SAIL AWAY

on your dream holiday this year with the latest news and off ers

Last minute holiday?

The team at sailingholidays.com has been in touch to say they are almost fully booked until the end of October. However, they have a waiting list which you can join, plus they recommend you keep an eye on their online special offers page for last minute cancellations. At the time of writing they have a few yachts available for the October half-term (fi nal week of October). www.sailingholidays.com/offers

A ferry good option

For many boating holidays we must, of course, travel to the charter base, which often requires a fl ight. However, there are increasingly popular alternatives.

Stena Line, the world’s largest ferry company, has seen their travel business bounce back in Britain and Ireland in 2022. Figures for the fi rst half of the year show that passenger numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels, while car numbers, in particular, are far higher than in 2019.

Paul Grant, trade director for the Irish Sea, said: “Problems in the airline industry, high car hire prices and ongoing concerns over Covid, all seem to be encouraging more and more people to switch to ferries and take their own cars with them on holiday. Ease of check-in, no queues at security, no baggage charges, no car hire costs, the advantage of being able to put your full allowance of Duty Free in your car and drive from door-to-door, all make taking a ‘car-cation’ by ferry an attractive option for travellers.”

The company operates fi ve passenger routes between Britain and Ireland and The Netherlands. With prices for a car and driver to Ireland starting at £119, and to the Netherlands starting at £61.50. Windstar Cruises operates a fl eet of six boutique sailing yachts carrying 148 -342 guests.

The small ship cruise line announced the debut in Greece of its all-suite Star Plus Class Star Pride yacht, which is the third and fi nal of Windstar’s Star Plus Class yachts to emerge from Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard following a lengthening transformation project.

The three yachts, together with Windstar’s three classic sailing yachts, remain small enough to continue to visit special small ports and waterways around the world. Showing that cruising is well and truly back, in the spring the company reported the highest grossing week of cruise sales since the start of the pandemic and one of the biggest in its history.

Windstar Cruises president Christopher Prelog said: “People are discovering the advantage of small, yacht-like, sailing and allsuite cruising to aspirational destinations.”

Although the cruise company has cancelled its scheduled cruises in Asia this autumn, citing the continued uncertainty regarding ports reopening in the region, there will be other sailings. During October, Windstar will celebrate its 35th anniversary of operating cruises in Tahiti. All sailings aboard Wind Spirit and Star Breeze in Tahiti will join in the celebration with special events planned during the cruise.

The cruise line has also drawn up a new beach bum’s delight of an itinerary beginning this winter. Beach Fun & Sun: A Remote Caribbean Getaway has seven days on some of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean including stops in St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Barts, Anguilla, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Tortola. It can also be combined with Windstar’s Classic Caribbean for a two-week cruise. Windstarcruises.com

CRUISING THE WORLD

WINTER IN THE CARIBBEAN Bienvenue en France! Borrow A Boat has announced it is launching into Kraken Travel has been sharing its thoughts on France. The news follows a series of recent successes for sailing in one of the world’s most popular winter- the business, including further crowdfunding. In the sun cruising grounds, the Caribbean. There is last 12 months, Borrow A Boat has also seen expansion no shortage of places to explore, but according into several new countries - including the US, Canada, to Kraken Travel when it comes to catamaran Australia and New Zealand - and has acquired three charters there are three locations that stand competitors, Helm, Barqo and Beds on Board. out: the Bahamas, BVIs and Tobago Cays. In a Founder and CEO of Borrow A Boat, Matt Ovenden said: catamaran you will be able to sail even closer to “Along with our planned IPO, we felt a launch into France - secluded beaches and stunning coral reefs. one of the most popular boating destinations in the world

Featuring 16 major islands, The Bahamas - was the natural next step. We are looking forward to offers a heart-pounding adventure across opening up our marketplace to a French audience.” 100,000 square miles of the world’s clearest www.borrowaboat.com ocean. Meanwhile, the British Virgin Islands is known for its reef-lined beaches and amazing nightlife.

Lastly, located in the Southern Grenadines, FURTHER INFORMATION Tobago Cays is not to be confused with the n Nautilus Yachting: www.nautilusyachting.com island of Tobago, and consists of fi ve small n Seafarer: www.seafarersailing.co.uk islands and lots of coral reefs. There are fi ve cays n BVI Charters: www.bviyachtcharters.com - Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal, Petit Tabac n Ocean Elements: www.ocean-elements.co.uk and Jamesby. Charter bases in Grenada and n The Moorings: www.moorings.co.uk Saint Vincent make it easy to get to the islands. n Dream Yacht Charter:

The catamarans on offer from Kraken Travel www.dreamyachtcharter.co.uk for your Caribbean adventures include a Lagoon n Mallorca Yacht Charter: 52, Lagoon 450 and Bali Catspace. www.mallorcayachtcharter.eu Kraken.travel n Sunsail: sunsail.co.uk n Tall Ships Youth Trust: tallships.org