The Irish-registered 17m cruiser, Aquarelle, featured in the October issue of PBO as her owners, Mike and Rosaleen Miller battled with bureaucracy between leaving Serbia in October 2009 and transiting the EU states of Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and finally Germany.

So they decided to interview the proper authorities in each place to get to the bottom of what documents, equipment, licenses, pilots etc each nation actually requires.

They presented their findings to the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), which admitted that ‘some form of standardisation is clearly necessary and would be beneficial to all’.

But until the bureaucrats rein in the bureaucracies (they’re probably having a meeting as we speak), take note of the Miller’s findings, which are extensive, if not exhaustive, and which should be used as a basis for your own further investigations rather than the final word on the business.