Schengen Area Cruiser’s Survey Needs Your Input

OCC Member Kingsley Ross has created a survey to help quantify the economic impact on cruising areas caused by restrictions on visa terms for cruisers from outside the Schengen agreement area who visit by yacht.  We urge cruisers who have any experience with this matter to please take a few moments to supply input to this important survey. The survey is online at this URL https://goo.gl/wkMWxk.

 

The information will be collated and analysed to support a case for easing visa restrictions on visiting yachtsmen by the EU and Schengen countries. Legislation to establish a touring visa has already been proposed but not acted upon. It is hoped that providing tangible figures on economic impact can help move the new proposed European legislation forward.

 

“This survey will capture information on how much is being spent in non-Schengen countries while cruisers were staying in them to avoid violating Schengen visa restrictions. While I think the survey will help, going to your own representative is a crucial way of making this happen. The survey results hopefully will give some ammunition to this type of effort,” explains Kingsley Ross, lead coordinator.

 

OCC Rear Commodore Peter Paternotte is contacting the Netherlands Automobile Association, a truly Europe-focused organization also looking after the interests of “land cruisers” from abroad who face similar issues. He adds, “I have been concentrating on raising the awareness of the concerns of those travelling by sea with the European Boating Association and will also contact Dutch EU Parliament members. The more support we can muster the better.”

 

“The Corsica anchoring tax adds another dimension as it is relevant to European flagged cruisers as well. This survey can be a valuable tool for future interventions. Besides using the data to argue the Schengen issue and the new fees in various countries, it could be used to support cruiser friendly policies in Turkey, Great Britain and elsewhere,” added OCC member Gus Wilson, collaborator on this effort in the UK.  

 

Visit the OCC Forum thread on the subject for updates. For detailed information on the proposed legislation, please view the documents below:

·         Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing a touring visa and amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulations (EC) No 562/2006 and (EC) No 767/2008

·         COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT Regulation of the Union Code on Visas

 

 

 

About the Ocean Cruising Club

 

The Ocean Cruising Club exists to encourage long-distance sailing in small boats. A Full Member of the OCC must have completed a qualifying voyage of a non-stop port-to-port ocean passage, where the distance between the two ports is not less than 1,000 nautical miles as measured by the shortest practical Great Circle route, as skipper or member of the crew in a vessel of not more than 70ft (21.36 m) LOA; associate members are committed to the achievement of that goal. This standard distinguishes the OCC from all other sailing clubs. It’s not about what you are or who you know, but simply what you have done, that matters. Our membership as a whole has more experience offshore than any other sailing organisation – in the number of circumnavigators, in the range of extraordinary voyages members have completed, and in the number of solo sailors, and female sailors among our ranks. This is what sets us apart from other organisations, even as it draws us together as a group. We bring the spirit of seafaring to our association by always being willing to assist any fellow sailor we meet, either afloat or ashore.

With a central office in the UK, though it has no physical clubhouse, the OCC is, in a way, the “home port” for all of us who have sailed long distances across big oceans. With 48 nationalities and Port Officers in as many countries, we have a more diverse membership and a more international reach than any other sailing organisation. Our Port Officers and Regional Rear Commodores represent the frontline interaction with our existing members and the recruitment of new members.