Original "French Rules" Article
Foreword
The following is a (non-literal) translation of the French original sent to me by Anne Morice who organises the 'Semaine du Golfe'.
It is a response to the article that I previously wrote concerning French
regulations by M. Gérard d'Aboville, president of the
"Conseil National Supérieur de la Navigation de Plaisance et des
Loisirs Nautiques" which is a big national institution within the "Ministère
de l'équipement".
He works in contact with the head of the "Direction Nationale des Affaires Maritimes".
He is also "Commissaire Général" of the Semaine du Golfe du Morbihan.
This response contains valuable corrections and amendments to the original article.
Terry Hinks.
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Translation [Original Document in French]
The 'Conseil supérieur de la navigation de plaisance et des sports nautiques' has intervened to considerably lighten French regulation and the main parts of our suggestions have effectively been incorporated into the regulation of 2005.
In the first place, it is right to state that these rules apply to boats registered in France, that's to say under the French flag. The rules set out in the table that has been sent to me contain a certain number of errors. For foreign boats, it’s the equipment demanded by their "flag state" that is required. The officers of the 'Affaires Maritimes' or others, who have the power to inspect a boat in France, will content themselves therefore, if it’s a foreign boat, with checking its registration documents. This doesn't prevent our foreign friends, whatever their flag, from having aboard their boat a decent level of safety equipment, particularly if they envisage sailing before or after the Semaine du Golfe, that's to say independent of, and without benefiting from, the protection that we provide.
My reply must stop there and satisfy our correspondents, however, everyone knows that the French coast can be in certain places, extremely dangerous and one notes that despite the considerable expansion of leisure boating in our country, and the regrettable lack of sea-sense of many of them, this activity is extremely safe (19 victims in 2004, 13 in 2005), and that French regulation must be used as a minimum standard by a foreign leisure boater who wishes to sail along our coasts. One must note that there is nothing excessive, on condition that the errors in the documents sent to me are corrected as follows:
I. the equipment required for "small leisure craft" is alleviated:
(Attention the text which follows is an extract; those who would like to have the exact regulation can obtain it from the following address:
1. Each person on board a small leisure craft must be provided with a life jacket or buoyancy-aid. Persons wearing a diving wetsuit providing a minimum buoyancy of 50 N are exempt.
2. Small craft of length less than 5 metres, or non-ballasted and less than 300 kg in weight, or open sail craft, or undecked sail craft, must carry the following equipment on board:
For small craft going beyond 2 miles from shelter, this list is completed by the following equipment :
3. Small craft propelled by human energy of more than 4 metres must carry the following equipment on board:
For small craft going beyond 2 miles from shelter, this list is completed by the following equipment :
II. For other small pleasure craft, a few corrections in comparison with the document that was sent to me :
1) in place of Mooring Buoy one should read Black ball.
2) all of the equipment detailed under "adherence to international regulation" is by definition, obligatory whatever the flag. The french regulations do no more than conform to IMO regulations.
3) Collective safety : the 142 newtons of buoyancy are equally european standard, a deflated inflatable does the job.
4) Navigation : the equipment required is that which corresponds to the navigation being carried out. It is quite obvious that a sextant is not necessary for a coastal crossing and, all the more so, in the Gulf !
5) Meteorology : a simple long wave receiver suffices for listening to the weather forecast.
6) Nautical information and Documentation : all the 'ouvrages' cited can be limited to a nautical almanac of the type "Almanach du marin breton" for the french; «Reeds» or other for foreigners.
III. Outside of this table, other remarks :
1) Shelter : the definition of shelter is : any place where the ship can easily find refuge and where the people on board can be placed in safety.
It is therefore evident that the notion of shelter depends of the type of ship and on the weather. It’s not a question of an officially recognised port.
2) Speed : of course the 300 metre limit depends on the tide. Otherwise it would say nothing since there are areas of the coast where the sea advances and retreats by several hundred metres. In addition, it’s a question of establishing a visual notion for the pleasure boater and it would be impossible to materialise this line if it was otherwise. As regards the Gulf, a tolerance is obviously allowed with regard to those areas with strong currents in which a motor boat can be caused to exceed 5 knots to stay manoeuvrable. There is equally tolerance for a sailing boat which exceeds 5 knots.
Indeed, as far as almost all the Gulf of Morbihan is concerned, all those who have participated in previous years Semaine du Golfe, will be able to tell you the degree to which waves created by certain motor boats which go quickly, can be dangerous for small craft.