Now what?

[chinita]

Cadiz on a Spanish friends boat but i was on the helm at the time.Wan*ers kept us for about 5 hrs.It is Spanish flagged.Think they could spend more time stopping bull fighting than using 5 cops to deal with us 3 very experienced sailors doing 2kts over the limit as we went through the entrance.

Interesting you say Cadiz. I have a friend who was boarded by the Maritime Police in Rota. He was at the helm of a Spanish Flagged boat (he was berthing the boat (a Bav) as the Spanish Owner did not have the confidence.)

The fine was €10,000 for not having a Spanish Skippers Qualification.

He ignored it. Six months later his wife was stopped by the Guardia Civil whilst driving their Spanish Registered car out of Rota Marina. It took her several hours to convince them that it was her husband, not her, at the helm.

He paid the fine eventually but is still stopped each time he enters Malaga airport.

[Csail]

Csail,
I don't want to destroy your complaint/rant, but was the fine just for speeding, or were there other infractions also, such as, ISTR, driving a Spanish boat without appropriate documentation ??? It would be interesting to see the official documentation stating the fine and its motivations -- PM me in confidence, if you wish, I might be able to clarify some points for you.

As far as I know, there is no fine as high as you state for a simple speeding infraction, anywhere, even for cars, unless the car was well over the limit, and I mean well over.

Plomong

Not bothered 'in confidence' bit. Just a pain as i go to Spain quite a bit. Only reason i was on on the helm was because Spanish mate was changing out of wet suit....just bad timing for me. Only other thing it might be was we were wakeboarding in the dock....no idea if we were allowed to, i just assumed they did it all the time.Also the dock was a few miles away so guess they wouldn't know.Anyone speak Spanish and can compile a letter?

[chinita]

If you go into the Spanish Embassy in London, they will write a letter for you. I would think. They once helped my grandfather with something and he said that the girl there was very nice.

[Csail]

If you go into the Spanish Embassy in London, they will write a letter for you. I would think. They once helped my grandfather with something and he said that the girl there was very nice.

Suppose my sister could do it , she lives central london.

[Caladh]

Not bothered 'in confidence' bit. Just a pain as i go to Spain quite a bit. Only reason i was on on the helm was because Spanish mate was changing out of wet suit....just bad timing for me. Only other thing it might be was we were wakeboarding in the dock....no idea if we were allowed to, i just assumed they did it all the time.Also the dock was a few miles away so guess they wouldn't know.Anyone speak Spanish and can compile a letter?

Am I missing something here ? What on earth is "wakeboarding" ? As an aside were you aware of the speed restriction ? Was there a sign or is it quoted in sailing directions anywhere e.g Reeds etc

[Csail]

Am I missing something here ? What on earth is "wakeboarding" ? As an aside were you aware of the speed restriction ? Was there a sign or is it quoted in sailing directions anywhere e.g Reeds etc

Wakeboard is like towing a snowboarder.No idea on speed signs and don't care, whats the difference between 5knts and 7knts.And no i didn't look at reeds or anything....i just took the helm for ten mins or so.

[JamesFrance]

I recently had a long and successful exchange of emails with my local controller of taxes here in France. The outcome was a refund I had demanded, owed to me because they had failed to apply the new double tax treaty correctly.

This took place using Google Translate to compose my replies and read his emails in English.

Maybe that would work in Spanish also.

[chinita]

Suppose my sister could do it , she lives central london.

Ive just remembered her name. Maria, or Manuela. something like that. But my grandfather died in 1971 and he said she was pregnant at the time so she could be on maternity leave or in another department. If she has a phone you sister could ask to save a journey.

[chinita]

My smbo has just said that you were lucky not to have your boat rendered as wakeboarding is illegal and against the geneva convention. Something to do with arabs in guatemala bay.

The long arm of brussells eh!

[Plomong]

Not bothered 'in confidence' bit. Just a pain as i go to Spain quite a bit. Only reason i was on on the helm was because Spanish mate was changing out of wet suit....just bad timing for me. Only other thing it might be was we were wakeboarding in the dock....no idea if we were allowed to, i just assumed they did it all the time.Also the dock was a few miles away so guess they wouldn't know.Anyone speak Spanish and can compile a letter?

Some questions:
1) When did you receive the notification of the fine ???
2) What law or regulation is quoted in the notification as having been broken ???
3) Who exactly fined you or notified you of an impending fine ?? By what means, where and when ???
4) In which dock were you wakeboarding ??? Some are more sensitive than others !!!! Some have restrictions in place, others don't, some are military areas, others just plain commercial. Fines differ !!!
5) Did you say anything or have any contact with those who have fined or notified you of a fine ???
6) On what date did the incident occur ???

Please keep answers short and sweet, if you can.

Plomong