Cruising Association hosts Brexit Webinar

The Cruising Association hosted a Brexit Webinar for members on Saturday 22 January 2022, which is now published for public viewing amongst the wider cruising community.

The Brexit Webinar was a follow-up to the first CA webinar held in December 2020, and addressed the key issues which continue to impact sail and motor cruisers as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU.

“The Cruising Association’s role is to empower our members with ‘know how’, by sharing comprehensive and reliable information,” commented Derek Lumb, President of the Cruising Association.

““The CA’s Regulations and Technical Services group (RATS) continues to be at the forefront of lobbying on behalf of the cruising community to mitigate the impact of the UK leaving the EU, and there have been some significant changes in the past year which were presented in the webinar.”

CA members from Austria, France, Greece, Jersey, Kenya, Portugal, Spain and the UK tuned in to the live webinar, together with invited media, to hear and discuss the latest updates on:

• People issues - including Schengen immigration and the 90/180 day visa rules
• VAT issues - the latest on EU and UK VAT and the changes to Returned Goods Relief
• Recreational Craft Directive/Recreational Craft Rules - compliance and how it will affect you
• Q&A session - responding to submitted and live questions from members

The panel of RATS experts – Robin Baron, Roger Bickerstaff, Nick Bullen, Mike Eastman and Simon Hampton-Matthews – addressed the main issues which impact those who want to go cruising in Europe and discussed solutions. The webinar shared insightful talks, illustrated with slide presentations and case studies.

The Cruising Association is delighted to now share the webinar publicly, excluding the Q&A segment which attracted around 70 questions and is available exclusively on the CA members’ version.

Brexit Issues for Cruisers

“Cruising Association members are part of a multi-partner campaign effort,” continued Derek Lumb. “The good news is that whilst there are technicalities to follow, there has been significant movement by the UK authorities.

“We are extremely grateful to our experts on the Regulations and Technical Services group (RATS) who are all CA members and active cruising sailors with first-hand experience of the issues. They work rigorously to support the cruising community in enjoying their freedoms.”

Brexit Advice

Through the CA website, members have access to a full package of Brexit-related advice covering both the range of issues and the country-specific details, such as Schengen Implications, VAT, Departure and Arrival Procedures, Pets and Health Insurance and country specific information. More information about the work of RATS is here.

Event Programme

From October to April each year, the Cruising Association runs a regular programme of webinars and lectures for members, with some open to non-members too. Take a look at our upcoming programme here.

It should be noted that the recording of the webinar and PDF of presentation slides must be viewed and read in conjunction with the Disclaimer below, and on the understanding that it is based on information available at the time of broadcast on 22 January 2022. As such, any of the detail provided may be superseded at any time and the video or PDF of the slide presentation will remain as at the time of presentation and not be updated to reflect any subsequent changes.

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The Regulations and Technical Services group (RATS) is an executive committee of the Cruising Association (CA) made up of CA volunteers. RATS gives advice and assistance to CA members and others on a voluntary basis but this is subject to the following Disclaimer and should not be regarded as a substitute for appropriate professional advice.

Disclaimer

Any advice has been prepared by the Cruising Association, its members and others and they and it have tried to ensure that the contents are accurate. However, the Cruising Association, its employees, contributors and relevant members shall not be liable for any loss, damage or inconvenience of any kind howsoever arising in connection with the use of such advice, save to the extent required by applicable law.