Join us for a week-long sailing and music adventure in southern Italy, exploring the breathtaking Aeolian Islands aboard the 40-metre brigantine Florette.

Sailing from Vibo Marina in Calabria, we’ll cruise through crystal-clear waters to islands including Stromboli, Lipari and Salina. Days will be shaped by hands-on tall-ship sailing, music sessions on deck, time ashore exploring beautiful towns and landscapes, and long evenings enjoying excellent food, conversation and music.

Sessions and Sail voyages are about making music together. Musicians of all backgrounds and experience are warmly welcomed and sessions are inclusive, sociable and collaborative. With a larger group on board, sessions naturally focus on playing together rather than formal instruction, so guests will get the most from the voyage if they’re happy to join in — whether that’s singing, playing or sharing a song or poem. Where possible, we’ll also aim to offer less experienced players a one-to-one lesson during the trip.

We enjoy folk music in all its forms. On this voyage, our tutors are particularly well placed to offer guidance in Scottish and Celtic traditions, fiddle/violin styles, songwriting, sea shanties, mandolin and guitar. We’ll also explore the music of the regions we visit — Calabria, Sicily and the Aeolian Islands — with local music demonstrations included.

For those who have sailed with us in Scotland, this voyage offers the same Sessions and Sail spirit in a different setting. Florette is a larger, traditionally built wooden ship, with a relaxed elegance that suits the Mediterranean climate perfectly. Expect warmer weather, plenty of opportunities for swimming straight from the ship and a more leisurely rhythm than our northern voyages. We’ll also spend more time ashore than on a typical Scottish trip, making the most of the food, drink and local colour of these remarkable islands. The ship’s bar reflects local pricing rather than cost-price, so guests may wish to factor this into their plans.

This is a voyage for people who love music, sailing, shared experiences and beautiful places — and who enjoy being part of a friendly, creative community for a week at sea.

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.

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 Florette, 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. 

• Background of the Ship:

  • Florette was built in 1927 to carry marble under sail.
    

• Experience & What’s Included:

  • Music: Encouraging environment for music sessions, suitable for all levels, from beginners to professionals.

  • Sailing: Opportunity to engage with the ship’s crew, handle sailing activities like steering and working the sails, or just relax and enjoy the views.

  • Workshops & Sessions: Music workshops with experienced tutors aboard who have been part of Scottish sailing voyages.

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!