All at sea in Menorca with Karen Gill
There are holidays, and then there are the ones that rearrange you slightly. A week learning to sail around Menorca 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.
Menorca is the quieter, more considered sister of the Balearics: a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with a coastline so varied it feels almost curated. On this seven-night voyage, an expert Skipper and host Karen Gill MBE, takes a small group of Club Avandra guests on the beautiful Latitud 6, a 52-foot Jeanneau yacht from the magnificent natural harbour of Mahon to the dramatic fjord-city of Ciutadella and back, calling in at hidden calas, fishing villages and the finest seafood restaurants the island 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 deal with a woman overboard (hypothetically – though if you’d like to practice on someone specific, this is your moment). You will also swim off the back of a boat at dawn, eat lobster stew at a harbourside table, and return home with both a skill and a story.
Your trip gallery
Meet your crew: Mike Rose & Karen Gill
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
- Having sailed the Balearics many times, Mike and Karen’s local knowledge enables access to areas that the guidebooks don’t reach. Club Avandra members can expect a private introduction to one of Fornells’ legendary caldereta de langosta kitchens—the lobster stew that Menorca has been refining for centuries—and to the chef, who will discuss his secret ingredients over glass of local wine before you eat.
- In Ciutadella, there’s after-hours access to the old town at dusk when the day-trippers have gone home and the squares belong entirely to the locals and to you.
Latitude 6
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
Trip Highlights
- Sailing into Ciutadella at golden hour — arriving by sea into the island’s old capital, a deep natural fjord lined with honey-coloured palaces and Gothic spires, is the kind of entrance that makes you want to stand at the bow with your hair doing something cinematic.
- Anchoring at a secret cala for a midday swim — Menorca has more than 70 coves, many accessible only by boat. Package-holiday makers will never know these places exist.
- 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.
Today’s highlights
Arrive Mahon
- Mahon’s harbour is one of the longest natural harbours in the world—arriving by boat, with the fortified cliffs rising on either side, is a properly dramatic introduction to the island.
- A welcome drink on deck with Karen and Mike as the sun goes down over the old town sets the tone: this is not a hotel, and that is entirely the point.
- Dinner ashore at one of Mahon’s excellent harbour restaurants—the grilled fish is the right call, the local gin (yes, gin: Menorca has been making it since the British occupation and they haven’t stopped) is the other right call. (Not to mention simply being on this trip in the first place – the main right call).
Today’s highlights
Mahon to Cala Grao
- A morning introduction to the boat’s systems and safety equipment—less alarming than it sounds, more empowering than expected; by coffee time you will know where everything is and what it does.
- The first proper sail: a leisurely crossing to Cala Grao, where the harbour entrance is presided over by the Castle of San Felipe like something out of a Dumas novel.
- First steering practice underway, with Mike explaining the effects of wind on the boat and what “points of sail” actually means—it makes considerably more sense once you’re doing it.
Today’s highlights
Cala Grao to Fornells
- A morning navigation discussion—wind, route, the Albufera des Grau Nature Park stretching along the northern coastline—then off. The best possible order of operations.
- A lunch stop in a cala for swimming: the water in northern Menorca is a shade of blue that will make you wonder why you ever go anywhere else.
- Arrival at Fornells for dinner—a small, perfect fishing town that happens to serve the island’s finest caldereta de langosta; we will have a private kitchen visit with the chef before sitting down to eat.
Today’s highlights
Across the island, 24 nautical miles
- The longest sailing day of the week—24 nautical miles of deeply indented coastline, multiple swimming stops, and chartwork that will make you feel extremely competent with a plotter and a tidal table. Who knew?!
- Woman overboard drill en route: unexpectedly good fun, involves a great deal of tacking and an inflatable horseshoe buoy, and means you will never again be cavalier about leaning over the side
- Arrival into Ciutadella by sea—the deep natural inlet, the Gothic cathedral, the old palaces of the Menorcan aristocracy. All in all dinner in the old town will feels like eating inside a very well-preserved, glamorous history lesson.
Today’s highlights
Ciutadella to Cala Galdana or Cala Macarella
- Leaving port with noticeably more confidence than when you arrived—this is measurable and satisfying.
- Woman overboard recovery practice in open water: tacking, gybing, boat control in restricted spaces—all of it clicked into place by the end of the morning.
- Cala Galdana or Cala Macarella for the afternoon—two of the island’s most beautiful coves; one lively and sociable, one quiet and almost completely unspoiled; choose your mood. Truly a trip without compromise.
Today’s highlights
To Cala Binibeca
- A day of consolidation—all the skills from the week brought together in a final day of proper sailing along the southern coast, with the kind of easy competence that only comes from doing something repeatedly and in good company.
- Binibeca: a small fishing village of completely restored whitewashed streets where it is apparently always slightly 1987 in the best possible way; the silence here is an actual feature.
- The last proper dinner of the trip—somewhere close to the water, almost certainly involving more very good fish.
Today’s highlights
Cala Binibeca to Mahon
- A final morning swim off the back of the boat—coffee, no agenda, the satisfying awareness that you now know things about wind and tide that you didn’t know a week ago.
- A gentle sail back to Mahon consolidating everything: navigation, sail trim, boat handling—all of it reviewed with Mike over the course of a morning that nobody will want to end.
- Final night in the bay of Mahon: the best harbour view on the island, and one last dinner ashore to mark the fact that you came here not knowing how to sail a boat, and now you do.
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
Are you ready for this experience?
£3,500 per person - single occupancy
£2,375 per person - sharing
This trip is only available for Club Avandra members
Email our specialist travel partner
Email one of our specialist travel partners to create your perfect experience.
Call our specialist travel partner
Speak to one of our specialist travel partners to create your perfect experience.
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.