2019-10-01 Wanderlust

wanderlust.co.uk October 2019 135

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Toindoutmore,speaktoaSunsailexpertattheInternationalBoatShowin

Southamptonfrom 13 – 22 September2019,orvisitsunsailyachtownership.co.uk

weather and the almost-still

waters of the Adriatic Sea. On

your day off, make sure you visit

the medieval walled city of Trogir,

just 20 minutes down the coast.

Its collection of Renaissance and

Romanesque buildings has

earned it UNESCO status.

For those who want to learn

closer to home, Portsmouth,

in Hampshire, makes for a great

UK base, with weekend

classes you can fit around work.

Portsmouth’s stronger winds and

broader tidal ranges make it

a more challenging base than

its Croatian sister, but this will

prepare you well for sailing

a range of conditions.

This historic navy base is also

a great place for some sailing

inspiration, as it’s home to

Nelson’s ship, the HMS Victory

and the remains of Henry VIII’s

Mary Rose – both of which you

can look around. The city is also

within a day’s sail of the New

Forest, where you can moor up at

the charming village of Beaulieu

before heading off for some

walking and wild pony spotting.

HIT THE WATER

With nautical skills under your

belt, you’ll be ready for more

distant adventures. Sunsail has

yacht bases around the world,

from Europe to Asia. The vast

but gentle Dalmatian coast, for

instance, makes for easy sailing

grounds. You can weave through

Croatia’s sprawling archipelago,

mooring up at Vis island to hike

up 587m Mt Hum, before a glass

of brandy at one of the vineyards.

Or take a dinghy from your yacht

to an ocean-facing restaurant on

forest-clad Mljet, where you can

tuck into local goat’s cheese as

the sun goes down.

Further afield, Thailand –

home to another of Sunsail’s

bases – is great to explore by

boat. Zip along the breezy route

from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi Leh to

snorkel in water as clear as gin.

At night, plankton glow

a luminescent silver. Continue

on to KohPhiPhiDon,whereyou

can embarkonthe40-minute

climb tothePhiPhiViewPoint,

staring downatthejungle-

coveredisland–youryacht

bobbingonthewatersfarbelow.

BUY AYACHT

Once you’vegotatastefor

sailing, it’shardtoresisttheurge

to buy a yacht–butpurchasing

them outrightcanbeexpensive.

Patrick Bennett; Randy Lincks; Shutterstock

Instead,Sunsailoffertwo

five-yearprogrammes.Inthe

first,youpurchaseayacht

upfrontandthenget8%or9%

ofthecostbackeachyearin

income,meaningbytheendof

theprogrammeyou’verecovered

roughly40%ofyourcosts.Inthe

secondprogramme,you

purchaseayachtforlessthan

halftheprice(butreceiveno

income);thenafterfiveyears,

youcaneitherbuytheyacht

outright(for20%oftheoriginal

yachtcost),orifyouchooseto

optout,receive20%ofthe

yacht’scostback.

Aswellasmakingitmore

affordable,Sunsaillooksafter

youryachtyear-round,soyou

don’t have to worry about

maintenance, management

or operating costs, including

insurance. Then, after five years,

you can walk away or sign up for

a brand-new yacht. With

12 weeks of access to sister

ships around the world each year,

you can be sailing the Caribbean

one week, then island hopping

in Thailand the next.

Colourful nights

The sun setting

over Croatia’s

island of Mljet

The open waters

(this) Bobbing o the

coast of Belize;

(above left) jumping

overboard in the

British Virgin Islands