All photographs by Sarah Norbury


An Ionian sailing holiday 0 5 NM 10


LEFKAS


Vassiliki •


ITHACA Activities on offer include windsurfing...


IONIAN SEA


KEFALONIA


...paddleboarding...


of it everyone in the group had improved their control of speed, and starting and stopping, to a state of perfection. On the last day our Level 2 group raced,


quite competitively it must be said. (The men were magnanimous in defeat when the top two overall were women!) Meanwhile, those doing Level 1 were learning wind awareness and boat- handling, others were on various stages of windsurfing tuition, and those who didn’t need or want daily lessons huffed and puffed up the surrounding mountains on bike expeditions, wobbled on stand-up paddleboards (brilliant exercise for your core muscles) or explored the rocky edges of the bay in kayaks. However, there’s no obligation to be


...and mountain biking


small, simple and friendly. ‘People tell us we’re like Sunsail clubs


used to be at the beginning,’ he told me as I caught up with him when he called into Vass on a late-season tour of the three clubs (all in Greece). The place certainly felt pretty chilled-out when we’d dried off from our first day’s sail and ordered our first Mythos beer at the open-air Driftwood bar. In contrast to the huge dinghy-resorts that have grown up elsewhere in the Med, we were sitting just a few yards from the beach, the pool and our room, and our fellow guests numbered just 80. We’d come at the end of the season, in


September, a great time of year if you’re adults looking for a good-value break as it’s outside school holidays. The kids’ clubs were closed after a busy summer, and all the guests were grown-ups: a mix of couples of all ages, families in which mum and dad were enjoying time with adult children, and small groups of friends. It must be a great place for children. The Sea Urchins and Tigers playrooms were still


there to see, and staff told me of the fun the kids have messing about in the water while their parents enjoy the sporting activities on offer.


Keeping it fun One of the unique offerings at Ocean Elements is free group tuition in dinghy sailing or windsurfing for two-and-a-half hours every morning, leading to an RYA certificate at the end of the week. I joined in the RYA Level 2 course. Even though I already had the certificate it was great fun, and there’s always something new to learn. The instructors are all RYA-qualified and clever at teaching while keeping it fun. One morning we were tasked with simply picking up a mooring buoy, coming alongside a moored boat and ‘rescuing’ a bucket-and-fender – for the whole morning. Doing these exercises over and over again, approaching from different angles, was made more pleasurable by virtue of the gorgeous warm sea and sunny sky, and by the end


Practical Boat Owner 584 March 2015 • www.pbo.co.uk


sporty. Those who just want to relax can read on loungers by the pool and stroll to Vassiliki village about 10 minutes away. It’s a pretty, typical Greek fishing village with tavernas cheek-by-jowl along the curving waterfront. Yacht flotillas and bareboaters often come into the harbour in late afternoon just when Eric is at his strongest, which makes entertaining viewing. (I have provided just such entertainment myself at the helm of a


➜


There’s no obligation to be sporty: just lounging by the pool is an attractive option


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