Ever woken up and not known where you were? That’s what happened to us, the passengers aboard the beautiful dark-wood Tussock yacht – sleeping 12 plus four crew – the morning after we arrived in a tiny fishing village on the coast of Turkey. And it wasn’t just the champagne we’d been quaffing into the early hours as the breeze came in off the sea and we 12 got to know each other.

Early the next morning, still fast asleep, you couldn’t help but be aware of a slight rolling of the boat and a chugging noise, even if it wasn’t quite enough to wake you. It was only when you crept out to breakfast – as the captain dinged the meal bell – that you became aware that the fishing village was miles behind and now you were in a deserted cove with nothing but rocks and trees and clean, clean water. Oh and the rest of the gang from last night, all in a similar state of disrepair.

A very healthy breakfast and a dip in that clean, clean water later and we were all feeling ship-shape and ready to sail off to somewhere else. The captain had plotted a course, which he showed us on what looked like a very ancient map, and off we sailed. We didn’t really know where, and we didn’t actually care. And don’t worry, there’s no work involved. While you lay back taking in the rays and maybe a nice coffee and biscuit brought round by the cabin boy, the crew leap into action, whipping crisp white sails up those brown masts until countryside is whizzing past and your tan is already taking root. You can help man the decks (or whatever the expression is) but you’d have to be mad, right?

Finest Fair
After a very healthy lunch of Turkish specialities (mostly really interesting salad, the freshest fish you can imagine and, why not?, a couple of glasses of wine) served up on the aft deck (that’s the back!), we pulled into another cove and were whisked on the ship’s dinghy to shore, so that we could explore the ruins of early Christian churches at our own pace. Or snorkel, if we preferred. Or simply laze around some more while crew members replenished our glasses.

And that became the pattern of our days aboard the Tussock yacht. Not that any two days were the same. Sometimes you were exploring a Roman amphitheatre in Myra (very impressive and overshadowed by a cliff-faced dotted with tombs). Other days you were walking with the sand between your toes on golden beaches where turtles come to mate. Or you were pulling in at some cute village to drink cocktails as the sun set. We even ended up at a not bad gay bar one night! But mostly – and maybe most enjoyably – you find yourself lazing around, gossiping, drinking, reading, giggling, putting on Duran Duran tracks to re-enact scenes from “Rio” and generally having the most relaxing time possible as the crew juggle dealing with flapping sails and preparing dinner and cocktails on the way to somewhere else.

Tussock yachts come in a variety of sizes, meaning you can go with an intimate party, a big old party or even a bunch of unknowns (they certainly don’t stay unknown for long). And you can choose how you want to spend your break, whether it’s sailing from beach to beach (dinner on the beach in candlelight is amazingly romantic!) or trekking across to somewhere like Mykonos. You can even have a specialist trip, where you spend some time learning something (cooking maybe?) and the rest of the time relaxing.

Evening Entertainment
Come evening, after cocktails somewhere aboard the boat – which might be moored by a woodside beach or in a dinky little village – dinner is served and the party begins. Depending on the mix of people or the mood or whether it’s your last night or not this can be of the cocktail variety with much chatting (even networking!) or it can be a fully-fledged throw down with disco tracks pumping out of the captain’s stereo (well, you’re in the middle of nowhere some of the time, it’s not like the neighbours are going to come knocking).

Any reservations we might have had coming on a mini-cruise like this seemed to evaporate with our stress. We thought we might be bored, but the days are so varied and so crammed with possibilities (do we take out the kayak? Borrow the snorkelling stuff? Get the dinghy for a walk in that little wood? Go to the little town to buy some cigarettes? Stay put and read our books with a drink in hand?) that boredom never reared its head. Neither did sea-sickness, even on the one morning when the wind whipped up. Well, just for one person, for about half an hour.

We’d feared we might feel trapped with other people but the cabins are roomy and comfy, so you could always go back and lounge in privacy (though no one did on our trip, as we’d all become pretty good mates). We even thought it might be claustrophobic but those cabins are fine (even if you do bump your head a little) and there’s so much sea and sky everywhere else that there’s no feeling locked in, even if you wanted to.

And so to the last night, and we are none of us feeling like we’re ready to leave. But rather than mope we decide that after dinner we’ll have a dance party. Cut to 12 people, seriously the worse for wear, stumbling along to their cabins (or even other people’s cabins!) for one last night being rocked to sleep by the bobbing of the boat before we fly back to reality the following morning.

Find more information visit www.tussockcruising.com/en. Prices for a one-week sailing cruise start at £507 including breakfast, lunch, all snacks in-between,  five dinners and all drinks on board (some dinners are taken ashore). If you join  then  for two weeks you will get a discount on an individual sailing cruise!

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