Buying and importing a Maltese fishing boat into England.

Importing a Luzzu from Malta into England had been on my mind on and off for many years, almost since my family left the island in the 1970s.  As a school boy I would often sail around the Maltese Islands with my father in his Luzzu, called St Andrew.
St Andrew was a Luzzu with a mast and was built about 1914.

During a holiday on Malta with my wife, Caroline, I decided to try and get hold of a Luzzu and import her into England - everyone thought I was crazy.  Sometimes crazy ideas pay off if you are crazy enough, and determined enough to try it.

It was while having a meal with some friends, the Joslin family, at their house in
Birkirkara that a discussion took place regarding such a mad idea.
Matthew, their son, was the only one who seemed to think there was any real possibility of achieving such a task, and immediately set about making enquiries as to finding a boat, and then exporting it to England. Caroline and I were to leave Malta that day, so we had to leave Matthew to his enquiries.

It is at this point I would like to place on record our most sincere thanks to Matthew Joslin for all his hard work and help, without which the "Luzzu" project would have never succeeded.

It was after several enquiries we were told that if we could find a Luzzu under the age of fifty years, we could take it from Malta.  I thought finding a boat that fell within this
requirement would be impossible, but after several months Matthew discovered one for sale sitting on a trailer at Manoel Island.

In November of 2005 we were on holiday again at the lovely old Imperial Hotel in Sliema. It was during this holiday we got our first look at the Luzzu. She seemed to be in good order so we decided to start the ball rolling to buy and export her to the UK.
It was not until January/February 2006 during a six week stay that we were able to
actually meet the owner and strike a deal.

There was a great deal to be done. We had six weeks, but it was surprising how time went.
The first thing to do was arrange a sea trial to test both the engines and the hull.
The local fishermen were rather bemused at this mad Englishman launching a boat in January - the Med can be very rough at that time of the year.

Willing hands help push the trailer to the slipway.

Soon the Luzzu was in the sea and I was getting my feet wet!


The sea was a bit rough that day, but it was the only chance we had to test the boat. Johan Schell, the owner, and myself set off around Manoel Island into Msida Creek where a temporary mooring had been found.

When I was a boy, Msida Creek was full of traditional fishing boats, but now this one somehow seemed almost out of place amongst the sleek shiny white hulls of the
modern boats.  I had noted that compared to thirty years ago, there was a noticeable absence of the
colourful fishing boats in all the bays and harbours.