	Barcelona Activities 2009: "Hop on Hop Off" Sightseeing Bus, Flamenco Show, Tapas Evening, FC Stadium Tour

Sailing In Barcelona: Review of a popular beginner´s sailing lesson in Barcelona.

Review:

A week or so ago I was asked by my dear friend John if I would be interested in taking a sailing lesson in Barceloneta, the beach area in Barcelona. I thought he was kidding; do I really have such good friends that they are willing to send me on a sailing course? Well yes there was a price for it as we all know nothing comes for free in life. The deal was for me to write about my experience and take a few photos. I was delighted, my first journalistic mission, and I get to sail too !

Sailing school The sailing lesson is booked online through Spainbookers. Simply follow the online instructions, setup a free account and then print off your booking voucher. You need to bring this voucher along with you on the day along with photographic identification.

As indicated on the voucher I arrived at 16:30 to the sailing centre, Centre Municipal de Vela down in Port Vell. I handed them the voucher and was asked to sign a paper for insurance purpose.

Two years ago I bought a boat to live on and to fulfil my dream to one day be able to sail. I am embarrassed to say that I can count the times I actually have been out sailing with my boat, and quite frankly still do not know how to sail, at least not on my own. I was therefore very excited in deed to go for a 2 hour sailing course, my first ever. Even if it is a basic course I was convinced I could learn something from it.

Our safety was always ensured we all had to have life jackets before entering the boats. At 17h the sail instructors gathered us up to give us a short briefing. All in all there were 9 of us, five English speaking and four Catalan speaking sign ups. The group was of all age groups from Adults and some younger children. I would say this course is definitely designated for both young and old alike.

Our instructors Regina and Queralt were fairly young ladies but practically born on sail boats. We were taken to get out our life jackets, given plastic bags to put the cameras in, mine however was to large to fit in one of these bags and I decide not to bring it to sea. Sorry for not being able to share Barcelona’s sea shore photos with you! When all geared up we headed for our boats. Queralt was the designated instructor for the English speaking group, and Regina took care of the Catalan group.

The boat was big enough to seat all six of us, and the other five went in the other boat. Queralt gave us an explanation about the sails, the ropes, and how to conduct in the boat as we were sailing.

The sailing instructure giving us pre-sailing tips.

We were towed out by a motorized boat since our boats did not have any engines and you are not allowed to keep sails up in the harbour, due to safety. Once out of the port we set sail, heading for Barceloneta (the beach area of Barcelona). Since we had wind blowing from the south and that was our direction we had to criss-cross down to catch the wind from a 45 degree angle. On board our boat we had a young couple from Saint Louise, Missouri, a mid aged Canadian, and a young Bulgarian man, Queralt from Barcelona and me from Sweden, so yes you could call that an international crew.

We all had a go at sailing and learning the basics on this course. Queralt showed us how to turn the boat, how to use the rudder, pull the ropes, head for the wind. We all had assigned duties where one was in charge of pulling the rope, one on each side, and the other duty we had was to steer the boat, we each had a go at each task. I was sat at the rudder for about 20 minutes, feeling very empowered to be in charge of the direction of this boat.

We spent a good hour and a half at sea and made it all the way down to Barceloneta and headed quite far out from the coast line. The weather was fantastic, with a nice breeze to keep us sailing, very few waves so we did not rock too much, and delightful company. After our hour and a half we headed back to the port, sailing in with only one jib sail to keep us at a slow paste.

We returned our life jackets, gathered around the table for a final reward of a glass of cava each in between chit chatting with fellow crew members, all of us being well excited for what we had just learnt on the sailing lesson and from seeing a view of Barcelona from the other side.

After Sail get together. This was great fun to meet up with the others afterwards and talk about our experience.

Summary

This is a simple sailing course which I think anyone can understand and does not require having sailor’s talents, a great way to see Barcelona’s shore line, meet new people. I would not claim that I am now a qualified Captain by any means, but I think anyone who feels inclined to learn how to sail at some point in there life, this lesson would be a nice introduction to what sailing is all about. Or if you are travelling in a group this could be a nice bonding event, where you all get to have a go at sailing and the boats can fit up to 6 adults, in each boat. There is plenty more to learn about the sea the weather and the bigger the boat the more complicated it might get, but all in all I think, well worth the time and money.

As an additional bonus I was then given a ticket for free entrance to the Museo Maritimo (Maritime Museum), a value of 6.50 euros for adults. The Maritime Museum of Barcelona, you can find old classic boats and the history of sea fairers, a true paradise for boat lovers they say. Which made me even more excited as this is one of the few museums I actually want to visit in Barcelona. Having lived here for nine years, and the number of times I passed by it thinking I really want to go there one day, not only because of my passion for classic boats but also for the beautiful building hosting this.