Alghero to Tunisia and back in 2 weeks – Fabulous Experience on Andrea Jensen

We are so pleased with ourselves right now. Our long awaited plans to sail Andrea Jensen to Tunisia were realised last month. The 5 crew all arrived in Alghero from various parts of the UK on April 16th. The voyage was necessary due to Brexit and the 18 month rule for British boats located in EU waters and was not without its challenges. These however, were swiftly overcome, due to the experience and knowledge of Colin and the supportive crew we had gathered together for the trip. We left Alghero port not once but twice (due to a problem with the engine heat exchanger failing) and needed to be towed back into port for the 1st time ever. All engine issues now fixed (new heat exchanger installed) by Colin and our new friend and 2nd skipper Davide, who was part of our able crew, we finally departed south, 2 days late, on 18th April, down the west coast of Sardinia, on our maiden voyage to Tunisia (the day after my birthday).

The wind was favourable and we sailed 50% of the way to Oristano bay, arriving after 9 hours. Colin and Davide refined the new rigging for the main top sail along the way too and this was successfully flown for the first time on Andrea Jensen under our ownership. Colin was delighted to see it rise above the main sail. The sails were dropped and we picked up a mooring buoy and rested peacefully for the evening, quietly satisfied. We set off early the next morning on the 2nd leg of the voyage, (planned to take 24hrs) and headed for Carloforte Marina on the small island of San Pietro, west of Cagliari. This was our first overnight leg of the voyage and the crew were fantastic. We split the crew into 2 main, 4 hour shifts, one skippered by Colin and the other by Davide, our Sardinian born, 2nd in command for the journey. The rest of the crew namely Finn, Lauren, Paul, Lara and myself supported the 2 skippers, 4hrs on 4hrs off. This worked famously and we arrived safely In Sifredi Marina, Carloforte, on the morning of Thursday April 21st. We motor-sailed the whole leg as the wind was not strong enough to allow us to switch off the engine (and we did not want to delay the journey south). A true test of the engine which was now thankfully, performing well, much to our collective relief!

The 3rd leg of the journey to Tunisia was delayed by 4 days unfortunately, due to high seas and we did not set off from Carloforte until early Monday morning. With excitement in our hearts (and some trepidation, it would be true to say) we set off at 1st light, on the 24hour journey across the Mediterranean to Tunisia. The journey went exactly to plan and we arrived 24 hours later in Bizerte to a very friendly welcome. We remained awake a further few hours to clear Tunisian Customs but this was very straight forward and went with out a hitch. The boat was searched and a Dr came aboard to examine our Covid vaccination documentation. All as in order! We were issued with health passes and allowed to disembark and explore Bizerte further.

Tunisia was welcoming and friendly. We had pulled up alongside the main harbour wall outside the Marina Office and were allowed to stay there for 1 night as we were due to leave the next morning back to Sardinia. The crew took a well earned rest and after a few hours sleep and a shower, some of us went ashore to explore the local town of Bizerte. The town centre was buzzing, the open air markets were in full swing and Finn and I looked around with huge smiles on our faces. Of course, we could not resist some fresh local delights. The strawberries were ripe and the deepest red I had ever seen! Fresh bread, croissants, dates and sweet pastries were all enthusiastically purchased.

Paul, Lara and Davide did exactly the same and discovered tasty pistachios, salad, fresh peas, broad beans, freshly ground coffee and more Tunisia sweets and cakes were brought back to the boat. Our stores were replenished and the aroma from the galley and saloon was inviting and delicious. We all headed out in the evening, hopeful of eating some local Tunisian delights, only to discover that it was Ramadan (we had actually known this) and the food choices were very limited before 10pm. However, we did manage to find a friendly establishment overlooking the main old town fortress wall and had a meal together but it was nothing very special unfortunately. We discussed the next leg of the voyage together over the meal, 48 hours, non stop, back to Alghero, departing the following morning! Eat up everyone, sleep is required!

Most of the crew had flights booked to return to the UK the following Saturday, so we were under strict time constraints, to get us all back to Alghero and could not afford for there to be any further delays. It was agreed that non stop back to Alghero was a doable plan, with the wind and sea conditions, thankfully, favourable. We set off early Wednesday morning from Bizerte and set the sails as soon as we left the harbour. Andrea Jensen was homeward bound for Alghero!

The 4 on 4 off shift pattern continued well for the return leg and the crew discussed meal plans etc. I made my 1st ever Spanish Tortilla, having been taught a few days earlier by Lara (Spanish and a great cook), I was a little under pressure to pull it off and not to disappoint everyone. Thankfully the Tortilla seemed to turn out of the frying pan well, all but Colin (non egg eater) devoured it willingly, during the relatively cold nights sail. The sea was a little bumpy, with the waves coming from behind onto the beam most of the way, so we kept the sails up to try to steady the rolling motion, which worked well.

Paul and Finn had mastered the roasting of aubergines and fresh green chilli peppers on the galley’s small, gas stove, for their fabulous vegetarian curries. We were all still smiling even though the Tunisian fresh, green chillies were large and a little on the spicy side.

After motor-sailing for 46 hours, Andrea Jensen arrived, safely in her berth in Aquatica Marina, Alghero, on the morning of Friday 29th, with a very proud and relieved crew onboard. We had completed a sea journey of 485 miles in 5 days. This was a truly unforgettable experience, some of the crew were complete sailing novices. A fantastic boat and crew, pre planning, great team work and enthusiasm for the task was what made it successful. Thank you to you all of the crew for making this happen. See you in 18 months time to do it all again!



The 2021 Season is Finally Underway ( www.ajsailing.com )

On 28th April 2021 we returned from Bosa, back to Alghero Port. We were in Bosa for 5 weeks for our bi-annual lift out and maintenance, repaint and all over thorough check over of Andrea Jensen. I have to say Andrea Jensen is looking stunning, even though I am a little biased!

After what seems to be a lifetime of isolation for everybody Worldwide, Sardinia is finally coming alive. It’s been a long winter here, but in May the vaccine arrived from the mainland and the Comune di Alghero went full steam ahead to get its citizens vaccinated, in time for a summer none of us believed would happen.

On top of this of course, is Brexit. We have been given all sorts of advise from all sorts of knowledgeable and not so knowledgeable people, about what to do with our British flagged boat and Colin’s British skipper license. The truth is and to cut a long story short, we did nothing, sat tight on our little ship in the port and applied for our licence from the Capitaniere of Alghero port as normal. We did however, have a copy of a letter from the Italian Transport Authority in Rome, which proved to be solid gold for us (thank you to Fabrizio of Aquatica Marina who helped us enormously)! It stated that as of 2021 all British sea farers qualifications would be recognised in Italian waters and to our great relief, on May 31st 2021, we were given the official letter from Rome stating this fact!

Hallelujah! You could here our celebrations for miles around. It is official, thank you Italy, we can operate our tour from Alghero Port, Sardinia, for another year.

The next obstacle to over come for us was finding crew to help us with sailing, once tourists started to arrive in Alghero. We use HelpX to find willing volunteers who receive food and board in return. We managed to contact a willing student who joined us on 2nd July for just short of a month. Welcome on board Ilia!

That’s you all up to date now with events on Andrea Jensen!

Have a great summer!

Andrea Jensen in full sail (well nearly) in Porto Conte Bay, Alghero, Sardinia 2021

Sailing Dreams made in the Mediterranean – Are we really Living the Dream?

Andrea Jensen consumes our life and a whole new World has opened up to us, which we could never have imagined when we first stepped aboard her in 2016. We feel truly blessed at times and at other times we think ‘what have we done?’. You could say one of those times is now, in May 2020 with no prospect of a summer season due to Covid-19. But we have so many great memories which we need to pull on at times like this, to keep us motivated to keep going.

The virus is nothing we have brought upon ourselves of course. It’s really something we were unable to have foreseen, planned or prepared for. Its come at a time when we really thought we were getting the hang of this Mediterranean life, then bang the wind is knocked out of our sails.

On top of all this we have found rot in our main mast. The clouds are really hanging over us just now. I think we are living a nightmare just now and not the dream most people think! Yesterday we had a mammoth task of having to prepare and remove the rigging in order to have the mast removed at Alghero Ship yard by Rafael and his merry men. Thank fully we had lots of help and there is a local ship building expert, who has worked on Andrea Jensen previously, and has said he is able to fix the mast. That’s a relief! But at what cost?

The sorry looking mast is being loaded onto transport to take it to Iavazzo’s yard
There she goes, carefully guided out by Rafael and Fabrizzio

What a Roller Coaster of Emotions

It’s hard to believe we are in our 5th season on Andrea Jensen here in Alghero, Sardegna, one of the Mediterraneans stunning Italian Islands. AJ is dear to us and indeed to all who have been lucky enough to sail in her. But I do have to admit, it’s not all been plain sailing. We have experienced a roller coaster of emotions since we first became the proud owners of our little ship in February 2016. We left our families in the UK and moved lock, stock and barrel to Sardinia.

The season started with a disappointing panic in May 2016. We had bookings but no license from the Port Coast Guard Office in Alghero. We were the new British owners of Andrea Jensen and the Italian bureaucracy seemed impossible to navigate. We had to cancel the initial sailing bookings because without a licence, we could not operate. All we could do was keep turning up at official offices day after day and plead that someone would give us the official stamp to get started! This needed enormous patience but it finally paid off. On May the 10th we had our license and could confirm with our first 2 paying customers and of course – it rained!

I could not believe it when our 2 guests told us where they were from, Billingham in the UK. It’s the next town to the one in which I was born, in the North East of England. How bizarre was that? They were brilliant guests and did not mind the rain (it was only a light shower actually). What a relief, we had a lovely day out and received our first 5 star review on Trip Advisor. Our new life aboard Andrea Jensen had begun. What an adventure!

Early Years on board Andrea Jensen
Alghero Port, Sardegna

It’s Nearly May

Well it’s going to be May next week and we are still in lockdown on the boat here in Alghero, Sardinia. We have had some encouraging updates from the Italian government this week, that they are easing some restrictions and this is to be ongoing throughout May. This is urgently needed, especially here in Alghero. The town is like a ghost town, with all bars, shops and restaurants closed. This is obviously hitting the our economy hard. We too are very worried about our future here. If tourism is slowed then our business becomes questionable as it is solely reliant on the summer tourist trade (as are most businesses here in Sardinia). Northern Europeans are our main customers like Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and France. If they stop coming to Sardinia, we will be in deep trouble financially. We always try to look on the bright-side but this is very difficult with Covis-19.

Almost Every Country in the World is in lockdown

I write this with a heavy heart. What is happening right now, across every continent, is truly frightening. The disaster here in Italy is particularly alarming and shocking to say the least. The daily numbers of Coronavirus cases and deaths continues to rise, almost uncontrollably it would seem. Sardinia, at the moment, is not as affected as mainland Italy and from what we can see from looking outside of the boat in Alghero Port, everyone here is sticking to the rules of social distancing and remaining indoors. This is particularly hard for us here, I can tell you!

Another observation is that the people here are very socially conscious. They are not going out to the supermarkets and filling their trolleys full. Panic buying does not seem to be the headline here, thank goodness. But what we all are, is scared, along with the rest of the World. Where will this pandemic lead us? Will it lead to a shrinking of the World economy and make countries and governments think more about self reliance and move countries to a more home grown economy? Out of these dark hours, days, weeks, months hopefully people are being made to think about humanity and how fragile life really is. We certainly are!

Andrea Jensen is rated the No.1 excursion in Alghero on Trip Advisor .

The summer is flying by at such a rate but thanks to our great team and fabulous ship, we are once again the top rated excursion in Alghero on Trip Advisor. Its the end of July already and we have had lots of great days sailing with great guests on board. How they love our little ship, we are so proud of her. 5 star reviews are really making the difference. Thank you everyone for contributing.

We have 2 days of Mistrale right now and are marina bound today and tomorrow. The thunder storm last night was spectacular and we watched from the deck as the lightening lit up the skies of Alghero in dramatic fashion. This was however, quickly followed by torrential rain and a very disturbed night for all aboard! Thank goodness we are not working today and a strong westerly is drying all our damp things in record time. You cannot beat sailing life!

We are truely blessed to own such a stunning ‘lady of the sea’
Happy Me!

Best Boat Trip in Alghero

Andrea Jensen Best Boat Trip in Sardinia

Well, its now July and we are no. 2 on Trip Advisor thanks to our lovely guests who have given us rave reviews this year, after experiencing a day out at sea on Andrea Jensen. We have had my cousin Christine and her husband Paul as well as Colin’s uncle John and cousin on board recently. The fact that they all have said that our boat trip in Alghero, Sardinia is a magical experience is just amazing. We look forward to a great summer here in Alghero with more fantastic guests on board. But don’t take their word for it, come and experience it yourself. The Best Boat Trip in Alghero by far. If you want exclusivity, relaxation, great service, fun, great food and local wine, look no further than a Day Trip on Andrea Jensen. Well I am a bit biased I suppose.

What’s up with the weather?Nearly June and still not summer yet!

We have now sat inside our little ship in Alghero Port for another 4 days with the weather battering us. If its not raining, the wind is howling! Every hour it seems, we are looking again at the weather forecast, with a glimmer of hope that it will say something different for tomorrow. We are sick of postponing and cancelling trips with disappointed customers saying ‘Oh well, maybe next time we will be luckier’. Who knows if they will be back or not?

So I have read books. Very different books are chosen from the shelf in our saloon. Whilst Colin browses the internet, longing to buy a motor bike. You have got to have dreams, I suppose.

The latest book (Blue Sky July by Nia Wyn) has brought me to floods of tears for 2 days, but it is so well written from the heart, it made me want to read it to the end. What is a harrowing true story about a mothers love for her brain damaged son, and her desperate drive to ‘cure him’, was actually an incredibly brave and inspiring book, full of light and dark. Never underestimate a child and the power and strength of a mother’s love. All children are different and they can teach us an awful lot, if we let them.

Spring is here

The Charming House – Villa Mosca

Just look at the beautiful spring carpet that comes each year in the garden of Villa Mosca and else where in Sardinia. Every year the pink flora appear like magic along the promenade and in gardens. I cannot help being mesmerized by the wonders of nature at this time of year. Spring is definitely my favourite time here. The island is adorned with wild flowers exhibiting the colours of the rainbow, where ever you look. The fields and hedge rows, which are allowed to grow wild are alive with bees and butterflies.

We are sitting in our little ship, Andrea Jensen in Alghero Port, on a cold, windy, May afternoon, trying to figure out how to attract more visitors on board this year, to share the wonderful experience of sailing a Traditional boat. The local hotels are generally disappointing and reluctant to collaborate with us (not all), probably because we are not Italian and there is a language barrier. We go to each hotel every year at the end of April, with our Marketing leaflets to remind them that we are ready for their guests, with the hope that they will help to inform and promote our wonderful day trip. We are trying hard to learn Italian of course, so that we can make an effort to better fit in here, but I do not ever think we will totally belong! There are many visitors to Alghero who do not even know we are here and its these we are trying to reach out to. Those travelers who do not use Trip Advisor are unlikely to find us if they do not know what they are looking for.

So if you are reading this blog having been on our boat, we would like to say ‘thank you’ and ask you to spread the word – Andrea Jensen really is the best boat trip in Sardinia!