All at sea in Majorca with Karen Gill
There are holidays, and then there are the ones that rearrange you slightly. A week learning to sail around Majorca with a small group of like-minded women—turquoise calas, whitewashed villages, very good fish, and the freedom of understanding, for the first time, that you are in charge of the boat—is very much the latter. Grab the tiller. You've got this.
There is a kind of woman who hears “learn to sail” and thinks, finally, someone’s asking the right question. Not “would you like to be taken somewhere nice” rather “would you like to learn to actually do this yourself”. This is that trip.
Over seven days, you will join a small, exclusive group of Club Avandra members sailing around the island’s most dramatic coastline. Calling in at hidden calas, fishing villages, and some of the best seafood restaurants Majorca has to offer. This is not a sit-back-and-let-someone-else-do-it cruise. You will learn to steer, tack, gybe, navigate, and execute a “woman overboard” recovery (hypothetically — though if you’d like to practise on someone specific, this is your moment).
You will also swim off the back of the boat at dawn, eat lobster stew at a harbourside table you reached entirely under your own steam, and go home with a genuine new skill rather than just a tan. Exclusively women, exclusively curious, exclusively up for it.
Your trip gallery
Meet your crew: The New Latitudes team
The yacht is owned and skippered by Mike Rose, one of the worlds’ most experienced and accomplished captains. Mike has spent 40 years sailing all of the world’s oceans, including several Atlantic and Pacific crossings. What makes him particularly on point for this Club Avandra trip is his passion for teaching women to sail. Mike has run an all-female sail racing crew in Sydney for many years.
Your host for the trip is Karen Gill MBE, a co-founder of everywoman, a global membership organization established in 1999 to advance women in business and a warm, fun-loving personality with an equal passion for sailing and female communities. Alongside Maxine Benson, she has spent over two decades fostering female talent, developing training programs, and creating networking opportunities, culminating in the 2024 acquisition of everywoman. As a portfolio business owner and investor, her portfolio includes involvement with New Latitudes Sailing which specializes in sailing experiences and skills development for women. And now, with more time to devote to sailing, she has taken her skipper qualifications and is eager to share the beauty of the craft with other women.
A world of Club Avandra exclusives
This is not a sailing school holiday with a few extras bolted on. We have built the week specifically for this group, which means the itinerary flexes around your collective pace, weather, and — should the mood strike — a detour for a v good lunch. You’ll get genuine one-on-one time at the helm across the week, rather than queuing behind a boat full of strangers, and access to anchorages and routes that only come with someone who has sailed this coastline for decades. Evenings ashore are chosen for their food as much as their charm — several restaurants on this itinerary don’t appear in any guidebook, because we have the expert insider knowledge to the most extraordinary experiences.
Latitude 6
You’ll be living aboard a beautifully-kept sailing yacht for the duration of the week, with comfortable, well-appointed cabins and shared living spaces designed for a small group. Days are spent on deck and in the water; evenings are largely spent ashore, in old-town restaurants and harbourside tables chosen for their food and their views in equal measure. This is proper sailing rather than superyacht posturing — a trip where the accommodation is simple, the company is excellent, and the real luxury is everything you’ll learn to do for yourself.
The contemporary Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 519 is a thoughtfully appointed yacht where comfort, quality and adventure converge.
The yacht offers four spacious double guest cabins, (two of which are ensuite) which close friends can share, or single occupancy is available.
- Three bathrooms, offering comfort and convenience, with electric flush loos (a must in our book!).
- Premium linens, bed toppers, soft pillows and towels.
Your itinerary
Sailing beneath the soaring cliffs of the Tramuntana coast — one of the Mediterranean’s most spectacular stretches of coastline, where pine-covered mountains tumble straight into impossibly blue water and tiny calas appear around seemingly every headland. Some are only accessible by boat, making them feel like your own private corner of Majorca.
Exploring the island’s most beautiful ports — from elegant Palma to the timeless charm of Sóller and the medieval streets of Alcúdia, arriving by sea gives each destination a perspective few visitors ever experience.
Dropping anchor beneath Cape Formentor — Majorca’s dramatic northern headland is all soaring limestone cliffs, hidden coves and impossibly clear water. Arriving under sail, before slipping into a sheltered cala for a swim, is the sort of experience that reminds you why boats reach places cars simply can’t.
Genuine sailing competence by Saturday — by the end of the week you will be able to hold a course, execute a tack, and understand why the wind does what it does; this is a real skill acquired in a genuinely beautiful classroom. With new friends.
Important
- Don’t forget sunscreen, a sunhat, swimsuit and deck shoes
- Sailing gloves for those that want to really get involved.
- Please be advised that the itinerary, accommodations, or dining locations may be subject to minor adjustments due to unforeseen circumstances, including weather conditions.
- Please give plenty of notice if you have any food allergies or dietary requirements, as changes can’t be made on the day of departure.
Find out more about your sailing itinerary by clicking through day one through seven to get an overview of what to expect.
Today’s highlights
- Boarding in Palma and settling into your cabin
- Welcome cocktails on deck
- Dinner ashore in Palma’s old town
The week begins gently. Arrive in Palma in the late afternoon and step aboard for the first time, getting your bearings, meeting your fellow crew, and settling into your cabin. A welcome cocktail and nibbles on deck set the tone for the week ahead — informal, easy, the kind of conversation that starts with “so what brings you here” and ends rather later than planned. Dinner is ashore in Palma’s old town, where you’re thoroughly spoiled for choice.
Today’s highlights
Mahon to Cala Grao
- Full safety briefing and boat orientation
- Your first time underway, learning the basics of steering
- Introduction to tacking and gybing, conditions permitting
Breakfast — ashore or onboard, entirely up to you — starts the day, followed by a proper safety briefing covering the boat’s equipment and where to find it. From there, Karen walks you through the considerations of leaving the berth before you’re underway and heading for Andraitx. En route, you’ll learn (or relearn) the angles of sailing relative to the wind and start practising steering, with tacking and gybing introduced depending on conditions. By the end of the day, “depending on conditions” will sound less like jargon and more like something you understand.
Today’s highlights
- Navigation practice and anchoring in deep water
- Rope work and knot-tying
- Lunch and a swim along the dramatic Tramuntana coastline
Today is dedicated to navigation: steering to a wind angle, anchoring in deep water, and getting properly comfortable with rope skills and knots. The route takes you along the Tramuntana coastline to the port of Soller — among the most dramatic stretches of coast in the Mediterranean, with magnificent calas and cliff-face restaurants that look almost implausible from the water. You’ll stop for lunch and a swim along the way, putting your new anchoring technique straight into practice.
Today’s highlights
- A free morning to explore Soller’s old town and port
- Optional vintage train excursion into Palma
- Close-quarters boat handling and marina manoeuvring practice
Soller is a genuinely beautiful town, and today gives you time to enjoy it properly — including the option of a vintage train ride into Palma, with a taxi back for those who’d rather not retrace their steps. For those staying with the boat, the day is used to build skills in close-quarters handling and the particular art of manoeuvring into a marina berth without holding your breath the entire time.
Today’s highlights
- Refining tacking and gybing technique
- Man overboard recovery practice
- Anchoring in a cala near the headland, weather permitting
The coastline continues toward the dramatic headland of Cape Formentor, with the day focused on refining your tacking and gybing and covering the various techniques for recovering a “man overboard.” Weather permitting, you’ll anchor in one of the spectacular calas near the headland, with plenty of time along the way for further rope work and knot practice — by now, second nature.
Today’s highlights
- Sailing around the northern tip of Majorca at Cape Formentor
- Anchoring in the calm waters of Pollenca bay
- A relaxed afternoon revisiting the week’s skills
Today you round the northern tip of Majorca at Cape Formentor into the town of Pollenca — a route familiar to anyone who’s watched the television adaptation of John le Carré’s The Night Manager, much of which was filmed along this stretch. The calmer waters of Pollenca bay offer plenty of safe anchorages and a relaxed setting to revisit everything you’ve learned over the past few days, before what’s likely to be a very good final dinner.
Today’s highlights
- Further berthing and “man overboard” recovery practice
- Route planning for the final sail to Alcudia
- A final night in the historic town of Alcudia
Your final full day combines more berthing practice with practical man overboard recovery, along with route planning for the sail to Alcudia — a town of genuine historical significance and a fitting setting for your last night aboard. By now, you’ll be doing most of this without being asked. Disembark the following morning with a new skill, a sun-kissed glow, and at least one new friend you’ll definitely be messaging by September.
Need to know
TRIP INCLUDES:
- Transfers from and to the airport
- Skipper for the duration
- Hostess for the duration
- Food onboard
- A double cabin, single occupancy – unless you want to share
- All operating costs, including fuel
- Marina fee costs
- Bathroom towels
- Phone charge points/Bluetooth speaker
- Fully-equipped galley
TRIP EXCLUDES:
- Flights
- Trip Insurance, health insurance
- Beach towels
- Incidental expenses
- Alcoholic beverages
- Add-on activities and on-shore dining
Are you ready for this experience?
Single occupancy - £3,500 per person
Sharing a cabin - £2,375 per person
This trip includes one year's membership to Club Avandra
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This trip is operated by Travel Seen. Itineraries subject to change and standard check in times apply. Please refer to full T&C’s here.