I had my sailboat in France and Spain a few years ago. I never heard
of a "cruising permit." It must be something new. I found
immigration and customs incredibly easy. I even had a pistol aboard.
I showed them that I kept it under lock and key and they didn't even
raise an eyebrow.

As for charging you, well that's another story. Many of the small
ports in the Ballearic (sp) islands are controlled by local officials
who insist you tie up at the municipal docks (which is usually just a
wall where you dock "Med" style). They were getting a handsome price
for this and would not even allow you to anchor until all their spaces
were filled. Almost every port had a different shore-power hookup and
often you had to chase down an elec. supply store to purchase the
appropriate connector. There was usually about one water hose for
each 50 boats which meant it could be a two-to-three-day wait to get a
little water. For this they were charging up to $100.00 U.S.
equivalent per day for a 41 ft. sailboat. I had initially planned on
keeping the boat in the Med for three or four years but when, in
France, the cheapest place I could find to put my boat on the hard
wanted $9000.00 for Sept. thru June I just said the hell with it and
had my boat shipped back. However, I will admit that there was a
network of round-the-worlders there who had a net going and knew how
to cut corners on everything. I would strongly recommend tying into
that net which operated on SSB and ham radio.

The water was beautiful and clear for the most part though there were
precious little fish to be seen. There were Jongerts and Pirini Navis
and Swans everywhere--not to mention loads of mega yachts. European
boaters never seemed to be hurting for funds. Outside of Monaco and
Cap d'Antibes the French had some more modest sailboats. I was
surprised to note that the French didn't seem to take very good care
of their boats--apart from the luxury SVs which usually had a crew
taking care of them.

There were thieves everywhere. They would steal your boat shoes right
off the dock. Even heard about people losing anchors. The French
said it was the "Arabs" doing it. Who knows? I talked to other
people who had spent time in North African ports and said they had
nothing taken.

Almost everyone told me to avoid Corsica because of political problems
the French were having and because of prices there which apparently
were even higher than Spain and the rest of France.

Look out for the mistrals. I experienced three days of steady 45 kt.
winds going from Majorca to France. Strange phenomenon. These winds
were not accompanied by a barometric change. They just started
blowing in the middle of the night and did not abate for 72 hours.
They build up a short, choppy sea. There are probably others who have
a better understanding of the phenomenon. I think it has something to
do with the wind being funneled down the Rhone valley but I could be
mistaken.

Looks like you are taking advantage of the "window" for your eastward
crossing. Good luck. Hope some of my info is helpful to you.

Joe

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:53:30 -0700, "Evan Gatehouse"
wrote:


"Vince LoRusso" wrote in message
. com...
I intend on sailing from the British Virgin Islands to Brest, France
June 1st. How long the boat stays over there will depend in part on
how long the EU allows forign vessels to stay in their waters. Any
one know how long a boat can stay before one gets booted out or
charged some fee?

Vince

18 months is the current limit I think.