The Sessions and Sail project heads to Italy for a week long voyage around the spectacular Aeolian Islands, sailing aboard 40-metre brigantine Florette.
Our Sessions and Sail voyages are tailored for musicians - of all abilities - and this trip will give the opportunity to sail on a voyage out of Vibo Marina, in Calabria, to the Aeolian Islands - Stromboli, Lipari, Salina and more - with onboard tuition and music sessions combined with expeditions ashore, good food and idyllic destinations, and hands-on sailing of an authentic wooden tall ship.
We are interested in folk music of all varieties; however on this voyage, due to the background of our tutors, we will be best prepared to offer guidance and sessions in Scottish traditonal, Celtic traditional, diverse fiddle/violin, songwriting, sea shanties, mandolin and guitaring styles. We are also excited to explore and learn about the music of the areas we will sail in - Calabria, Sicily and the Aeolian Islands.
You will be welcomed aboard the Florette in Vibo Marina, Calabria, by Captain Rony Hayes and his crew; and by our Sessions and Sail musical team who will be with us all the way: Barry Nisbet and Harry Bird.
We're headed for the incredible Aeolian Islands - so epic they named a musical mode after them! These islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to their unique field for volcanological studies.
A 60 mile passage from Vibo Marina - during which we'll get to see Florette perform under sail - will bring us to the islands, where we'll be able to explore destinations such as the picturesque old town of Lipari, the largest town on the islands; the wine and caper producing island of Salina, which boasts forests of chestnut and pine; Vulcano, where a spectacular two-hour crater hike can take you through sulphurous fumeroles.
Highly active Stromboli may be on our agenda too - this famous island is constantly active with minor eruptions and has been nicknamed 'The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean' due to the guidance it offers sailors at night!
Let these islands, and the sailing of Fleorette, inspire your music and we'll see where it takes us.
The trip will feature a combination of sailing adventures, music workshops, collaborative sessions, and shore excursions.
Because we're in Italy, you are going to want to sample the food that's available, and the shore life; there will also be opportunities to make some epic hikes on some spectacular islands. For this reason, the trip is organised on a half-board style; we will breakfast aboard Florette each day, but will take one meal ashore every day, either lunch or dinner depending on the sailing programme.
Music workshops and sessions will take place onboard Florette - both whilst the ship is underway, and under sail - and at various anchorages in the evenings.
A single berth in a 2- or 4-berth cabin aboard s.s. Florette
Half-board: Breakfast (including tea/coffee) plus 1 other meal per day, per day.
Classes, workshops and tuition from our onboard tutors
Florette's tenders (dinghies) will be available to drop off and pick up ashore, with a daily dinghy schedule.
Use of all facilities on board, including snorkeling gear, paddleboards, kayaks, board games
All bedding (pillow, duvet, bedding)
Drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic will be available onboard through the ship's honesty bar, as is tea and good espresso coffee.
Once in the islands, you will have a daily opportunity to eat ashore - either while hiking or at a restaurant where you can enjoy some of the superb local cuisine.
You will need a towel for washing on board and for any swimming trips
Crew and tour leader tips
We join the Florette at her pontoon berth in Vibo Marina, Calabria, at 1800 local time (6pm); you find your way to your cabin and settle in on board, getting to know your shipmates.
Take a walk round Florette's wooden decks and admire this lovely brigantine, originally built to carry marble under sail power alone; we gather on deck to get to know each other, with our tutors Harry Bird and Barry Nisbet leading a gentle introductory session on deck.
We settle into our bunks early in preparation for our big crossing tomorrow.
Photograph: Belsito, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia
We depart Vibo Marina in the morning, with a 60-mile passage, and the Aeolian Islands ahead of us.
Under the guidance of Captain Rony Hayes, who grew up aboard this family-owned ship and knows her intimately, you help the crew get Florette under sail; take part in the watch routine and take a turn at steering the ship. The Mediterranean climate is still beautiful in October; we may enjoy the sun and relax as Florette sails along, or get a music session going.
Sessions on this voyage will be 'ceilidh' style, with songs and tunes from all folk traditions welcomed; everyone has something to offer, whether it be a rip-roaring reel, a traditional song or an original piece of poetry. You may have plans to compose or prepare a piece of music together with one or more of your shipmates; our onboard tutors will be able to help and offer advice should you need it.
When the sun sets, it does so behind our first island destination; the crew anchor Florette in an idyllic spot, and we enjoy the cool of the evening and stories of our first Tyrrhenian passage.
The Aeolian Islands offer a unique and diverse opportunities for exploration.
We will visit the islands on a route that makes best use of the weather conditions and the wind directions - we want to get Florette under sail as much as possible!
This morning we may explore the main island of Lipari, catching a dinghy to the shore after an espresso coffee and a breakfast on board Florette. The main town of Lipari nestles around the harbour; a town of 12,000 that was originally settled by the Mycenaeans, and feels timeless, with small pedestrian streets and the plethora of cafes and restaurants you'd expect in Italy.
Or, we may have headed to Stromboli, the famous active volcano that was once known as the 'Lighthouse of the Mediterannean'; where guided hikes towards the crater are possible;
We may even have taken advantage of a perfect wind and headed to some of the islands further west, saving Lipari for later.
Wherever we head, it's a day of exploring, good food and a tune or two.
A morning sail takes us a short hop to another island - perhaps Vulcano, where a 2-hour hike takes you to, as the name of the island suggests, the rim of a smoking, sulphurous volcano.
At the beach on Vulcano, by the ferry harbour, volcanic gases bubble up through the sea - it's possible to swim through these and enjoy a natural jacuzzi!
Or we may have headed further west to some of the more remote islands - Filicudi or even Alicudi; saving Lipari and Vulcano for later in the week.
Our Sessions and Sail tutors will schedule in a music session today where we can play some music together; or feel free to approach Harry or Barry for some more focused tuition or musical advice!
After a morning spent hiking or exploring, we sail on in the early afternoon. The Aeolian Islands rise spectacularly from the sea on either side of the ship as we sail along - giving some terrific opportunities for photography!
Some of our friends in the islands will visit the ship, and may even join us for a crossing - they will be able to give us some fascinating insights into the culture and folk music in the islands, as well as joining us for a few tunes.
Today it's also worth considering a piece of music you might like to play - either solo or with a shipmate - at our final evening on board when we get back to mainland Italy. This will be an informal and supportive evening, just for ourselves, with the emphasis on fun - but can give a nice focus to the music we play along the way.
Recorded history goes back a long way in these islands, which have had a turbulent past; originally settled by the Mycenaeans, the city states of Sicily and North Africa fought battles in the region. The acropolis in Lipari ws originaly built to provide refuge from Carthaginian pirate raids; at one point the pirate captain Barbarossa enslaved all the islanders. Later, during the times of the crusades, the Normans ruled the islands. The museum in Lipari gives a great deal more information about this history.
We make a sailing passage in the morning, to the islands not yet visited - whether this be Salina, the highest of the islands at almost 1,000 metres, or Stromboli, where the glowing magma booms of the volcano are spectacular once the sun has set; or we may have opted to take in some of the other islands first, and to finish our tour at Lipari; in which case we could be exploring the main town today.
We have lunch aboard Florette, then go off to explore ashore in the afternoon; and in the evening, our last among these islands, find a local restaurant. Seafood is a particular favourite in the islands; the tuna is delicious, as is the swordfish and calamari. The Aeolian Islands are also famous for capers; and the tomatoes and pistachios are as good as you would expect.
Back aboard Florette for the night, we get a good rest before tomorrow's crossing back to the mainland.
Today is a big sailing day! And this gives us good opportunity for music as well as for hauling on halyards, helping trim sails, helming and keeping lookout.
If you've been inspired by what you've seen and experienced this week, you may be putting together a tune, song or composition; Harry and Barry can be on hand to offer help and advice, or to play through a tune or two with you.
As Florette approaches the coast, we begin reducing sail and preparing the ship for coming into her berth.
We arrive back at Vibo Marina by nightfall; then we all gather together, ideally on deck, and perform the pieces of music we've prepared for tonight!
Afterwards, we may play a few more tunes on deck into the evening.
We have a tasty breakfast together, our last on board Florette; then we say our goodbyes, and head off for the next adventure!
