When Sea Calls, Renew a Love Affair With Sail

For sheer romance at sea, nothing surpasses a sailing ship. The legendary tall ships with white sails billowing big-bellied in the breeze seem as far removed from stalwart, broad-shouldered cruise ships as a racing thoroughbred from a workhorse.

This winter and spring, cruise passengers in love with the idea of traveling under sail have a choice of only three companies offering sailings in the Caribbean and South Pacific.

The classic and incomparable Sea Cloud, once Marjorie Merriweather Post’s yacht and still privately owned by a group of German yachtsmen, will be available for individual bookings on a series of nine South Pacific voyages beginning in April from Sven-Olof Lindblad’s Special Expeditions.

On this maiden voyage into the South Pacific the four-masted, square-rigged Sea Cloud will explore the islands once visited by Capt. Cook’s barque, Endeavour. The 16,000-mile journey will be divided into segments of two to four weeks, not hewing to a tight itinerary but flexible enough to allow passengers to go ashore for a barbecue on an uninhabited island or snorkel in inviting emerald lagoons.

Unusual Ports of Call

An April 10 departure from Easter Island will call at Ducie and Henderson, as well as Pitcairn, where all 50 residents are invited to come aboard the Sea Cloud, a type of vessel they have never seen. The rarely visited Mangarevas, Rapa and Raivavae are also ports of call before the ship docks at Papeete.

Eight other voyages are scheduled from Tahiti, Fiji, Guadalcanal, Rabaul, Palau, Bali and Cairns throughout the spring and summer.

With its auxiliary engines, the Sea Cloud need never be caught in the doldrums without wind to puff its 29 sails, but even under sail it can cover 150 miles a day, thanks to its broad yardarms and narrow beam.

We fell head-over-heels in love with this ship a few years ago in the Caribbean. While much attention has been paid to the deluxe original cabins, especially Marjorie’s with its huge marble bathroom with gold-plated faucets, its canopied bed and marble fireplace, the more compact newer cabins are also comfortable, although without the slightest bit of ostentation.

Small-Club Ambiance

Only 60 passengers at a time can sail on the Sea Cloud, so it becomes a pleasurable experience, something like being members of the same small club. When we last traveled with her the food and service were fine and the ambiance a delight: teak decks and polished brass, the sharp snap of sails in the wind, the young European sailors perching precariously on yardarms high above the sea.

Built in 1931 in Kiel, Germany, the Sea Cloud is the last of her breed, a 305-foot sailing yacht that draws so many admirers everywhere she goes that even her passengers are instant celebrities in port. Naturally, these top-of-the-line cruises don’t come cheap; 14-day South Pacific sailings with Special Expeditions begin at $4,980 per person, double occupancy. For a brochure and information, phone (800) 762-0003.

The world’s longest sailing vessel, the Wind Star of Windstar Cruises, recently made its debut in Miami en route to beginning Caribbean service on Dec. 13.

440-Foot Four-Master

The innovative design of this four-masted, 440-foot ship incorporates computer-operated triangular sails that are trimmed automatically by the computer’s reading of wind direction and velocity. The computer can even furl the 21,500 square feet of sail in two minutes if bad weather comes up. Auxiliary diesel engines also provide power, produce electricity and desalinate water.

The 150-passenger Wind Star is the first of four identical vessels planned by the company for worldwide service. The others are Wind Song, scheduled to begin sailing in French Polynesia next June; Wind Spirit, due early in 1988, and Wind Saga, on option for a 1989 delivery.

Wind Star offers year-round Caribbean sailings round trip from Martinique, departing every Saturday at midnight for St. Lucia, Bequia, Tobago Cays, Mayreau, Grenada, Palm Island and Mustique.

Fares are the same for all accommodations: $1,785 per person double occupancy for low season (mid-August through mid-December), $2,085 intermediate season (late April through mid-August), $2,395 in peak season (mid-December through mid-April). Single occupancy is 150% of those rates. A few cabins accommodate a third passenger at 25% of the applicable double occupancy fare.

For a Windstar brochure, phone (800) 258-7245.

‘Barefoot’ Holidays

Finally, there is Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, long offering casual sailing holidays in the Caribbean at budget prices for the young of body and very young at heart. It’s OK to lend a hand to the professional sailors on occasion, and apparel is very casual.

Ships range from the 282-foot Fantome, carrying 126 passengers, to the 72-passenger Mandalay; prices vary from $625 per person for “bachelor quarters” (cabins accommodating six) on a six-day cruise to $1,500 for a 13-day cruise in the admiral’s suite on the Mandalay. For brochures and details, phone (800) 327-2601.