‘We sailed through Norwegian fjords to a Shetland welcome of whisky and reels’

A Nordic yacht race, mishaps on the Thames and a ketchup-covered crossing of the Equator enlivened your holidays afloat

A group of us hired a gulet in Turkey. Captain Ali was a proud man and, wherever possible, sailed under wind power only – although, on occasion, he did have to resort to using the engine.

I thought we had covered many miles each day, but one morning, during our “briefing”, I realised we had sailed the same stretch of coastline every day, zig-zagging along, making the scenery appear different.

One day the crew tied a fishing line to the side of the boat as we sailed. Soon, they hauled in a tuna which was prepared, cooked and eaten.

Sleeping on deck and being woken by the sound of the call to prayer was another indelible memory.

CRUISE CONTROL

We had been to Venice eight times before, but my husband and I decided to try a river cruise as a new way to stay in a central location. Moored near St Mark’s, we were able to explore independently while returning to our floating hotel for delicious, allinclusive Italian meals. How else could we have afforded to wake up to views of Santa Maria della Salute and San Giorgio Maggiore, or enjoy two scenic cruises around the lagoon?

CroisiEurope’s MS Michelangelo is used for this short break, and we had all announcements kindly translated just for our benefit as we were the only British people who had navigated the Covid regulations to fly to Venice. Hilary Spon, Kent

THAT SINKING FEELING

We had got as far as the first lock on our Thames cruise and moored up for the evening when I broke my first rule of sailing: never jump off a boat, always step. My leg locked up and my head hit the ground, concussing me. I came round to see the mooring line snaking away from me as Jan set off on her own.

I recovered it and made fast, but after that I was banjaxed, able only to sit in the captain’s seat and give orders to the first mate. We moored in Henley for our second night – or so we thought: I looked up from my G&T to find us drifting towards Teddington. All hands on deck to make fast again. We then recreated the Suez Canal incident when the boat stuck sideways in a lock. Peter Harrold, Lincolnshire

Points north: yachts crossing Bressay Sound off Lerwick, Shetland

SAUCY CEREMONY

Newly married, we flew to Singapore and boarded the Kota Singapura. Our cabin was lined with mahogany. We sailed past Jakarta and Bali, which took us across the Equator: in a line-crossing ceremony we were covered in ketchup, then knelt in front of “Neptune”, who christened us with buckets of water.

Forty years later, we sailed down the Nile, visiting temples. My lasting memories are of bartering with the boat men as we manoeuvred through the locks, waving to Nubian children, watching oxen pull wooden carts as water buffalo grazed on marshy islands. The most relaxing memory was of lying on rattan chairs, sipping tea and eating pancakes, watching as the sun set on desert sands that rose above the verdant shoreline. Fiona Brown, Devon

ROLLING IN THE ISLES

It seemed a great idea to charter a 27ft boat to sail around the western isles of Scotland, even though I had only experienced crewing in small dinghies. After a day we returned to have the “heads” repaired and, later, most of the cutlery disappeared as the washing bowl was emptied over the side.

In glorious, warm sunshine we visited Rhum, Eigg and Muck, living on fresh mackerel. I remember Portree’s colourful houses, hot showers, moving the boat one night dressed in pyjamas, attending a ceilidh in flipflops, the phosphorescent sparkle as we rowed back, Highland games and making the mad decision to sail right around Skye.

The weather changed, the waves grew, we lost and recaptured our tender. We had a close encounter with a whale, our clothes got damp and we tired of mackerel, but it was wonderful. Veronica Bliss, Hampshire

STEAMING AHEAD

Two nights afloat is not a long time, but there was much to do and see when we sailed on the SS Proud Mary paddle steamer on the Murray River in Australia. We boarded at Murray Bridge in the evening, and sailed upstream to Mandurah with the floodlights on. Next morning we saw herons, moorhens and spoonbills before arriving at Mannum, where we walked to the nearby waterfalls. Here we saw our first kangaroo – though it was disconcerting to see kangaroo steaks on the menu that night.

At Shell Hill we enjoyed a nocturnal drive on which we saw wombats, hares, a fox, barn owls and quails. We sailed from Walker Flat to Swan Reach and to a yabby farm. Yabbies are crayfish, which we had for dinner. Our journey ended at Blanchetown, and we were transferred back to Adelaide wishing we had done the five-night cruise.