Sailing Virgins1 reviews

A properly wild week afloat 8 May 2026

not a manufactured thrill, just real seamanship, right there. The instructors guided us through the whole thing — calm, clear, a bit amused even — and then let us have a go, which was brilliant. That single episode sums up the trip: practical, a touch unpredictable, hugely educational and oddly fun. We’d booked the ASA catamaran course with a small, very experienced crew and they mixed proper training with proper holiday time. Days were a blur of sailing practice, route planning, reef navigation and learning to handle two engines without panicking, and the evenings were for snorkelling, local food and lazy chats under the stars. Highlights? Swimming with rays and a couple of sharks in the shallows, biking round a tiny island with barely any cars, and being ferried ashore in the big cat to an unexpectedly swanky restaurant one night. The tutors — James and Kirill — were patient but pushed us when it mattered: plotting without GPS, fixing a fouled anchor, handing the helm in tricky gusts. I’ll admit it wasn’t all flawless: the berths are cosy, early starts are common and once we had to improvise when a mooring line decided to be awkward, but none of that felt like a deal-breaker, more like part of the story. If there’s one tiny gripe it’s that the onboard kitchen can be a bit hit-or-miss depending on who’s on galley duty, but we ate well overall and the local meals we shared ashore were top notch. My wife and I left feeling far more confident than when we arrived — I’ve done a few charters before, but this course actually made me want to plan a longer cruise. Advice to others: don’t come expecting everything wrapped up in a neat package, come ready to learn, get wet, and roll with whatever the sea throws at you. You’ll practise real skills, see stunning scenery and meet people who love sailing as much as you do.