BOUTIQUE CRUISING
STAR CLIPPERS FACTFILE
learned various knots, listened as the captain talked us through a 360-degree turn, held the wheel and learned some navigation. We each received a laminated sheet labelling each of the sails and masts, while I also got to climb the rigging (attached to a winch) to the Crow’s Nest half-way up the main mast. The ship has an open bridge policy where you can go and talk to the officers at any time.
T
here may not be any of the glamor- ous organised entertainment found on the bigger ships but I didn’t miss
it at all. If you don’t want to socialise, you have the chance to find secluded areas to sit, read and chat. To be at sea at night on a sailing ship is a wonder in itself and, one night, I joined some of my fellow passen- gers by sleeping on deck. Lying back on my sun lounger, the riggers high above me on the yard arms
54 WORLD OF CRUISING I Spring 2012
were adjusting the sails. Running along the spars, they were silhouetted against the moonlit sky and, for one brief, magical moment, I was with Captain Cook in Tahiti. So, is there one abiding memory of
my time on this amazing cruise? Well, actually there are two. The ship has a watersports platform at the stern that is lowered at anchor and, from there, we canoed, dived and swam or went water-skiing and windsurfing. We swam at Amalfi where the houses cling to the cliffs under a bright blue sky – a truly unforgettable experience. Then, once I got up my courage to realise the net below the bowsprit must have a breaking strain of a ton or two, I regularly sat there snapping away or just soaking up this wonderful vessel. I may have not been Leonardo DiCaprio on the bow of Titanic but, at that moment, I wouldn’t have changed places for all the world.
ABOUT: Star Clippers offers fully- crewed sailing voyages on the world’s largest tall ships in the Mediterranean, Baltic, Central America and the Caribbean. A 4-night Med cruise on Royal Clipper in July costs from £787 per person and 7 nights from £1,378; 7 nights in the Caribbean cost from £1,013; each including all meals and port taxes (based on two sharing; excluding flights).
The two 170-guest ships, Star
Clipper and Flyer, cruise the Med and Baltic respectively in summer 2012, before returning to winter in the Caribbean and Central America. A 4-night Med sailing on Star Clipper in July costs from £711pp, 7 nights from £1,248 and 7 nights in the Caribbean from £949 per person, including all meals and taxes (based on two sharing; excluding flights).
MORE INFO: In the UK, call 0845 200 6145, in the US and Canada 305 442 0550; or visit
www.starclippers.co.uk.
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