Last night I embarked on a pretty long journey after a very tiring day. I travelled from Liverpool to Southampton via Watford and Clapham and eventually arrived at the Ibis in Southampton at 11.30pm. I collapsed into bed but in true busy day style was still awake re-thinking the events of the day until well past 1am.
I was however treated to a lie in which is unusual these days and I was able to take a leisurely stroll down the sea front and enjoy a Starbucks in peace.
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So why was I in Southampton on my own and why had I made the journey. It was because a couple of months ago I received an invite from Sunsail to be their guest at Ladies Day during Cowes week. The plan was brunch, racing, and canapés. I’d never ever been sailing, always wondered if I would like it and thought this was a perfect opportunity to try it out. I’d also always wondered how much room you actually got on a boat and whether my Mini Travellers would like it!
So we got the Red Jet over to Cowes at 9.45am and hoped that the sun would shine and the wind would blow. It did neither!
The sea was like a mill pond and the sky was pretty grey. There was however really good pastries and a decent cup of tea for brunch.
There was also a fabulous crew (including me who actually did a lot of watching others crew) including
Camilla from Cruising Association
Emma from Sailing Today
Georgie from Yachts & Yachting
Monika from Mum on the Brink
Rosie from A Rosie Outlook
Plus Lucy, Chloe and Pippa from Sunsail and our token male and Skipper, Nick.
We chatted, we stalked other boats, we took pictures of men dressed as women (!) and we chatted some more.
Lunch was good. Nick our skipper even found us some beer, and for me I spent a day relaxing in some very good company out in the fresh sea air.
It was disappointing yes that we didn’t get to do any actual racing, but there isn’t a great deal anyone can do about that. For me I worked out that I do like being out on the sea and don’t get sea sick when the sea is like a millpond, so all it means is that I will have to go back and try again!
Sunsail do courses for all levels of competence and apparently do courses where the whole family can learn together. So maybe when my girls are older and they want to learn to sail, we can all take a course together. For now I will stick to relaxing on a boat with a beer in hand and soaking up the sun (or maybe just some fresh air).
Thanks for a lovely day Sunsail!
Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!
Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.
Love the photos, Karen! Sailing is always something that I’ve wanted to try but am not sure whether I’d like. Same with cruising, really. I like the idea but don’t know whether I’d get past being off-land and sea sick.
Despite the no wind, I loved just chilling out on the water and having such good company. Hope we can go racing together soon!
What a shame you didn’t get to go racing but still sounds like a pretty entertaining day! Would love to try my hand at sailing but I’m generally not very good on the water, always looks like so much fun though xx
Still sounds like a cool adventure though Karen, I think I am more of a cruiser than a racer so would have enjoyed the chill out with a beer x