DALMATIAN DREAMS

TOBY HODGES AND FAMILY FIND PLENTY OF SURPRISES AS THEY CHARTER A NEW SUNSAIL MODEL FROM THE FAMED OLD CROATIAN CITY OF DUBROVNIK

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Why charter? To have a deserved break afloat; to sail somewhere different; to try before you buy, especially if deciding between monohull and multihull; to see if it's something your crew enjoys before embarking on longer-term cruising. Or all of the above.

For us, the plan seemed clear. After a decade of UK summers (an oxymoron!), where our family of four enjoys sailing dinghies and weekending our vintage micro-cruiser, it was time for some more reliable, sunny cruising. And the chance to try a modern production monohull presented an ideal opportunity for our daughters (9 and 13) to progress into yacht sailing.

Dubrovnik has become a Mediterranean cruising mecca. Not only is the 'pearl of the Adriatic' a UNESCO world heritage site to set sail from, with an old town made extra popular by Game of Thrones, but the islands strewn between here and Split offer some of the most enchanting, manageable cruising.

But I'd previously been put off the idea of chartering during summer school holidays, considering it too hot, expensive and, most of all, crowded. Thankfully, none of these preconceptions played out. In fact, from arriving in late July at Sunsail's Dubrovnik base onwards, everything was charming. I would add surprisingly so – however there were some surprises in store.

Due to work commitments, we missed the first two days, compressing our week's charter, but with the islands all lying to the north-west, routing decisions are easy at least – if the wind co-operates!

FULL OF SURPRISES