Schengen caution on the North Atlantic circuit

[Sailormantx]

I had an interesting chat with immigration in Horta yesterday as they clear you very time you move the boat in Portuguese waters. 90 days as a tourist was not unusual, but...as a member of the Schengen agreement area your time starts in whatever country you enter in and does not stop until you leave for a non-Schengen country. So they are counting my 90 days form the time I cleared into St Pierre et Miquelon and counting non stop even though I cleared out of St Pierre and spent 15 days at sea in international waters before arriving in the Azores. This should not be a problem for me, but If you are planning to make full use of your 90 days it would be better to clear out from Canada and not St Pierre et Miquelon, which is a part of France, and therefore included in the Schengen area.