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
Should we be celebrating a brighter 2021 tonight or commiserating a good bye to Europe?
We have a real dilemma tonight because at 11pm we (UK citizens) leave Europe. We really did not want this. We did not vote for it and regret massively the decision made by the British majority. We enter 2021 with huge uncertainty about our eligibility to continue working in Alghero, Sardinia. Will Colin’s UK skipper qualifications be recognised in Italy on 1st January 2021 as they have been for the last 5 years? We just don’t know. Will our British registered ship be able to stay in Italian waters? These are questions we have asked many organisations for the last 4 years and nobody can give us the answers. This has put huge strain on Colin in particular. We have to remain optimistic however and have to carry on with the winter maintenance on Andrea Jensen and the plans to have her recoded and licenced next year.
Of course we will welcome 2021 with open arms and a glass of vino and even more importantly say a resounding farewell to the dreadful year that was 2020. This is being celebrated first in New Zealand as I write this. We must wait, along with the rest of the locals for the vaccine to give us a protective shot in our arm. We hope this will bring this infection to an end and allow tourists to return to this magical island. We look forward to welcoming many of our friends and family back here next year and back onboard Andrea Jensen. Happy New Year everybody XXX
