4 SAILBOAT VACATIONS FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

4SAILBOAT VACATIONS FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

There’s an inherent romance to traveling by sailboat: these sleek, wind-powered vessels allow for a more intimate interaction with the water, as waves and breeze aren’t muffled by the growl of a motor. If you loved your last vacation aboard a traditional cruise ship, it may be worth considering booking your next cruise on a sailboat. Or perhaps you’re just looking to book a unique vacation with an uncommon mode of adventure.

Many companies offer sailing vacations for travelers who have no interest in ever learning to sail, but those with beginner skills or even a passing interest can learn as they travel. There are scores of options for this type of travel, whether you are an expert coastal sailor or have never stepped aboard a sailboat. Here are four of the best.

Alaska Adventure Sailing

Most travelers see Alaska’s coast via large cruise ship, visiting a handful of port cities with hundreds or thousands of other travelers. With Alaska Adventure Sailing, that experience is significantly improved upon. These small sailboat adventures take you off the beaten path, away from places that are overrun with tourists, and into rugged fjords and less frequented towns. The trips include a range of adventure activities, such as wreck diving, hot springs visits, ski tours, whale watching, kayaking, and festival visits. The small group trips can accommodate up to 6 passengers and are designed to educate interested sailors as you travel.

Maine Windjammer Association

Step aboard an iconic windjammer off the coast of Maine with Maine Windjammer Association. The company cruises the spectacular Maine coast on nine gorgeous schooners, each of which capture Old World romance and excitement as they cruise. The trips are three, four, or six days long, and include wildlife sightings, scenic coastline, and visits to charming towns. Trip routes and destinations are adjusted as you sail, to account for the tides and the wind. These trips are all-inclusive, with outstanding meals covered—including the company’s renowned lobster bakes and handcranked ice cream. The chefs use locally sourced ingredients whenever possible.

The Moorings

With sailing trips around the world, The Moorings is a great choice if you’re looking for a small yacht experience. The company offers private charters for groups of up to 12 guests, with the option to sail yourself if you’re experienced, or go with a licensed skipper. There are also learn-to-sail options for those without the expertise to go solo but the interest in further education. The boats are scattered in 20 destinations, including the Caribbean, Seychelles, Thailand, Tahiti, and the Mediterranean. The trips are fully customizable, with the Moorings acting as a travel agent to help you book transportation, activities, ports, and more.

G Adventures

Adventure vacation specialist G Adventures boasts a wide range of memorable travel options that may include hiking, biking, yoga, and kayaking. The company’s sailing options are among its most impressive, with trips that explore destinations like the Caribbean Islands, Greece, Maldives, Canary Islands, Thailand, Croatia, and Sri Lanka. These small group adventures venture off the beaten path to islands and beaches and towns that travelers miss when touring with large groups. The groups generally include 10 to 12 people and are led by locally based guides that are not only destination experts but residents of the area you’re exploring.

Hello Burlington Hello Burlington

Hello Burlington Hello Burlington

Vermont is known nationally as a seasonal playground for outdoor enthusiasts, drawing mountain bikers, hikers, and snow devotees from across the country -- to wit, Burlington, the state’s biggest little city, is just one hour away from five top ski resorts. Lesser known, though, is the Green Mountain State’s quiet role as a leader in the hyper-local food space. (Vermont, for instance, is the rare place where it’s possible to find local maple syrup in the supermarket, at the gas station, or tucked behind a self-pay “honesty box” in a clapboard, roadside stand.) It is a maker-artisan culture at its core, thriving on the farmers and food producers that make buying local a practical way of life. There are few better places to discover the abundant eating and drinking culture of this under-explored gem than Burlington, a microcosm of Vermont’s knack for expertly treading the line between doing sim-

ple best and staying on the forefront of an innovative food scene that is as varied as the makers within it.

Ready for a proper meal? Honey Road Restaurant offers Eastern Mediterranean-inspired shared plates and a small-producer wine list that explores the entire globe. Hen of the Wood, the James Beard Award-nominated enclave known for an ever-changing menu of farm-sourced dishes, is worth a stop if only for the restaurant’s superlative Parker House rolls, while Pizzeria Verita turns out some of the chewiest, flame-kissed Neapolitan pizzas in-state (and it has one of the best negronis in town, to boot). Penny Cluse Café and its tiny sister spot, Lucky Next Door, is a decades-old institution for breakfast and lunch that has catered to a roster of famous passers-by that includes the current President.

To wash everything down, grab a bottle of wine from Wilder Wines or Dedalus Wine Shop -- both spots are

local destinations for enigmatic natural bottles and Old-World classics alike. If beer is your drink of choice, however, you have come to the right state; Vermont is a global landmark for craft brewing, and Burlington is a world-class destination for exploring it. Foam Brewers near the Burlington waterfront is a prime place to start. And don’t miss Pine Street, which is quickly becoming the state’s Brewery Boulevard. If you need of a pick-me-up any time of day, Burlington’s third-wave coffee scene has you covered, with local roasters like Brio, Kestrel, and Vivid each celebrating unique approaches to a strong, sustainably sourced brew.

Outside of downtown, The Essex Culinary Resort & Spa is a one-stop-shop with cooking classes, two restaurants and eighteen acres of surrounding greenspace. In Winooski, Misery Loves Company provides a locally revered menu of farm-fresh sustenance, including a sandwich with a cult following: the crispy-spicy Rough Francis fried chicken sandwich.

About twenty minutes south, in Charlotte, Philo Ridge Farm brings the table straight to the farm itself with all-day coffee, house-made treats, and satisfying dishes created from produce and livestock

raised onsite -- make sure to snag reservations in advance for their hard-to-get farm dinners, an often-changing, multicourse menu celebrating the seasonal plenty Philo Ridge has to offer. Nearby, Shelburne Farms offers over fourteenthousand acres of woods, pastures, gardens, walking trails and historic buildings for scouting, plus a historic inn overlooking Lake Champlain for enjoying cocktail hour in peak style.

Along with some of the best dining and drinking in the country, the Burlington area also offers a few of the more beautiful ways to stoke an appetite. The Island Line Trail, for example, is a fourteen-mile paved bike path that weaves along the edge of Lake Champlain. Mount Philo, just south of Burlington, is the one of the better bang-for-your-buck hikes around; a steep, one-mile incline accessible by foot or car that’s topped off with sweeping views of the Champlain Valley. Yet the best way to find the gems scattered around the Burlington area is to visit -- the one-lane byways that curve through snowy mountains, bucolic farmland and sparkling lakefront views always contain magic within them.