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MEDITERRANEAN MUSE
Daniel Resnik sails the coastline from Rome to Athens aboard
the luxury tall ship the Royal Clipper.

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n the fourth night aboard

the luxury tall ship Royal
Clipper I venture up to the
top deck after midnight.
Theres a full moon and the ship is
under full sail power, slicing through the
Mediterranean with consummate ease.
Five masts, 42 billowing individual
sails covering a massive 5000 square
metres; the only sounds are those of
the ocean lapping against the hull and
the occasional creaking sounds coming
from a ship working its magic under

the moonlight and stars its a sight Ill

never forget as long as I live.
We are cruising from Civitavecchia just
north of Rome to Athens on a sevenday trip that takes in Italys Sorrento,
Messina and Sicily via the Amalfi
Coast before crossing to Katakolon,
Monemvasia, Nafplio and Piraeus.
Excursions are not compulsory but they
give you the opportunity to visit places
such as Pompeii, Capri, Mount Etna and
Olympia, where the first Olympic games
were held.

Cruising the coast

In Civitavecchia we get the first glimpse
of our home for the next week, sitting
tall, regal and proud in the harbour
among the moored oceangoing vessels
and glitzy cruise liners.
And as good as she looks from
a distance, Royal Clipper is just as
impressive close-up. With polished
brass, gleaming mahogany and teak
handrails she oozes elegance and style,
the spiral stairs leading down from the
piano bar to the dining area.
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signaturecruise

Our first port of call is Sorrento and as

gorgeous as it is we put the town aside
for an excursion to Pompeii. Having
learned about Pompeii in primary school
this is a place Ive always aspired to visit
and it doesnt disappoint.
Walking these ghostly streets is
incredible and sometimes emotional as I
imagine what happened that fateful day
in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted
and molten lava buried the city.
Other highlights include climbing
Mount Etna and visiting the beautiful
medieval Greek village of Monemvasia.
Also in Greece, at Katakolon, we explore
the port town before embarking on a
tour of Olympia, where every four years
there is a flame-lighting ceremony
to commence the torch relay for the
upcoming Olympic games.
Later we venture to the beach for a
swim and gorge on fresh Greek food at
the bar and restaurant before heading
back to the ship.
At Nafplio we drink the iced expresso
coffee that only the Greeks can do
to perfection and then explore the
towns fort, Palamidi, perched 216
metres above. From here, the views
of Royal Clipper anchored below, the
mountainous Greek countryside and
sparkling sea as a backdrop, are nothing
short of spectacular.

signaturecruise

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06

02

THE MOUNTAINOUS GREEK COUNTRYSIDE AND

SPARKLING SEA AS BACKDROP ARE NOTHING
SHORT OF SPECTACULAR.

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01 At home on the Mediterranean 02 Coastline views from the shore 03

Dining room 04 At full sail 05 Spiral stairs leading to the piano bar 06 The
library on Royal Clipper. Images 02 to 06 Star Clippers

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All hands on deck

Yet, its life on board ship that makes
the whole journey just that little
bit extra special. Unlike the ocean
liners with their many thousands of
passengers, Royal Clipper has only 227
guests and 120 crew, making it much
easier to mingle with fellow guests.
It also means that most evenings are
filled with quirky entertainment and
fun events. I play a song with a friend
in the talent quest (Born to be Wild by
Steppenwolf) which is extremely loud,
grating and a little scary. It is my kind of
audience, too captive unless you want
to throw yourself overboard. At other
times the ships musician turns DJ and
theres dancing under the stars as the
Italian and Greek coastlines slip by.
The clipper company is the dream of
Swedens Mikael Craft, who wanted
to build the worlds tallest and largest
clipper ships and offer a genuine yet
modern tall ship experience. This
includes the opportunity to help the
crew with pulling up the rigging,

climbing the crows nest and getting

involved with the day-to-day workings
of the ship.
At the moment there are three ships
in the stable Royal Clipper, Star Clipper
and Star Flyer and in 2017 they will be
joined by the newest ship in the fleet,
recently named Flying Clipper, which will
hold 300 passengers.
Our Polish captain, the charming
and charismatic Brunon Borowka, has
been a skipper with the company for
15 years. He tells me that due to time
restrictions he has to use engine power
but, if the conditions are favourable, he
likes nothing better than to raise the full
complement of sails.
Borowka also has a love for Australia
especially Doyles seafood restaurant

in Watsons Bay after spending a short

time here crewing on a ship during the
1988 First Fleet reenactment on Sydney
Harbour. After this, every time I passed
him, I got a cheery Gday mate.
With new friendships forged and
amazing places explored, cruising
on Royal Clipper was a memorable
experience and one I will cherish forever.
Its no wonder the number of repeat
guests on our trip is 60 per cent.

Travel file
Cruise
www.starclippers.com
Getting there
Emirates flies daily to Rome from Sydney,
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth via Dubai.
www.emirates.com

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