Has Cruising Become Too Artificial, Too Expensive, Too Regulated ?

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Musta been non-stop.. every marina I have ever been in in the EU requests paper for boat and ID.. even more so with the migration and drug problems.. both before and since Brexit.

Marinas are merely requesting your insurance cover, entirely different, I sailed into a town quay. Marinas are essentially private concerns, they dont actually care who you are and are not charged with immigration. One always needed ships papers

I sailed into Brest a few years ago, as Im non schengen I went looking for immigration , after he stopped laughing and said why was i bothering and go and have a coffee . Of course if you were English youd just get thrown in jail but thats different !!

paperwork for me has become very straightforward. I pay my cruising tax in greece online, compared to the mess a few years ago woth DEPKAs etc.

Even sailing into the US is actually easier since the cruising license thingy was introduced , though the variability between states is a pain

Mind you someone needs to tell that women in VilaMoura that Portugal is in the EU

[Island Time O25]

As with any activity which used to be enjoyed by more knowledgeable smaller number of individuals and became more "common folk" activity the self policing phase is long over. Thus the feeling (quite real) of overregulation, crowded anchorages, priced out marinas, etc. Fueled by social media and loose monetary policies cruising (and boating in general) became the victim of its own success.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

As with any activity which used to be enjoyed by more knowledgeable smaller number of individuals and became more "common folk" activity the self policing phase is long over. Thus the feeling (quite real) of overregulation, crowded anchorages, priced out marinas, etc. Fueled by social media and loose monetary policies cruising (and boating in general) became the victim of its own success.

True, but its remarkably free of controls compared to many land based activities , The sea remains one of the last bastions of light touch regulations . I don't needs licenses, insurance, registration to sail around my home coasts for example

What you say is regulation is really simply people seeing monetizing opportunities from an activity that has now mass appeal , that's not quite the same as official regulation or controls

[Sailorman97]

Originally Posted by Piney

My only hope is that as the governments fall into financial decay, there will be less and less money available to enforce the billions of regulations that have been forced upon us.

Just turn the country into a 3rd world country with no rules except might is right.

That should be fun.

Mad Max to the rescue.

Who needs sewers, police, roads, clean water, and the civil service anyway.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Marinas are merely requesting your insurance cover, entirely different, I sailed into a town quay. Marinas are essentially private concerns, they dont actually care who you are and are not charged with immigration. One always needed ships papers

I have found that marina's in the EU are todays C&I central data base supplier.. for example Portimao, at the desk your asked for your boat papers and ID, if your an EU citizen no problem regardless of flag.. if non EU the C&I wanders over from his office across from reception and invites you in to fill out the various bits and pieces.
I sailed into Brest a few years ago, as Im non schengen I went looking for immigration , after he stopped laughing and said why was i bothering and go and have a coffee . Of course if you were English youd just get thrown in jail but thats different !!

Never been threatened with jail in France.. they have gone OTT because I didn't meet their safety/nav requirements.. H/H GPS and paper charts and no Liferaft but eventually conceded there was nothing they could do.. also hauled in by Customs as I cleared Ushant several times by bored idiots who carried out 5+ hrs searches of boats I was delivering to the UK.

paperwork for me has become very straightforward. I pay my cruising tax in greece online, compared to the mess a few years ago woth DEPKAs etc.

I can do that online with the Portuguese Lights and Buoys tax..

Even sailing into the US is actually easier since the cruising license thingy was introduced , though the variability between states is a pain

Still need to get the B1/B2 visa.. what you mean is the Cruising tax you have to pay for cruising ones boat along their coast.. different from sailing into the US.
Mind you someone needs to tell that women in VilaMoura that Portugal is in the EU

Tying up to a quay is a different matter to a marina, most you'll get is maybe a bored copper strolling by or a pissed off local fishing boat who wants the space.
Have done it in Sardinia, Greece, Spain and many other places..
Methinks your trying to paint a picture of a false paradise.

[BilgeRat]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

the good old days were just bad, yachting in the 50s was elitist , I remember as a kid when we tried to access Franco Spain by road, in 1968 , we arrived after the border closed for he night and had to sleep in the car surrounded by armed soldiers till the crossing re-opended in the morning

These days , i drive through with a smile, I sailed from France to greece recently, no a stamp , not a request for paper , nothing , zero

I can order parts on the internet , DHL and Fedex deliver everywhere , briliant.

Cruisers have it easy, thats why there are 1000s more in boating then before

You do know the world population has tripled since 1950. And boats are a lot easier to build nowadays. Pretty soon they be 3D printing them.