kateandjohnsail.boats

We are stateside again! More specifically, enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest summer and time with our kids, grandkids, and PNW friends. Why, you might ask, would we give up the summer months of sailing in the Mediterranean?

It’s all about European Union rules. At this time, the EU welcomes visitors from other countries to stay for 90 days. After that amount of time, guests are invited the leave the EU and not return for another 90 days. And they are pretty serious about the rules. So after arriving in Sardinia in late February and traveling around Italy and the Adriatic, we had to leave at the end of May. Our few days in Tunisia were exempted from the 90-day count. The European Union countries are called “Schengen countries,” hence the name “Schengen shuffle” for the steps we are taking to be in/out/in again. In our next season of sailing, we plan to take advantage of time in Montenegro and Turkiye (non-EU countries) to remain compliant with the rules.

Rumor has it there may be changes in the works to make life easier for sailors and others who must “shuffle,” but as it stands now, it’s hard for us to be grouchy about spending time with our favorite people. I won’t blog about our Oregon experiences, but I may create some bonus posts that there wasn’t time for while we were on the boat.

By the way, Quintessa is now resting in a lovely marina on the green island of Certosa in Venice, looked after by our British friend on the boat next door.

Arrivederci!