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
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!
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.
Best Boat Trip in Alghero
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
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!