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The passage

How I got into sailing

In 2017, my wife’s parents invited us to join them on holiday in Croatia, with a yacht chartered for a week. Until then, I’d assumed yachts were the oligarchs’ floating palaces: private nightclubs you arrived at by helicopter. I even asked Masha whether there was something about her family I didn’t know.

On the very first day, on the passage from Trogir to Milna, a 35-knot squall caught us by surprise. The rain hit so hard it felt like hail, churning up the sea around us and filling the air with spray. We had full sail up on Evelina, our Beneteau Oceanis 45. She broached, with the leeward side submerged. Time seemed to stop. I held on to Masha and the rail while her dad made his way along the spreaders on the other side to reach the deck organiser and release the sail. I’d never felt such an exhilarating rush of adrenaline.

Unfortunately, it frightened Masha’s sister so much that we didn’t hoist the sails again for the rest of the holiday. Even so, I enjoyed every second at sea.

We visited Trogir, Milna, Palmižana, Hvar and Stari Grad. Sailing through that azure sea, laughing at the naked men diving off the neighbouring yacht, swimming in crystal-clear water beside an uninhabited island, and making a mess of coming alongside the fuel berth — it was wonderful.

It was the most unusual holiday of my life.

#passage #navigare
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