Vast canvas sails gently flap in the night breeze as couples dressed in white take to the deck to the strains of Sailing by Christopher Cross. A bright silver moon bobs up and down as if dancing with the people below. This illusion is caused by the sway of a slightly choppy Mediterranean Sea but nobody seems to notice on a magical evening on board the Star Flyer clipper.
We are enjoying a White Night party and light show which sees glittering hearts projected on to illuminated sails and passengers dressed accordingly. It is a romantic sight befitting the style of ship we are sailing on. Cruising had never really appealed to me before.
Those floating behemoths carrying thousands of passengers just looked too overwhelming. But the chance to experience a more golden age of travel on a tall ship, carrying around 140 guests, was much more attractive. Styled on the clippers of the 19thcentury, our four-masted, 16-sail vessel is a beauty – all cream and white with expansive teak decks, gleaming mahogany rails and polished brass.
It looks particularly impressive on our nightly sailaway, when we gather to watch the crew hoist the sails to a rousing chorus of Conquest Of Paradise by Vangelis blasting out from the speakers. And this is not just for show. Our Croatian captain Ante Basica tells me they use sail over engine whenever the winds, and schedule, will allow.
My husband Ian and I have joined a Riviera Travel trip which will take us from Rome’s port of Civitavecchia to the Sou.