From the Caribbean
Landfall at Falmouth
Falmouth has deep water at any state of tide, and is sheltered in all but strong southerlies. Port Pendennis takes yachts to over 80m alongside, and the Crossroads mooring in Carrick Roads takes up to 180m and 10.5m draught.
Falmouth Pilots monitor VHF 09 and need 24 hours’ notice of the ETA, confirmed one hour before reaching the pilot station. Whether a pilot is compulsory depends on the zone and the yacht’s length, as set out on the Falmouth page.
Clearing in
The pleasure craft report is made online to Border Force between two and twenty-four hours before the yacht sails from its last port for the United Kingdom. The yellow Q flag is flown from the twelve-mile limit until an officer confirms that it may be lowered, and no one lands until Border Force has given permission.
A yacht registered outside the United Kingdom to a person established outside it may stay for up to twenty-four months in Great Britain under Temporary Admission, free of import VAT and duty. The period is separate from any EU period, and days in the United Kingdom do not count towards Schengen.
Guests who are not British or Irish need an Electronic Travel Authorisation before they travel. Professional crew arriving and leaving with the yacht need neither the authorisation nor permission to enter. A yacht carrying fare-paying passengers clears as a commercial vessel. The full position is on the clearance page.
After the crossing
The Falmouth Haven fuel barge serves yachts to 35m, booked in advance, and a larger yacht takes fuel from an approved bunker barge in the harbour. With three days’ notice, an engineer and parts are on the quay on arrival.
Pendennis Shipyard has two 75m enclosed dry docks and an 800 tonne hoist, and Balaena has dry docks to 253m, for work after the passage. The yards and their approaches are on the technical page.
The season eastward
From Falmouth the coast runs east through Fowey, Plymouth, Dartmouth and Poole to the Solent, where the Admiral’s Cup, the Fastnet start and Cowes Week are held in July, and on to London for the summer.
Watermans acts for the yacht at each port, on a single account. The dates are on the season page, and the berths, pilotage and notice for each port are in the planner.
Falmouth Harbour Pilotage Directions 2025 and harbour information; Port Pendennis; Pendennis Shipyard; Balaena; GOV.UK pleasure craft reporting, Temporary Admission and Electronic Travel Authorisation guidance; Entering the UK, exemptions to controls. Checked 23 September 2026.
An estimate is issued the same working day.