Seven anchorages the guidebooks forget

Every captain keeps a private list: the bays they only mention to guests they like. We persuaded ours to share a few.

1. Cala Moresca, Sardinia

A pine-fringed inlet north of Golfo Aranci, empty before ten in the morning and after five in the afternoon.

2. Polyaigos, Cyclades

Uninhabited, but for wild goats. The water off its south coast is the clearest in the Aegean.

3. Saplunara, Mljet

Sandy shallows at the island's tip, with a family-run konoba serving lobster pasta under the fig trees.

4. Baie de la Revellata, Corsica

A lighthouse, a granite headland and the best sunset on the island.

5. Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau

A perfect half-moon of sand in the Grenadines, best enjoyed at dawn.

6. Lunada, Ischia

Thermal water seeps into the sea here, making for the warmest swim in the Bay of Naples.

7. Vaavu Atoll, Maldives

Night-time snorkelling with nurse sharks under the yacht's underwater lights.