Yachting

Yachting is a year-round water and wind sport and outdoor activity. The name comes from the words "yacht" and "moving".

In yachting, you move on the water — a river or lake, sea, or an ocean — on a vessel called a yacht. Yachts can be with sails — this activity is called sailing, or with a motor engine — this is called powerboating. Sail-motor catamarans are also common — they have a lot of space and help to save fuel. Yachts can be used for competition, short boat trips, or long cruises. People who go in for yachting are called yachtsmen.

Yachts allow you to travel in any weather and over long distances (but it’s important to consider the amount of fuel). But on large ships, it’s difficult to walk in shallow water or approach hard-to-reach shores. For example, the Caribbean Sea can be difficult to navigate on a yacht. Yachting is also widespread throughout Europe. Particularly popular are Italy, France, Croatia, Greece. Very beautiful places can be seen, traveling on a yacht in the Galapagos Islands, South Africa.

You can go yachting all year round, but summer with good weather is better. On the other hand, the stronger winds, a must-have for this sport, usually blow in winter.

The main pleasure of yachting is being in the sea outdoors, which is good for your health. It is also one of the most interesting sports. Everyone can do it, but to operate the yacht by yourself an international license is required. For example, English certificates Royal Yachting Association — RYA or certificates International Yacht Training — IYT. In addition, there's a lot of technically complex equipment on a motor yacht that needs to be monitored, therefore, they must have a crew of several people. But crew members don’t need to have a license to operate a yacht.

Text: Natalia Kirasheva, a travel and business author and editor from Moscow, Russia. She has a Bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) with specialties in Economic Geography and Tourism, and Environmental Management. Her favorite sports are windsurfing and snowboarding. Ivan Kuznetsov contributed to this guide

Cover photo: Ludomil Sawicki / Unsplash