Lac Leman Regulations

Safety Equipment

This is a summary of the safety equipment that should be carried on board. Please refer to the official documents via the links below for accurate information.

A Personal Flotation device (lifejacket or Buoyancy Aid) for every person on board

A bailing device (fixed or mobile) for non-self-draining boats or those with at least one habitable space

Fire Extinguisher (CE marking according to the manufacturer's recommendation in the owner's manual or in accordance with division 245)

A secure point for towing and mooring, with at least one mooring point and one mooring line to ensure these 2 functions

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A suitable mooring line.
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A waterproof flashlight or an individual means of luminous identification worn permanently by each person on board

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Three hand held red flares
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Fog Horn
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A waterproof magnetic compass1 (ISO standard) or a waterproof GPS system

A Chart of the area where you are navigating (paper or electronic

A FIrst Aid kit is not necessary for the regulations BUT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

link to download PDF - L’équipement de Sécurité des bateaux de plaisance en navigation intérieure.

https://haute-savoie.gouv.fr/contenu/telechargement/36784/215823/file/06a_dgitm_equipment_de_securite-bateaux_de_plaisance_en-navigation_interieure_6p_-_2021_cle52ed5d.pdf

Essential Documents

Additionally, for any vessel going beyond 300m these documents need to be carried:

The Helms boat licence. This can be a Coastal or Inland license, both are valid on the whole of Lake Geneva, even on the Swiss side (A copy is tolerated by the BN Evian)
The Boat's Registration documents (Carte Gris) (A copy is tolerated by BN Evian)
An up-to-date copy of the Lake Geneva Special Police Regulations (RPP). It can be a copy in paper or electronic format on a smartphone (in PDF format saved on the smartphone).
Reglement Particulier de Police du lac Leman:

http://www.haute-savoie.gouv.fr/content/download/28037/168112/file/RPPconsolide_VOK-2019-06-17-bd.pdf

An up-to-date copy of the General Police Regulations valid on all inland water bodies in France (RGP) This can be a copy in paper or electronic format on a smartphone (in PDF form saved on the smartphone).
Reglement General de Police:

http://www.haute-savoie.gouv.fr/content/download/23843/145334/file/recueil_rgpni__2019_09.pdf

An up-to-date copy of the Franco-Swiss agreement of December 7, 1976. This can be a copy in paper or electronic format on a smartphone (in PDF form saved on the smartphone).
L’Accord Franco Suisse du 7 December 1976 et son annexe:

http://www.haute-savoie.gouv.fr/content/download/31420/186874/file/00-RNL-2019-compile-et-accord.pdf

These documents must be on board all boats (without exception) sailing on Lake Geneva as long as they are authorized to go more than 300 m from the shore. Beach gear, for example, is not affected by this rule since it is not allowed to go more than 300 meters from the shore anyway.

For all other boats, if they go more than 3700 m from the shore, they will also need a copy of a Lake Geneva Navigation Chart. (Paper or electronic format on a gps for example. You can find them in paper format in local Chandleries)