Sails and shots in Croatia
On the brink of cut-off age, enjoys a week-long cruise with the young ones, complete with bar crawls and inflatable unicorns.
We just made the cut for the young people’s cruise around the islands of Croatia. Months away from his 35th birthday, my fiance scraped in for the week-long sail. We joked that many of our mates would be barred from the young people’s activity.
There’s been a huge boom in the number, and popularity, of these sort of affordable, luxury experiences. How about spending five days sailing around the deep blue Mediterranean sea in a blinged-up bikini like Beyonce, but at a cost that most 20-somethings save up for with a few months’ pay?
We’re still young, I thought, looking at my ageing hands, one flush with engagement ring, then across adoringly at the dad-bod I call mine.
Surprisingly, we weren’t the oldest on the fleet of 10 boats that set sail on the Discovery route this particular week – the most popular week of the European summer – July 1. At the introductory mixer, swigging back cheap wine punch, we met a gaggle of 35-year-old Americans on their first trip out of the US.
Leaving from Split on a Saturday afternoon, eight passengers are onboard each MedSailors yacht. Many are made up of a posse that have booked together. But others, like ours on the Mediterraneo, are brought together because of a box we ticked on the online booking page – that we were up for a mix of party and quiet time.
Guest manager Ellie Smith greets us warmly, with a posh English accent that sounds like how the Queen talks.This is her first season working for MedSailors, before that she admits she’d never actually been on a sailing boat. As far as we can tell, she’s killing it. She begins with a sunny briefing and intro to our South African skipper, the ‘‘super chill’’ Adrian. The lean, pony-tailed, often-shirtless 20-yearold, is the youngest person working for MedSailors.
It’s his last week before joining a more party-time provider. Maybe this is why he spends so much time napping on our sail, in preparation for the hardcore weeks to come.
One time, I think he nearly left us on Zlatni Rat beach, on Bol, too busy snoozing on the second-to-last day at sea. There are worse places to be left, it’s Croatia’s busiest and most recognised beach - it’s beautiful. We also check it out from above (parasailing here was a highlight).
Each day on the Discovery tour is a new destination. It’s a laidback lifestyle that’s easy to embrace. Rise early for brekkie once the sun starts to warm up the sleeping quarters, cruise to a new secluded spot and splash around in the temperate Adriatic Sea. Some bring novelty floatation devices on board – watermelons, unicorns – I regret we didn’t, they are a worthy investment.
Each ‘‘Premier yacht’’ is equipped with a stand-up paddle board from where we sunbathe, straddle and sip ice-cold cans of local beer. One of the major drawcards of MedSailors over the competition is its BYO rule – no lining up, no cash bar, we just chill a slab of Ozujsko beers each day in a bag of ice and share with our new mates.
From Split to the bay of Sesula on the island of Solta, then on to Vis. A storm rolls in, some pop a few SeaLegs to cope with the swell. We jump on land and find a delicious pizza place for dinner. Vis is small, a couple of our fellow travellers scooter around the whole island, but we stick to exploring on foot, snapping pics as a rainbow emerges, and sipping shots of the clear local liquor, Rakia.
MedSailors have a Discovery itinerary, but they deviate, depending on where the weather is fine. When you only have a week, you don’t want to be getting soaked or spewing the whole time.
We move on to dock in Parmigiana. It’s small – showers, a dairy and a cafe, where we pick up an iced coffee. We spend the hot day nestled in a spot on the rocks, jumping in and out of the sea to cool off. We find a nook away from the crowds – some treating this little gem like Fullmoon Full Moon Party. We’re feeling our age as we prepare ourselves for the big night to come – we’re taking a water-taxi over to Hvar.
As the sun sets, we begin to embrace the vibes. We play some of our favourite tracks to get pepped (the 20-year-olds tell us they like some of the songs, their parents listen to them). Once on the main island of Hvar, Adrian plays his best card, taking us to Rozeta Sushi & Oyster Bar – it’s delicious and I would have stayed to eat more.
We order over-priced cocktails from the Hula Hula Beach Bar, sip from metre-long straws and take selfies. We talk to our new crew about our jobs, we buy them drinks because they can’t afford to. We have become mum and dad. Nearer to midnight, the streets start to get rammed. We see our adopted new daughter put on a pith helmet at Kiva Bar and have a drink smashed over her head. It’s time for us to call it a night.
Hangovers are healed with a morning ocean dip, before gently cruising to Stari Grad, one of the oldest towns in Europe. In the evening we visit Hora, a lavender farm with an organic restaurant, they grow everything on site. It’s romantic – one guy even pops the question to his better half on bended knee, I shed a tear (turns out it was a bet).
Again, man and me would have stayed longer, sipping a nice rose´ we bought, but we’re forced to down it and head back to our cobblestone mooring as ‘‘there’s a train to catch’’ to the afterparty. My fiance considers opting out, I demand he can’t leave me. Also I see no railway and smell something fishy going down.
At 8pm, Adrian escorts us to a bar for the ‘‘train’’ – Jagermeister shots lined up on the bar like dominos. We bid a final farewell to our week of embracing our youth again. What better way.
The writer was a guest of MedSailors.