Boats, catamarans, windsurf… Would you like to start sailing?

Living in a city nearby the sea makes you feel really proud, even more if you like sailing.

And when you consider such sea is the MediterraneanMare Nostrum, as Romans used to call it–, then one feels really lucky indeed.

Sailing team


The Mediterranean Sea, impossibly quiet and courteous, looks as if it was specifically designed with calm sailing in mind.

If the word slow was also used to award certain seas and oceans, the Mediterranean Sea would get, undoubtedly, the first prize.


Get started in sailing with the Platja Llarga Sailing Club

A few weeks ago, we went on our particular kayak baptism, with the people of TGNauticaKayak.

This week, on the other hand, we’ve gone one step further and we’ve dared sailing on a Catalan boat and catamaran.

We’ve done it following Àlex Villacorta and Albert Sellarès instructions, two young and yet experienced coaches from the ‘Platja Llarga’ Sailing Club.

Their offer is wide and varied: boats, windsurf, catamarans, kayaks, among other kind of watercrafts of different styles and sizes.

Prices? Well, these go from 25 to 55€ per hour, depending upon the chosen modality.

Several group passes and prices are also available and, besides baptisms, there are courses and outings to choose from as well, at just 17€ per person.

Boat entering the sea


The day chosen is not exactly brilliant ‘but we’ll manage’, says Àlex Villacorta, one of the club’s managers.

We woke up with a little bit of wind quite unlike to cease.

Even though siling does always depend on weather conditions, the combination of summer and sea nearby Tarragona rarely lets you down.

On the process of getting the boats ready, and once we are given the first tips on how one should behave on board, we realise about two things.

The first one is how easily our vocabulary gets flooded with new and really necessary words we’ll be using very soon; and the second one, the fact that the above-mentioned wind is, at last, starting to disappear.

Let’s set sailing, then!

What happens once at sea

The first boat I try is the ‘Patí català’, a sort of catamaran, and the priest in charge of my baptism will be Albert Sellarès.

Thanks to the little breeze still remaining, we get a clear start, and we quickly sail by the Torredembarra lighthouse.

Departure from the coast during sailing


Albert moves skilfully on the ‘patí’, and plays with the wind in order to direct the boat wherever he fancies, speeding up, going about… The sensations are really pleasant.

Once in line with the shore, we sail along, absorbing concepts, learning to tack the boat, to luff.

Time flies as quickly as the boat, and in less that one hour, we go back the shore to get on the catamaran.

Now, not only do we feel way more comfortable than this morning –sitting on a piece of tarpaulin, rather than on a piece of wood–, but we also get led by the tiller.

Little waves around us swing the boat, while this jolts forwards and we get soaked, making the whole experience much more entertaining.

Sailing

Unlike the kayak, where everything is much easier, actual sailing does need more time to become familiar with the watercraft and comprehend the way to safely steer it.

However, the ‘Platja Llarga’ Sailing Club is full of kids going on little boats, which comes to prove their bravery.

There’s nothing like learning at early stages…

Text: Ivan Rodon (@irodon)
Translate: Artur Santos (@artur_1983)
Photo: Club de Vela Platja Llarga

Service information
Website: www.cvplatjallarga.org
Telephone number: 977 207 789
Mail: oficina@cvplatjallarga.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CVPLL
Twitter: @navegAvela
Youtube: LaPlatjaLlargaNavega

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