Sailing The Mediterranean: A Dream Vacation
The Mediterranean is a sailor’s dream and its breathtaking destinations are the preferred places for both die-hard and fair weather sailors. There are both fully crewed sailing yachts and bareboats available in various flavors: straight classic single-hull vessels, twin-hull catamarans and of course Turkish Gulets that are addressed in detail on a separate page on this website.
Guests usually like to sail in the mornings, have breakfast and lunch on board, arrive at their destination in the early afternoon, go ashore to explore, have a delicious dinner at a delightful little local restaurant and come back to sleep on the boat. That is pretty much the routine for a week or 10 days. Clearly a very strenuous holiday or vacation..!! Where do I sign..??
Many of the fully crewed sailing yachts and Gulets do have their own chef but the local fare, whether it be in the small ports and harbors in the Greek Islands, Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, the Turkish Riviera, Italy or other, is so fresh, healthy and delicious that you will be tempted to indulge yourself in a different little restaurant every evening. Best have the onboard chefs working their magic on creative breakfasts and beautiful light lunches.
Since we’ll be talking about Gulets separately, let’s remind ourselves about the differences between classic mono (single) hull sailing vessels and sailing catamarans.
Classic single-hull sailboats have been around since the beginning of time, usually very seaworthy, great for long distance cruising and for racing too. The Volvo Around-the-World-Race boats are all mono-hulls. Christopher Columbus “discovered” America using the single hull design. Cruise ships are single-hull vessels.
More recently however, twin hull sailing vessels or catamarans as they are called, originally designed and still used extensively in the South Pacific, have firmly inserted themselves into the charter market due to their width, larger interior space and because they sail “upright” and do not heel over while under-way. A well designed catamaran provides a lot of living space, larger cabins and plenty of bathrooms (heads).
Catamarans, depending on their length, can comfortably sleep 4, 6, 8, 10 or even 12 guests + crew. They are also very docile and easy to sail so usually need fewer deck hands. The sleeping accommodations are usually situated in the two hulls, some on the right side and some on the left. The living quarters, salon, galley, entertainment center are usually on the raised middle section. There is plenty of out-door space for sun-bathing and sight-seeing.
So basically, if you’re not in a hurry and if you share the maxim that “the journey is as important as the destination” then a sailing vessel, whether it be a “cat” or a mono-hull, is definitely for you. Personally I love the silence of sailing, no engine noise, only the sound of the wind in your sails and the ocean under your feet. It’s a great way to re-connect with the planet.
Fair winds.