PARADISE ISLANDS

A Moorings' charter in the Seychelles proves the perfect tonic for British boaters in need of some winter sun

- Hugo Andreae

Remind me which boat you were on?” asked the lady at the Moorings’ check-in counter when I returned the keys for our charter boat.

“Bea, the 403 Powercat,” I replied, slightly surprised that she hadn't recognised me from our enthusiastic welcome meeting the week before.

“Oh my goodness!” she giggled, breaking into a huge Seychellois smile. “You look so....different!” It was the biggest compliment she could have paid me. When I'd arrived the previous week, straight from a delayed overnight flight, I was tired, pallid and bearing the unmistakable gloom of a British boat owner facing the onset of winter. After six days of sun, sea and spectacular cruising in some of the most glorious surroundings our planet has to offer, I felt (and clearly looked) like a different person.

SUN, SEA AND SAND

If you've not yet had the pleasure of visiting the Seychelles, it is the very definition of a tropical paradise complete with white beaches, turquoise waters, lush vegetation and dramatic granite boulders worn smooth by the passage of time. It's also a boating nirvana comprising dozens of small islands blessed with sheltered bays and sandy anchorages, many of which are only accessible from the sea.