UK to Tunisia - A Schengen Cruise

Hi everyone,

Here is a brief summary of our cruise from the UK to Tunisia during the months from April to July.  We can have up to 90 in 180 days in the Schengen Zone.  We escaped Schengen on day 76 and cleared-in to Tunisia on day 78.  From Gosport to Monastir took 92 days.

We tried to make our Schengen time a cruise and not a delivery.  We spent extended periods in Baiona and La Linea (Gibraltar) while waiting on adverse weather to pass.  We stayed longer in particularly nice places with a lot we wanted to see including the Spanish Rias, Cartagena and the Balearics.  In the Balearics we only stepped ashore in one place (Mahon in Menorca) to keep costs down, so it was all about the scenery there.

Here is the our overall track...

Overall Track

And here are the vital stats for the cruise…

    • Distances/Speeds

        • Duration = 92 days (76 in Schengen)

        • At Sea = 529 hours

        • GPS Distance = 2499nm

        • Average speed over ground = 4.7 kt

        • Minimum boat speed = 3 kt

        • Maximum boat speed = 10 kt

    • Weather

        • Minimum wind speed = 0 kt

        • Average wind speed = approx 10 kt

        • Maximum wind speed = 25 kt gusting 30 kt

        • Apparent wind angle range = 40 to 150

        • Seas up to 2.0m

        • Swell up to 2.0m

        • Water temperature from 12C in Falmouth to 28C in Monastir

        • Thunderstorms approaching Gibraltar Strait, near Almerimar and leaving Sardinia

    • Engine

        • Total = 215 hours (used 335 litres for a burn rate of 1.6 litres/hour)

        • Engine Usage 41% overall, 26% in Atlantic and 57% in the Med

From an officialdom perspective we had no problems from either entry/exit or Covid perspectives.

With regard to entry/exit we we able to get Schengen Entry stamps in A Coruna at the Police Station.  We were NOT able to do so in Carloforte.  Perhaps we should have gone to Cagliari.  Entry into Tunisia was straightforward and similar to other non-EU countries except they showed no interest in paperwork from the last port.

With regard to Covid it was not mentioned in the Atlantic part of our cruise, other than the need to wear masks.  No questions about vaccination or tests there.  The first questions came up when booking a marina berth in the Balearics.  There the marina accepted self-administered UK NHS test kit results on arrival.  In Sardinia the marina arranged a doctor to test us on arrival for 40 Euros per person.

On arrival in Monastir our test certificates from Sardinia were sufficient for the Police to waive quarantine (which would have been aboard Zen Again).

We had a great cruise.  Here are the highlights and lowlights...

Highlights...

        • Zen Again!

        • Great sailing on the Atlantic coast

        • Spanish Rias

        • Leixoes/Porto

        • Cascais/Lisbon

        • Gibraltar

        • Cartagena

Lowlights

        • Motoring for so long in the Med's light airs

        • Selden RodKicker's gas strut failed (fair enough, it's 11 years old)

        • Mainsail clew slug failed (same type fitted on the headboard which failed 5 years ago)

We'll be back out sailing in 3 months, westward out of the Med.  In the meantime stay tuned for Tunisian adventures!

What a Boat!

Mediterranean Sunset