We will return to Karlskrona towards the end of April. A crane to relaunch Antipole is booked for April 30th.
From Karlskrona we plan to visit the Danish island of Bornholm, of which many enthuse. Then to Copenhagen and after that though the Limfjord and out into the North Sea. We will then work our way through the Frisian Islands from north to south west. We have not yet decided on a route through the Netherlands: ‘indoors’ through the canals, through the IJselmeer or down the Northsea coast. This will depend on the weather as well as inclination. We expect to meet up with Dutch family during this time.
Finally, we plan to pass along the Belgian coast and thence to Dover and back to Portsmouth.
Over winter 2019/20 we plan a refit before being UK-based for the 2020 season, perhaps with visits to old haunts such as the Scilly Isles or Brittany.
Brexit caveat
Should the UK leave the EU without a deal or any transition arrangement ends while Antipole is within the EU27, she will retain her status as EU Union Goods. She would retain freedom of movement within the EU.
However, this may complicate her return to the UK. Potentially, under WTO terms, we would be required to import her into the UK. While there is provision for relief for vessels temporarily exported for less than three years, Antipole was never exported from the UK and will have been away for more than three years. If we were required to pay VAT again, this would be prohibitive and she might not be able to return to the UK.
As of 6th March, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs says it does not know what the position will be as their Brexit Policy Unit has not considered the matter!
Update 16th April: HMRC say legislation will be tabled to deal with this anomaly. We do not know what the situation will be until that comes to be.
As ever, family and friends are welcome to join us. The table below is our out-line plan. Dates with a dash (i.e. 3-8 June) indicate a likely range of dates when we may be there, subject to weather as usual. If you want to join us, we could be more specific. The notes column shows where access is relatively easy.
| Approximate dates | Where | Accessibility & Notes |
| 2 May | Depart Karlskrona | |
| 9 until 15 May | Bornholm | ✈️ via Copenhagen |
| 19 May | Arrive Copenhagen | ✈️ |
| Based in Copenhagen | David & Marcus on board 24th – 28th May | |
| 29 May | Depart Copenhagen | ✈️ Copenhagen |
| 2-5 June | Århus | ✈️ Århus or Billund |
| 6-11 June | Ålborg in Limfjord | ✈️ Ålborg |
| 8-15 June | Struer in Limfjord | |
| 21 June – 5 July | Esbjerg | From Esbjerg we will meander southwards through the North Frisian islands. It would be possible to join/leave us at Esbjerg ✈️, Sylt ✈️ or Dagesbüll or Husum 🚃 Hamburg ✈️ |
| 21 until 25 July | Friedrichstadt on River Eider | We will make an excursion to the UK to see Rick et. fam. 🚃 Hamburg ✈️ |
| 26 July | Helgoland | |
| 28 July to 3 August | German & Dutch Frisian Islands | Yvonne & Fritz on board |
| 3 – 5 August | Den Helder | 🚃 |
| 3 – 7 August | IJmuiden | ✈️🚃 |
| 6 – 10 August | Scheveningen | 🚃 |
| 8-13 August | Vlissingen | 🚃 Sarah & Oli on board 16th – 19th August |
| 9 – 16 August | Brugge? | Probable excursion to Brugge if time available 🚃 |
| 22 August | Dunkirque | 🚃 |
| 24 August | Dover | 🚃 |
| 26-27 August | Brighton | 🚃 |
| 28-29 August | Portsmouth | 🚃 |
It would be particularly good to have extra hands for the stretch from Vlissingen (or Brugge if we stop there) back to Portsmouth.
Amended 11 Mar: Corrections to estimated dates