required.
- if you are not on innocent passage, ie are going to or from a French port or are simply
cruising in French waters without really going anywhere, then your French courtesy ensign
means you have agreed to follow French law. Since this states flares Yes and must be in date,
then no TEP it is. Look up the Livre de Bord almanac for latest details.
- there is very little checking of UK yachts for compliance and the only cases I have heard about
in practice have been where the yacht has fallen foul of other requirements and the marine
police are throwing the book at him. The police do sometimes have major organised swoops
on every boat in a harbour or marina, checking for licences, registration etc, but these are set
up in advance and many HMs warn their yachts to get out of town quickly. The police know
this but as it means less work they turn a blind eye.
- So the chances of getting caught are low but is obviously sensible to have a full stock of flares
with no TEPs.
Additional comments from Brian Humber re documents.
Have not been inspected in France for equipment, flares and service dates etc but certainly
have been asked to show Original ships papers/passports/insurance and log book on many
occasions in ports from Fecamp to La Rochell, and once at sea, always very politely and
courteously even at at 0200hrs. ( I had been to Cherbourg two weekends in a row and they
were looking for illegal immigrant smugglers) A marked contrast to the UK border
agency/customs. Photocopies were not accepted and the first time it cost me 1,000 FF on the
spot fine or I was invited politely to argue my case with the magistrate ashore the next
morning if I so wished.
Travel Insurance
Note that many travel insurances do not cover crewing on private yachts. One policy that does
cover it is with Bluefin ref www.bishopskinner.com ; annual policies for individuals £82 for
under 65 and £169! for 65 to 74, there are partner and family options.
Flares,docs etc
This is an interpretation of the regulations for cruising in French waters as
published by the Drascombe Association. It should not be taken as
authoritative, but may be of interest and assistance.
On the 1st January 2005 the rules were changed from the previous 6 possible categories of
navigational activity that could be undertaken in French waters to only 2:


Coastal – less than 6 nautical miles from shelter
High Seas – more than 6 nautical miles from shelter
Obligatory Equipment On Board
(Topic)
Adherence to International Regulations
National Flag
Signal Flags ‘N’ and ‘C’
Foghorn
Mooring Buoy (over 7 metres)
Black Cone
Ship’s Bell (over 12 metres)
Individual safety
Lifejacket or buoyancy aid (one per person
aboard)
Lifejacket (one per person aboard)
Harness (one per person aboard)
Horseshoe Lifebuoy with automatic selfrighting light
System facilitating recovery of a man
overboard (bathing ladder, steps, etc)
Collective safety
142 Newtons of buoyancy per person aboard
(inflatable dinghy, raft of any kind)
Liferaft or inflatable dinghy with automatic
inflation (rated capacity must equal or
exceed the number of people on board)
Red hand flares
Parachute flares
Floating Smoke flares
Signal Mirror
Waterproof torch
Category (Quantity)
Coastal
(< 6 nm
from
shelter)
High Seas
(> 6 nm
from
shelter)
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Comments
Your red ensign
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
In Date with service
record!
3
3
2
1
1
In date!
In date!
In date!
Safety equipment etc 1
Vessel safety
Rigid bucket
System allowing you to plug a hole in the
hull (Set of wooden cones or other)
Fire extinguisher
Bilge Pump
Toolkit allowing you to deal with minor
breakdowns
Ground Tackle
Anchor and warp
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Navigation
System allowing the depth of water to be
1
measured (Electronic or Lead Line)
Equipment allowing you to take a bearing, to
draw and follow a course (GPS Plotter or the
‘full-monty’ manual kit – hand bearing
compass, dividers, plotter, parallel rules,
sextant, the lot)
Ships (magnetic) Compass
1
Meteorology
Equipment allowing you to receive weather
forecasts
Nautical Information and Documentation
Copy of the International Collision
Regulations (Ouvrages 2A and 2B du SHOM
or a Nautical Almanac containing the same
information)
List of Lights
Tide Timetable or equivalent
Charts of the area being sailed (paper and/or
electronic)
Ships Logbook
In date!
1
1
1
1
Navtex or similar
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
You don’t have to
have French versions
aboard, but you do
have to have the
equivalent content in
your own language
1
Completed and up to
date of course! This is
a legal requirement in
France
Safety equipment etc 2
The Little Ship Club (“the Club”) must make clear the basis on which it organises and you participate in the
events that make up the Club’s varied sailing calendar. Those events may include fast cruises, yacht races,
training events and social rallies (together “the Activities”).
The Club introduces skippers and crews to one another, but it cannot warrant or certify the seaworthiness of
vessels or the competence of individual skippers or crew.
By taking part in any Activity, whether by putting to sea or crossing a start line, you agree –
•
that none of the Club, The Little Ship Club Limited (“the Company”), the Flag Officers, Officers,
Committee Members, Directors and employees of the Club or the Company are responsible to you or
others for personal injury, loss of life, loss of or damage to your, or anyone else’s, vessel or property
arising from your taking part in the Activities.
If you are a skipper, you also agree –
•
that the decision to take part in or withdraw from any of the Activities is solely yours and that it is your
responsibility to make sure that your vessel and its equipment are sound, that your crew are properly
briefed as to safety on board and that both crew and vessel are suitable for the Activities in the
conditions prevailing;
•
that any tidal or other navigational information offered by the Club is for guidance only and should be
checked by you;
•
that the responsibility to arrange adequate and suitable insurance cover with sufficient geographical
and territorial range, including third party liability cover for a minimum sum insured of £2.0 million, for
any Activity is yours; and
•
that you will draw this disclaimer to your crew’s attention before participation in any Activity.
If you are a crew member, you also agree –
•
that the responsibility to arrange adequate and suitable insurance cover for any Activity is yours.
Nothing in this disclaimer seeks to limit any statutory or common law liability that the Club or the Company may
have for death or personal injury arising from the negligence of either.
Advisory Note
Members should be aware that yacht insurers and life insurers may regard some of the Activities listed above as
“racing” within the terms of particular insurance policies and that not all policies cover such activity. Members
should therefore check for themselves that their insurance protections provide adequate cover for the particular
Activity in which they are taking part.
Little Ship Club Disclaimer