In Search of My Six-Pack

If, like me, you're a sailor in northern climes needing to get fit for the 2006 season and in desperate need of some sun then check out Phil Hogan's highly entertaining article in today's Observer, In search of my six-pack about The Body Holiday in St. Lucia. Along with workouts in the gym, t'ai-chi, yoga and various other activities he even manages to try out some sailing. Although apparently new to the sport he does find it to be "not bad".

I go for another quick roast in the sun until it's time for my sailing lesson with Jerry, as laid-back as his magnificent dreadlocks suggest. He laughs when I tell him I hate boats. You'll be fine, he says. And actually it's not bad. He drags it into the water and does most of the driving. Then he shows me how to get the sail going with the rope and we are soon whizzing along, turning the corner (as, perhaps, they don't say in the Round the World Yacht Race), and whizzing back again. Yes, there's some technical detail about prevailing winds, which blows in one ear and out of the other, and confusing moments with the tiller, an apparatus that defies all human intuition unless you happen to drive a car with the steering wheel at the back. But I must admit it is quite exhilarating, even with my hamstrings.