INDONESIA UNDER SAIL

I can almost taste the salty tang of the tropical breeze and hear the waves lapping against the bow of the tall ship as it carves through aqua-marine waters. It sounds like a far-fetched fantasy, but I’m painfully aware that, as I type, that’s where I should be – sailing from Bali aboard one of Star Clippers’ romantic barquentines on an adventure through Indonesia’s castaway isles. The sun will have to keep the Gili Islands’ alabaster sands warm, and the fearsome dragons of Komodo will need to hold their fire. I have been becalmed by the pandemic, but when normality beckons, this is a dream I want to turn into reality.

A one-week round trip sailing from Bali departs on July 3 2021, and costs from £1,465pp (0845 200 6145; starclippers.co.uk)