A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean

There's something "magical" about sailing tall ships, said Amy Bell in the Financial Times. It lies partly in the majesty of the vessels themselves, partly in a sense of their long history, and partly in more immediate realities: the absorbing nature of the sailing itself; the bonding moments of joint endeavour; and the sheer pleasure of being out at sea beneath the Sun and stars, in fair weather and foul.

For my first voyage, I booked a berth on Blue Clipper, a three-masted gaff rig schooner aboard which guests – including complete beginners like me – are encouraged, but by no means obliged, to help out. Built in Sweden in 1991 for the cognac house Hennessy, the ship is now owned by Maybe Sailing, a not-for-profit organisation that provides youth sail training on its sister ship T.S. Maybe.

Blue Clipper spends winters in the Caribbean and summers in Scotland, but I chose a ten-day springtime voyage from Portimão in southern Portugal, along Spain's south coast and up to Monaco. There were 20 people – guests and crew – aboard, including a chef who prepared all the meals. The ship has a pleasant "wood-furnished" interior, a "comfortable" saloon, and en-suite guest cabins. The crew took care to show me the ropes, and I was surprised by how quickly I came to feel as though I was part of the team, helping to keep watch at night, "where you spend hours talking under the stars", and taking turns at the helm. We were lucky with the weather, but I was warned that things on board can sometimes get "as rough as dogs" – the ship has no stabilisers, unlike a "modern-day superyacht".

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It was wondrous to sail up the mountainous coast of Ibiza under a full Moon, and to drop anchor off Mallorca below "rugged green cliffs and a blue sky brushed with soft pink". But most spirit-soaring was the moment a pod of dolphins appeared alongside, leaping and splashing about. It is the kind of "wild" happening you might miss if you weren't "actively involved in the sailing of a ship".

The trip costs from £2,200pp with VentureSail