We really enjoyed our sailing holiday: it was a great week of discovery and relaxation!
⛵️ Bali 4.0, Toulon, with a skipper
For their holiday, Yannick and his crew rented a boat in Toulon. A look back at their cruise in the south of France, punctuated by discovery along the water for a successful first sail. To discover the Golden Islands, you can also opt for a catamaran rental in Hyères.
Holidays on the sea, a great premiere!
Yannick started out with his family and a skipper as this was their first time sailing. He confided to me: "Having a skipper was of course more comfortable. We also expected him to guide us a little. To be honest, we were a bit apprehensive about living with, let's face it, a stranger. Especially since a boat is a closed and relatively small space and we had to live together for a week. In the end, everything went well for our crew, who got on well straight away: "He played his part perfectly! We appreciated his discretion and he did everything to make sure that our sailing went as smoothly as possible. He tried to help us discover beautiful places, small coves, quiet anchorages, and the sailing itself of course.”
“To our relief and delight, everything went extremely well with the skipper. One thing is for sure: without him, we wouldn't have done the same navigation at all. I would even say that, in a way, thanks to him, we saved time!”
When I ask him why they chose to rent a boat for their holidays this year, Yannick tells me that it was in fact a project initiated by his daughter: "Going away for a week on a boat like that was my daughter's dream ! She's been talking about it for a while now, so for her 20th birthday, we decided to give her this gift. It was also my son's tenth birthday, and they were both delighted, and so were we!"
Pictures on board of the Bali 4.0 (Photos by Yannick)
A holiday of discovery and relaxation
This holiday was an opportunity to relax for Yannick's family. Between lounging, sunbathing, and swimming, the days were quite packed!
"The anchorages? No, I couldn't pick just one because they were all really great! I can't tell you. One thing we particularly liked was that the skipper took us to relatively quiet places, ideal for disconnecting."
“Most of the time we were in anchorages with few boats, which was very nice!”
When I ask him about the reasons that motivated him to travel to the South of France, Yannick explains: "Originally, we wanted to go to Spain, to discover the Balearic Islands, starting from Minorca or Majorca. There were no catamarans available on our dates and as we wanted to favour comfort, with the advice of Filovent, we decided to change our destination and finally opted for the south of France. Moreover, as it was our first time on the water, we thought it might be easier and more practical to stay in France.
"We wanted a catamaran at all costs for the comfort. There were four of us, five including the skipper, and we opted for the Bali 4.0. We were not at all disappointed with our choice: the boat was comfortable. There is a real difference compared to a monohull. We didn't step on each other. This way, the skipper was also comfortable. The dining area was spacious, it was really nice.
“What was very nice about it was that everyone had the possibility to have their own space and therefore to do a bit of what they wanted.”
The Bali 4.0, catamaran on which Yannick and his family sailed (Photos from Bali)
Yannick and his family really enjoyed their week on board of the Bali 4.0. Their only small disappointment is the following: "The small touch of regret that we may have is that the weather was perhaps too mild : A great weather for sunbathing or swimming but very little wind. So we had to do two sailing trips using only the engine. We were a bit disappointed because we also wanted to discover the world of sailing in more depth through our holiday."
The itinerary of Yannick and his crew
Total distance travelled: 107 nautical miles
- Day 1: Toulon → Porquerolles (17 nautical miles)
- Day 2: Porquerolles → Plage du Grand Jardin → Le Lavandou (15 nautical miles)
- Day 3: Le Lavandou → Plage Saint-Clair → Cap Nègre (5 nautical miles)
- Day 4: Cap Nègre → Cap Taillat → Saint-Tropez (21 nautical miles)
- Day 5: Saint-Tropez → Port-Cros (25 nautical miles)
- Day 6: Port-Cros → Toulon (24 nautical miles)
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Yannick for his time, his kindness and his testimony, as well as all his crew! I hope to see you soon, for more new adventures!