Magna charter

Why exotic sailing holidays abroad are not necessarily all they're cracked up to be

- Claudia Myatt

Seasick Cyril, my best mate, is one of the few people I know who can afford proper holidays - by which I mean ones that take place on land, such as trekking in the Andes, skiing in Verbier, or taking a villa on the shore of Lake Como.

The last one was a bit of risk, what with it being perilously close to water, but he found that with the right medication-a glass of Veuve Clicquot and caviar dabbed behind each ear-the sight of a mahogany varnished Riva Super Aquarama bobbing at its mooring was just about tolerable, and didn't make him too queasy.

That was in his pre-sailing days when Cyril had what's known as a lifestyle, a serene existence untroubled by thoughts of stern glands, diesel bug, crevice corrosion, gas explosions, keels falling off, or any of those worrisome little niggles PBO readers routinely encounter.

The sea change came when he met super-keen sailor Jenny and they bought a smart 50ft German yacht. By coincidence that was also around about the time Cyril became my best mate, as I've always wanted to sail on a boat with an indoor loo, and theirs has three of them, which Cyril spends most of his time in.