From across the pond comes an opportunity for some serious adventure on the water. The Guardian introduces us to Les Glenans, a highly-regarded sailing school in France. Les Glenans takes on 13,000 trainees a year in five different locations in Brittany and the South of France and teaches them the finer points of sailing and navigation. Volunteer instructors will teach aspiring sea captains everything they ever wanted to know about plying the ocean waters under the power of the wind. But don't expect a pleasure cruise: sailing well is hard work, as the instructors will demonstrate, and properly maintaining a vessel on the water requires constant vigilence and teamwork. No shuffleboard on the Lido deck here, trainees literally "learn the ropes." And charts, and compasses, and emergency procedures including man (and woman) overboard drills. Still sound fun? Good. Sea-loving guests at any of Starwood's properties in France, including Le Meridien Garden Beach, in the heart of the French Riviera, might enjoy honing their sailing skills with the experts at Les Glenans.

[image via The Guardian]