Nestled under the towering castillo on the tiny Balearic island of Cabrera is a simple tapas bar, known as the Cantina. Overlooking the dinghy dock and a short dusty road to nowhere, its terrace is a place where sailors sit to contemplate the stars, the swinging anchor lights, and life in general.
Can one week change your life? That’s a whole lot of pressure to put on a holiday. But for a surprising number of graduates of the Nautilus Sailing catamaran cruising course, that’s exactly what their one week aboard is: a first step to catamaran ownership or liveaboard adventures. Over olives and white sangria my crew mates were considering their next life move, and they were resolute that it would involve buying a catamaran, and making that leap.
Of course, a liveaboard sailing course doesn’t have to be about reinventing your life. It’s a week afloat in the sun, hopping from bay to bay in some of the loveliest sailing destinations around, and an opportunity to pick up the skills to do it all again some time – only next time chartering your own boat, with friends or family. Tacking between the islands of Conils and Cabrera, before tucking into the deeply sheltered nook of the Puerto de Cabrera anchorage, surrounded on all sides