Just wondering if anyone has been to Minorca sailing and has any unbiased information about the wind conditions. I'm thinking of signing up for the Musto Skiff training week in the first week of May. All the YouTube vids of Minorca Sailing seem to show very light breeze...

Cheers!

I have never been early season though

Whenever I've been to Minorca or Majorca, its been quite light winds.

Looks like a Tramontana coming through this week. Generally the wind is OK, light to medium I guess, but rare to get windless days outside of the very hot days of July and August, and still fairly uncommon then.

He's not a chap to go on holiday with.

Back on-topic- those wind stats look good for musto skiff sailing.

It is a horrific place to learn to sail a Musto Skiff. I know I've done it there. I went in May. With my son. I would also be wary of going if you want to learn / improve your twin trap skills. Especially as a single and not as a pair. I got paired with a total incompetent who could only just about have passed his RYA 1 but wanted to twin trap. Needless to say the week with him at the front end was a disaster. Halfway through the week he bugged out back to Lasers and the whole focus of my week was knackered. I got the occasional session with one of the beach staff up the front. But eventually opted for sailing with my son in a 29er. The 29er needed loads of maintenance as did the 29erXX they had ( which they had no idea how to sail, I had to explain that the crew takes the main etc...). I'd never go back, + its expensive.

http://www.minorcasailing.co.uk/offers#item-686

If anyone is thinking of heading out at the same time and fancies heading out on a 800, do let me know. Dying to have a sail of one!

good to know- stricken from my bucket list.

Wrongly, then.

Unlike many other centres, there is group sailing which keeps things going even on light airs days.  Plus there is good variety of plentiful, newish boats which are as well maintained as you could hope in such a situation.  We experienced none of the "the single 4000/800/whatever was booked to others most of the time that people have reported from other centres.  Plus there's racing every afternoon, complete with PY's and a series (though that was going too far for me - I wanted a holiday!).

People don't pay a premium price year in year out for nothing.

And to clarify - I was specifically interested in twin trap skiff sailing. And discussed at length with the UK staff my specific requirements which they agreed would be catered for. I was very specific that because I was going with my 13yr old I didn't want to end up trapeze helming a boat with exactly the situation I ended up with! i.e. some newbie who didn't know the first thing about trapezing. I also wanted off the boom sheeting training for my son, so the 29erXX was a specific requirement. It was F***ed from no maintenance. The only other trapeze helm alternative that didn't mean waiting for a beach staff member to become available was a Musto Skiff. I did my best to sail it in horrifically shifty gusting force 5 thermal breeze, but at 5ft 3in and 70kg that ain't much fun. Basically I was shafted. 

Went to Minorca a few years back.  Mrs B joined the Laser fleet & I ended up teaming up with a L5k sailor, so we had a great week swapping ends in a RS800.  I think it was in May, and I recall the wind being generally strong enough for twin wiring, apart from one day when it blew dogs off chains & we were relegated to a L2k!!

Minorca is very structured which is good if that's what you want.  They ran a number of 'different' things at 4pm - I enrolled in the 'introduction to windsurfers for people who can sail' course for an hour each day.  This was exactly the right amount - I'd have been knackered doing any more, and by the end of the week I was able to hook in.

Quality of boats & training is best at Minorca.  Wildwind is best for wind & social.  (comments based on holidays a long time ago!!)

Mike B.

The format at Wildwind is very much focussed on beginners and improvers in the morning and then getting as many people as possible out 'joyriding' in the afternoon with the instructors.  The vast majority go out in the cats, so if you're a dinghy sailor you do get pretty much your own choice of the boats or some decent 1:1 time with the staff joyriding either the 200s or 500s.

I don't think anybody is going to argue about the dinghies not being better at Minorca or the tuition not being more structured there.

At the end of the day both companies have their own USPs and both operating very successfully as independent operators in their own market niches.  Long may that continue.