Forget the Stock Exchange; Let’s Go Cruising

August 11th, 2011

Out on the ocean we’ll get away from everything

Gliding around sparkling waters has stellar appeal. You need not have the funds of a tycoon to enjoy a sailing holiday. For many, the allure isn’t just feeling the wind in your hair and the exhilaration of watching the sea slip by, but the escape from politics, commerce and technology combined with the means to explore a region in just a week or two.

Nothing else to do

With little else to do but sleep, read or swim, it’s the perfect way to put the wind back in your sails. Seeing a country from the water gives you a fresh perspective on a destination, and one that’s gained without queuing in traffic or fighting for space on the sand. If a beach is busy you can simply sail on to another. And when the landlubber in you takes over, pull into port and shop, eat or stroll around before taking to the waves once more.

Start at the French Riviera

France’s Mediterranean coast is dotted with marinas and harbors, from chic Monaco to cheerful Pézenas, the port for Montpellier. Essential Sailing (0845 653 0126; www.essentialsailing.com) has fully crewed one-week trips along the French Riviera They start and end at the firm’s base at La Napoule, calling at ports such as Menton, St-Tropez and Cannes. Prices, excluding flights or trains, start at $1,850 per person based on six sharing, including transfers, onboard accommodation, most meals and drinks.

Grand designs

Step aboard the Beluga, the 28-metre Turkish gulet belonging to the designer and hotelier Anouska Hempel. Until October the vessel is available for charter along the coastlines of Croatia and Montenegro through Dalmatian Destinations (0333 700 8007; www.dalmatiandestinations.com). A week starts at $50,000 for up to seven guests, including the crew and all meals but not flights. Trips start in either Split or Dubrovnik and are available until the end of October.

Baltic banquet

Each autumn, West Sweden’s coastline celebrates its lobsters, oysters, mussels, crayfish and prawns with a “Shellfish Journey” festival (www.vast sverige.com). On certain weekends in October, you can also join a new, two-night sailing adventure aboard a racing yacht (00 46 31 29 19 89; farr65r. com), fuelling up on gourmet seafood along the way. Trips cost $750 per person, including two nights’ yacht accommodation, all breakfasts and lunches and a lobster party at Bjorholmen. Gothenburg is around 30 miles away, and has plenty of flights.

Learn at leisure

Never sailed? For beginners unsure about how they will take to the open water, the Neilson “Stay and Sail” concept may appeal. You spend a week at one of the firm’s Beachclub activity resorts in southern Turkey or Greece, while the second week is spent afloat. As an extra temptation for September and October departures, a four-day sail-training course during week one is thrown in free. The costs: $1250 based on four sharing, or $1530 for two sharing. The price includes a week’s full board (apart from three evening meals) at the Beachclub, and self-catering aboard the yacht.

The stock exchange

What and where is that?

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 11th, 2011 at 2:42 am and is filed under Business, Economy, Finance, Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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