I AM SAILING BACK IN TIME
This cruise in the Med is a reminder of a bygone age, says
CLAMBERInG into the crow’s nest secured in a harness, I had a bird’s eye view of the Maltese port of Valletta. Through binoculars I spotted a shiny superyacht moored in the port. It was yacht number three in Sir Philip Green’s personal fleet. Our vessel was far more modest — and more beautiful.
I was on the Star Flyer tall ship, an ageing but venerable (like some of the passengers) member of the Star Clippers Fleet. Clipper ships were fast-sailing, 19th century ships carrying small-bulk highvalue cargoes, such as tea.
I boarded at Civitavecchia, Italy, a 50-minute drive from Rome airport. I was apprehensive, as it was my first time on a proper yacht (Sir Philip’s invitation is clearly still in the post), but I was soon hooked after setting sail for Sardinia, then on to Sicily, Gozo, Malta, and back to Rome.
Unlike huge cruise liners, there are no theatres or cinemas, but there was still a constant diet of entertainment, from water aerobics and water skiing to diving off the side into the sparkling Mediterranean.
I drew the line at learning the ‘art of towel folding’.
There was a great spirit of camaraderie among the 170 passengers, who hailed from Britain, Germany, the U.S. and South America.
A highlight was the sailaway, with its evocative mariner music, which made me feel like a cross between Captain Birdseye and Johnny Depp in Pirates Of The Caribbean.
You can lend a hand hoisting the sails, and passing ships sound their horns loudly in appreciation, their decks crowded with passengers taking photos of our stately vessel.
My cabin porthole was level with the sea and it was reassuring drifting to sleep each night with the sound of the water lapping against it.
We dropped anchor to visit delightful towns and islands such as Lipari, the largest of the volcanic Aeolian Islands, famed for its pumice beaches.
We even sailed past Stromboli, an active volcano, and saw smoke billowing from the top.
At Taormina on Sicily I went to the 2,300-year-old amphitheatre, in the shadow of Mount Etna, where ageing British rocker Rick Wakeman was topping the bill.
Then it was on to Trapani — gateway to Erice old town, population 200 — that can be reached by cable car or winding roads that weave up the side of the mountain. Back on the Star Flyer, the open-air main bar was always a hive of activity and the ship is much loved, which is why some passengers were on their tenth trip.
All instructions on deck were written in English with one exception. The note on the sunbeds about not hogging them for too long was written in German. I wonder why.