Setting sail

From exploring the shores of Croatia to the beautiful British Virgin Islands, expert Claire Fields explains that a sailing trip is easier to organise than you think

If you’ve always wanted to go sailing, but have no experience aboard yachts, organising a trip can be a daunting prospect. At Sunsail, we have plenty of easy options to get you on the water — and you can do as much or as little sailing as you like. We also have bases globally which helps, so you can maximise the time you’re at sea.

If you’ve never sailed before, we’d recommend taking the Competent Crew course — by the end of it, you’ll know your way around a boat and be a useful member of the crew. It’s an excellent confidence builder.

Alternatively, you could simply hire your own yacht from our fleet along with a skipper who will come with you and sail the boat.

We offer monohull sailing yachts from 34ft up to 52ft and catamarans from 40ft up to 50ft. You could go for either a bareboat holiday, where you head off and make the most of your skipper’s local knowledge, or you could join one of our flotilla holidays.

Flotilla sailing is great fun — people love the social aspect, whilst having the support of a lead crew to help throughout the trip. It’s a really exciting way to get into sailing.