Sailing to France
PSSA members planning to sail to France this summer should be aware of current regulations. A shortage of officials means that not all ports can be treated as Ports of Entry. That excludes, among others, the Somme estuary, Fécamp, Grandcamp, St Vaast, Diélette and most ports in north Brittany. Also, sailors returning from France should ensure that they depart from a Port of Entry and that their passports are stamped on departure, to avoid appearing to overstay their time in the Schengen zone, which could result in future entry being denied. Full advice is available at www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailtofrance
The PSSA is the class association for Parker and Seal lift keel yachts and other types of shallow draft yachts.
As an active, friendly club with almost 350 members, it organises rallies, social events and an annual race around the Isle of Wight.
Seals and Parkers are British-built yachts, ranging in length from 21' to 33', mostly with lifting keels. They started with the Seal 22 in 1970, built by John Baker, and followed by the Seal 28 and Super Seal 26. In 1981, Bill Parker took over the range and added the Parker 21, Parker 27 and Parker 31. These then evolved into a high-quality range of cruiser-racers built by Parker Lift-Keel Yachts - the trailable Parker 235, the Parker 285 and the Parker 335. In 2009, Parker Lift-Keel yachts ceased trading.