- Introduction to Cruising in Europe -

Seminar Presented at the SSCA Gam, Melbourne FL, 2005

Presenters:

Jan & Steve Burkholder - SUGILITE (Hallberg Rassy 36 Sloop)

Eileen & Dick Bishop - TRIUMPH (Nauticat 43 Ketch)

Patricia & Jack Tyler - WHOOSH (Pearson 424 Ketch)

Content: Our seminar’s main topics will be:

  1. Preparing Your Boat for Europe & Getting It There:

-- Taking on AC Power, Using LPG, Being Warm, Taking on Water, and Watching the Movies

  1. European Cruising Venues & the Infrastructure You Can Expect

-- The Baltic & Scandinavia; Atlantic Europe; Western Med; and the Eastern Med

  1. How to Comply with EU Laws and Avoid EU Taxes

-- Avoiding VAT, Being Immigration Compliant, and having the right Ship’s Papers

  1. The Cruising Nitty-Gritty You’ll Want to Know Once You’re There

-- New Buoys, Med Mooring, Weather Forecast Sources, ATM’s, Cell Phones & More!

  1. Cruising in Europe from a Woman’s Perspective

-- Food Shopping, Laundry, Haircut Roulette, Morocco, Cheap Airlines & Inland Travel

Good News ! The entire ‘Powerpoint’ content of this presentation can

be found at John Stevenson’s helpful website by visiting:

(Relax and enjoy the session; take notes NEXT time!)

Additional Resources and References:

Here is a variety of additional resources that we think may prove helpful when planning your cruise to Europe and while cruising European waters.

Orientation to Europe, its Waters & Practices:

  1. REEDS Oki Nautical Alamanac: Excellent reference on European buoyage, weather sources, tides, detailed port, routing & pilot information by region - and much more! - for all Atlantic coastal waters of Europe, from Denmark to Gibraltar. This is an excellent resource for improving your knowledge about Europe’s waters, and interesting reading while on passage. More info at
  2. Once inside the Med, you might want to shift to the Mediterranean Almanac by Rod Heikell since REEDS does not cover the Med. It too makes useful, informative reading even before you arrive in Europe.
  3. Handbook: Cruising European Waters (Version 5), written by CCA member Walt Paul and found at It is an excellent ‘soup to nuts’ overview of cruising in Europe.
  4. Noonsite provides current port and country info and as much (or little) of this content can also be accessed via email from the boat while underway, without web access: visit
  5. WHOOSH’s web articles cover a range of topics on preparing a North American yacht for cruising Europe plus cruising-related topics after one’s arrival:
  6. To find web articles written by Jan & Steve on SUGILITE, which includes comments about where to lay up the boat, visit
  7. To follow Eileen and Dick aboard TRIUMPH, visit

EU and Country-specific Information:

  1. The specific regulatory cite identifying the 18 month VAT exemption can be found at: (Noonsite also has some links on this subject).
  2. Subscribing to English-language sailing magazines will give you a flavor for what is going on in Europe; Yachting World, Yachting Monthly and Practical Boat Owner are all published in Britain by Yachting & Boating World but vary in their content
  3. The Royal Cruising Club (RCC), in concert with several different publishers, authors a series of guides that cover all of Europe. (Their website is also rich on other European-related information). To review their publications, visit And for guides published by Imray, you can obtain updates on-line at Imray’s website, print them up and slip them into the guide – see

Equipment & Service Vendors:

  1. For custom-built, inexpensive Isolation Transformers, consider Olsun Electrics in Richmond, IL (
  2. For more information on shipping your boat, visit
  3. Want to communicate in any (every!) language in the world? Consider carrying an International Worldwide Translator: (1 888 kwikpoint)
  4. Free European and North American VoIP telephony available on-line, including direct dialing to a conventional phone at 2¢/min:
  5. Want to reach the Internet from the Mother Ship? An excellent overview on WiFi, GPRS, GSM connectivity from a cruising boat can be found at

Weather Sources and Products:

  1. Where do you start? Probably by learning what kinds of weather forecast products are available, and how to get them aboard. For a comprehensive summary of Euro weather sources, modes, communications options, GMDSS info and much more, visit Frank was a British Met Office senior forecaster for many years and is a long-time cruiser aboard a Hallberg-Rassy 34.
  2. If you have cell phone service and prefer easy ‘one stop shopping’ to gather a mix of wind/wave, swell and text f'casts from government services quickly, use the free trial available from Zipget to see if it will meet your needs. Invented by fellow cruiser Chris Hart, it doesn’t get easier than this:
  3. Some of us have used and found it is very helpful in summarizing weather forecast info in Europe.

- Introduction to Cruising in Europe -

Additional Resources and References (cont’d)

  1. When you have web access (via cell phone, wifi or cyberhut ashore) and want to mix your own cocktail of weather f’cast products, easy access to a wide range of weather f'cast links can be found at SSCA'ers Doug & Judy Decker's website: Very slick!

Navigational Resources:

  1. NIMA’s Sailing Directions for all of Europe (and the World) can be downloaded without cost (beyond your annual contribution to the IRS) & carried digitally:
  2. Similarly, free downloading of North Atlantic Pilot Charts are available on-line, along with many other U.S. government maritime references, at pollux.nss.nima.mil/pubs/
  3. There are many chart agents all over Europe but if you prefer English-language charts, that may make you a customer of British Admiralty charts and chart kits. These can be found at commercial chart suppliers at shipping crossroads, including the Kiel Canal (by the locks in Kiel), Amsterdam, Rotterdam, London and Gibraltar. There is also an excellent chart agent to supply your Northern European needs when you arrive in Falmouth.
  4. Here is a personal but experience-based rating of the paper charts one can purchase and use while cruising in Northern Europe:

Imary - Excellent

Sweden/Danish - Excellent

German - Very Good

British Admiralty - Good

NIMA (USA) - Fair

French – Only Fair when using, but pretty to look at!

Spanish - Excellent