A school sailing trip to Corsica

Jonah and his inexperienced Italian classmates set sail for a Corsican adventure

- JONAH BRACCIALI

When people talk about a school trip, spending a week in the Italian Mediterranean doesn’t immediately spring to mind. Whereas at my school this is exactly what happened. At the time of this trip I was aged 17 in my third year of Italian High School. Despite seasickness, tight spaces and no showers, it actually turned out to be the most unlikely yet perfect school trip.

Our journey began with a five-hour overnight coach ride from the city of Turin, in Piedmont, in the far northwest of Italy, to the port city of Livorno in Tuscany, and although the bus broke down, we arrived with enough time for breakfast before getting on the ferry for the island of Capraia in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This is where the real journey began!

JOINING THE FLEET

Once we disembarked in Capraia - about 40 miles away - we were met by the skippers of our 10-boat fleet and after being split into groups we were taken aboard to get to know what we would call home for the forthcoming week. I found myself on Glencora, a Nelson 46, with seven classmates and two fantastic skippers, Paolo and Francesca.