Lanzarote students who present themselves this year for the theoretical exams to obtain nautical qualifications have to travel to Gran Canaria or Tenerife after having withdrawn the right to non-capital islands to take the tests on them.
The owner of the Lanzarote Nautical Academy, Óscar Pinedo, explained in an interview on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero that this is a "humiliating" situation and highlights that "there is no will to facilitate the process" by the regional and national governments, since "there are more calls in Madrid, which does not have access to the sea, than in Lanzarote or Fuerteventura".
Non-capital islands, forced to make an "unnecessary" journey
Until 2020 there were calls in each of the islands, but with the pandemic it was decided to limit them to the two provincial capitals. However, instead of returning to the previous normality, in December of last year the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) was published, which stated that, again, "the smaller islands disappeared".
"The exams are at 9 in the morning, so they force the smaller islands to make an unnecessary journey", indicates Pinedo and points out that the situation worsens in the case of applicants from La Graciosa, because they must pay for "two ferries, two planes, four taxis and a hotel".
The court of each island also moves
This process for obtaining the qualifications of Basic Navigation Skipper (PNB), Recreational Boat Skipper (PER), Yacht Skipper (PY) and Yacht Captain (CY) has each year, on average, "about 80 people" between Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa, so the professional does not believe that this measure has been taken due to lack of attendance.
Like the students, the court that evaluates the students of each of these islands travels with them to Gran Canaria, to take the exams there: "It's absurd. They force students and teachers to go on the same plane and come back together, when we could do it here", he concludes.
