What a blast from the past! We hadn’t sailed a Hobie Cat in many years, so ofcourse we jumped at the chance to do so. And boy were we spoilt! Flying along on crystal blue waters, in warm, tropical winds with the mountains of the north of the island as a backdrop – it was a truly memorable experience. And the best part for people used to sailing in icy waters? No wetsuits required – just a bathing costume, a harness and a lifejacket. Now that’s my kind of sailing! We highly recommend a sailing holiday in Mauritius.
tropical winds – the only way to sail. No wetsuit required!
A dream, a vision
We were invited by Klaus Gerasch of WILDWIND to enjoy a day of sailing in paradise. Klaus set up the business 5 years ago after he and his wife Andrea spotted the gap in the market while on holiday in Mauritius. They noticed that there was nowhere where one could hire a Hobie Cat or a dinghy for the day while on holiday, unless staying in a resort. And even then, there wasn’t much choice. They had visited Greece a few years earlier and had sailed with WILDWIND there. When they decided to go ahead and start up the school and business in Mauritius, Klaus approached Simon Morgan from WILDWIND in Greece to partner with them, and WILDWIND Mauritius was born.
WILDWIND was founded in 1987 in Vasiliki, Greece, by Britain’s Simon Morgan. Over the years WILDWIND has become the biggest beach sailing club in Europe, with over 70 boats on the beach. The Morgan family are sailing stars in the UK. Simon’s father won a silver medal in sailing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. And Simon has won many national and international regattas himself, the 1999 Hobie 16 British National Championships being one of them. WILDWIND in Greece has become a sailing training camp for the Olympic squad from the UK too.
Something for everyone
WILDWIND Mauritius operates from the Coral Azur Beach Resort in Mont Choisy. A quiet, private beach in front of the hotel offers a base for the business and it’s where the boats are rigged and set up and moored. A full team is on hand to assist all day with rigging, de-rigging and training.
WILDWIND offers something for everyone: there’s coaching by RYA accredited coaches with a safety boat on the water at all times; fly-in sailing holiday packages where, along with boat hire, accommodation and flights can be included; hourly/daily boat hire of a wide range of Hobie Cats from 14’s to 18’s and even 16’s with spinnakers as well as Lasers and windsurfers; children’s sailing schools; and they support and host both National and International regattas. What we want to sign up for is a Sail Away, where you sail from the beach in Mont Choisy, out of the lagoon towards Grand Baie, beach the boat in front of the well-known Beach House restaurant (owned and run by ex Springbok Kobus van der Westhuizen) for a quick lunch and then sail back to Mont Choisy. The key word at WILDWIND is FUN!
This is the ideal holiday to escape the cold weather and to enjoy your favorite sport in absolute paradise. It’s a quick flight for South Africans on SAA or Air Mauritius, with daily flights to choose from.
For more information visit WILDWIND
Email info@wildwind.co.za
