Raising anchor

A NOVICE sailor, more used to negotiating inner-city traffic than gazing at the horizon, finds life at sea has much to recommend it.

AFTER just two days at sea it's hard to shake the feeling that I have lost something. I can't quite put my finger on what that is exactly but then it hits me. I haven't heard a telephone ring, beep or buzz at me since we left Darwin two days ago.

My first reaction is that my phone is not working properly. So I turn it off and on again. But there is still no signal. And why would there be? We're kilometres from anywhere with nothing to see but the sea itself.

This, of course, is something that anyone who has been on a cruise ship before (and who is not in possession of a satellite phone) will no doubt be aware of. However, I have managed to get through more than 40 years of life on land without ever stepping foot onto a ship. I've been on my fair share of boats, canoes, catamarans and harbour ferries but I've never actually been out of Sydney Harbour on any of these. So it was with more than just a little trepidation that I accepted a berth on Compagnie du Ponant's newest ship, the 142m L'Austral, to sail from Darwin to Indonesia.

L'Austral is a small ship by today's cruise-liner standards. It and its identical sister ship Le Boreal are designed to carry about 200 passengers in their 132 state rooms and suites. As an indication of scale, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 can accommodate more than 2500 passengers. For some reason, my initial thought was that a big ship would be better for a first timer. I figured there would be more to occupy my time and to amuse me and, crucially, that it would be a smoother ride and I would be less susceptible to sea sickness.

If you're the sort of person who has trouble switching off - as in switching off your mobile communication devices - then a cruise basically forces you to. The mobile phone reception fades pretty quickly as you head out from the shore. There is internet access on board but it's slow, expensive and intermittent. There is no television reception on board. In fact your only easy access to information on what is happening in the world is the newsletter you can pick up from reception each morning, which has news highlights from around the world (and even that is day-old news). Admittedly, a cruise is essentially about switching off and having a break from your day-to-day life rather than an efficient means of getting from one place to another.

And it does a very good job of that. It's surprising how quickly you forget about checking your email or reading the news online or thinking about what's on TV.

What a cruise allows you to do - even one that's only four days long - is disconnect from the outside world. It's a chance to catch up on reading - with no other distractions you can get through quite a bit of reading, so take plenty with you - or just relax. There is something quite calming about just watching the horizon go by from the comfort of your cabin's balcony. While there are plenty of public spaces on board to lounge in and take in the view, nearly all this ship's cabins have their own balconies with large windows or glass sliding doors and they are spacious enough to spend time in without the risk of cabin fever.

Compagnie du Ponant's philosophy goes against the cruise industry trend for bigger and better ships. "We are kind of fighting that," company sales director Stephen Winter told WISH during a visit to Australia last year.

"We're saying there is also a nice experience to be had on a more human level, to be on a small ship, to get to know the other passengers and the captain and the crew." The smaller size of Compagnie du Ponant's ships also means they can call at ports that are inaccessible to larger vessels.

Compagnie du Ponant, established in 1988, is France's only cruise ship line (although Club Med sails the Club Med 2 ship under the French flag). It was founded by Philippe Videau, Jean-Emmanuel Saved and a group of former officers of the French merchant navy. In 2006, it was acquired by the CMA CGM Group, the world's third-largest container shipping group.

There are five ships in the Compagnie du Ponant fleet. The identical Le Boreal and L'Austral, launched in 2010 and 2011 respectively, are the fleet's biggest ships (a third, Le Soleal, which is exactly the same, is expected to be in service in 2013). Le Ponant, a powered sailing ship, is the fleet's smallest vessel and has just 32 cabins for up to 64 passengers. It was completely redecorated last year to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The 100m Le Levant is slightly bigger with 45 cabins for up to 90 passengers. And then there is Le Diamant, which is 125m long and can accommodate up to 226 passengers. "We like to give the impression to passengers that they are on their own private yacht instead of on a big cruise ship," says the captain of L'Austral, Jean-Philippe Lemaire, who was also one of the original managing owners of Compagnie du Ponant.

On this particular cruise, almost all the guests are French but Lemaire seems quick to point out that it's an unusual cruise. "Right now, it's not the normal ratio," he says. "Usually on this ship we have 50 per cent who are French speakers and 50 per cent from the rest of the world.

This cruise is quite special because 96 per cent are French and are repeat guests and many of them are on board for two months. They have been with us from Valparaiso in Chile and will sail all the way to Mumbai in India. It's really special, not the normal clientele because it's a long crossing. You know, cruises are all about mingling ... but the French, well, they don't like to mingle." Lemaire, it should be said, certainly has a good sense of French humour. On the wall behind his desk is a plaque that reads: "A collision at sea can ruin your whole day." When I ask him about it, he smiles and says, "But it is true."

It's a good thing Lemaire has that plaque as his favourite cruise destination is one of the most difficult.

"I love Antarctica, it's the experience of a lifetime. You come back different when you come back from Antarctica. It's not a piece of cake for us, it's really difficult for us, but the passengers, they have goose bumps every day. It's something you will never forget. The proximity of the fauna is incredible and to be able to get up close to Mother Nature is really something." The only window for an Antarctic cruise is from the end of November to the end of February and, says Lemaire, after L'Austral cruises there he would like to complete a circumnavigation of Australia on the way back to the Mediterranean.

The interior decor of L'Austral was designed by JeanPhilippe Nuel and the ship feels more like a floating boutique hotel than a cruise liner. Breakfast and lunch are served at the Grill Restaurant adjacent to the pool deck. The ship also has a Gastronomic restaurant on the lower deck, which is more formal but, as this is a holiday for most guests, they tend to prefer to dine outdoors by the pool. A meal at the Gastronomic restaurant is, however, an interesting experience as it is virtually at sea level. The large, panoramic windows on both sides give you a great view of the water as it gushes by, but seated by the window on a rough day you feel like you're fine dining on a speed boat, just without the splashing.

My L'Austral journey started in Darwin on a Saturday and ended in Benoa in Bali on Thursday (the ship went on to Singapore, Malaysia and then Mumbai). It included a full day at sea on the first day, a visit to Rote Island just off the southern tip of Timor Island, and a stop at Komodo Island, which involved some strenuous walking and a sighting of the famous Komodo dragons.

It was the perfect trip for a novice sailor - enough time to relax and get used to being on the sea and out of contact but leaving a sense of wanting more. For someone who has spent many years living in the inner city, the quiet and the sense of being a long way from anywhere that comes from only being able to see water on the horizon and no land or another boat is unforgettable. The constant sound of the ship tearing through the ocean at night is rhythmic and induced the best sleep I've had in years, if not ever.