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What the papers say about Wildwind

Georgie, an experienced mono-hull sailor, travelled with her husband and 15-month old daughter.  During their week in Wildwind they tried out quite a few boats from our 70-strong range.

Here are a few of the highlights from their experience.

“Within two hours of landing at Preveza airport, I was afloat in a Laser, having already been welcomed and settled in to our comfortable hotel room, located just behind the beachfront.
And what a treat. Not only was this an opportunity to actually sail on arrival day – making a very early start from Gatwick worthwhile – but it was also one of the best blasts I have had. Skipping over the waves that were starting to form further out in the bay, the smell of olive groves and cypress trees swept down the hill towards me as the warm breeze piped up to around 20 knots. Bliss! What a way to start our holiday.”

“Later that evening, whilst enjoying some traditional home-cooked Greek fare at the welcome meal, we had the chance to meet our fellow guests. As well as Brits, there were those who had travelled from Belgium, Holland and Germany, and even Australia. Several were Wildwind fans, back for a second, third, fourth time, or, in one instance, their 50th week.”

At Wildwind this is a fairly typical evening in Vassiliki where over 65% of our guests are returnees and the resort has a sense of community not found on other holidays.  It isn’t only the guests that return year after year, many of our instructors are also returnees, once they have had a taste of sailing in the famous cross shore or ‘Eric’ as the phenomenon is known locally, it is hard to find another location that lives up to it.
“It was on one such afternoon that my husband and I decided to jump into an F18 Hobie Tiger. Both very experienced monohull sailors, we were far from being cat experts, and our stated aim for the week had been to get to grips with two hulls. Twin wiring was something of a novelty too. All I can say is it was very fun and very fast – once we realised we needed to stop sailing it like a dinghy!

The following day we opted for something more in our comfort zone; well, that is, at least we chose a monohull (a Laser) – just with the added challenge of having foils. With a lot of hard work pumping the 1:1 mainsheet and a few spectacular crash downs, the boat’s simple foil set-up soon saw us taking it in turns to sail across the bay. The rest of the week saw us dabble alternately in various classes, from the RS100 to the Hobie FX1 and even the 49er. Another breeze-on afternoon saw us hit 17 knots downwind in an RS200 with the hull barely in the water - simply stunning sailing. The week was rounded off with a mini race series, with some close competition at the front of the fleet.”

Georgie talks about her experience of the Wildwind Team
“Lessons are run for beginners with the chance to obtain RYA qualifications, and for more experienced sailors, a series of clinics are run, split into monohull and multihull categories. there’s no rigid structure and guests are able to drop in to the sessions as they please.”
At Wildwind we pride ourselves on being able to cater for all levels of sailor.  If you would like some RYA training from our experienced staff it is included in your holiday package.  Whether you goal is to learn to sail a monohull, develop your spinnaker handling technique on a Hobie Tiger, or learn to foil on a Laser or Aero,  we can help!

Georgie continues…
“What really ensures this approach works is that the beach team, from the outset, take the time to find out a little about each person’s experience and aims for the week, tailoring the coaching programme to fit and re-assessing as the week goes on. I joined a number of talks ranging from boat set-up to startline tactics to trapeze technique, each of which was followed up by an on the water coaching session so we could translate theory into practise. In peak weeks the waterfront operation comprises 25 staff, all proficient sailors, many of whom have raced to a high level. There is always someone on hand to offer advice, help you rig and launch, or jump in the boat for a one-to-one.”

“They also spend a lot of time fielding queries about the breeze, and when it will fill in. This is the big question! Locally known as ‘Eric’ the afternoon cross-shore regularly pumps at between 20 and 30 knots
It’s perfect for blasting across the bay in a boat of your choice, safe in the knowledge that the water is warm and there are safety boats on hand to assist if needs be. It’s at this point in the day that the beach team will also offer high performance dinghy and cat joy rides so that nervous or less experienced sailors can still enjoy the thrill of sailing from the wire when it’s blowing hard….With the benefit of the right kit and experience, the team are very adept at managing windy weather and giving sailors at all levels the chance to push beyond their own boundaries.”

Georgie summed up her experience on a Wildwind Holiday…
“There’s not much to improve on, with a picture-perfect wind-sure location and a fantastic choice of kit. Perhaps the hardest to beat is the chilled-out vibe that permeates every aspect of the holiday – driven by an experienced, friendly team who you can genuinely feel can’t do enough to make sure guests get the most from
their holiday, both on the water and off.”

If you would like to read the full review click here...

http://cdn.wildwind.co.uk/documents/ww-lef/georgie_review.pdf