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For a moment, I get the feeling I’m listening to mournful Russian sailors in “The Hunt for Red October”, but then I realise I’ve got the wrong movie. As the Royal Clipper’s great white sails fill the night sky, and she moves slowly and majestically from her anchorage to Vangelis’s hauntingly evocative theme from “1492”, I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck raising, and a shiver runs up my spine. For a few moments, my fellow passengers and I are held spellbound as the largest true sailing ship in the world sets off from Cannes on its Mediterranean voyage.

I’ve always shied away from cruises, but this is not cruising in the accepted sense. With a maximum of just over 200 passengers, sailing on the Royal Clipper is an altogether more intimate affair, more like being a guest on a private yacht, and far more exciting. When it comes to it, I much prefer adventure to relaxation. I may just have proved the point when in May this year, I crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the Spirit of Cardiff, a ten metre rigid inflatable powerboat, establishing a new world record. A week on the Royal Clipper is going to be a contrast, without a doubt!

Even so, I’m not averse to adventuring in style, and the Royal Clipper gives you plenty of opportunities for that, whether you want to climb the rigging to the crow’s nest, go scuba diving, water skiing or snorkelling, or just to go silly, bouncing about on a banana boat ride. And there’s plenty of temptation to take it all easy afterwards, hotfooting it to the Tropical Bar for a Sea Breeze (vodka and cranberry juice) before wandering into the split-level dining room for a good meal.

When the German-built Preussen sailed the high seas a hundred years ago, she was the largest of the clipper ships, with five masts, and a tidy turn of speed. Built to carry cargo, she ruled the oceans for just a few years before she was done out of her job by powered vessels taking the much shorter route to Asia through the Suez canal. Then Swedish entrepreneur Mikael Krafft decided to capture the spirit of the Preussen in a beautiful sailing ship. The result was the Royal Clipper, the only square-sailed full-rigged ship in the world with five masts.

But while she captures the spirit of the old clipper ships, it’s not at the expense of modern amenities and high-tech equipment. Unlike the sailing ships of old, it’s rare you’ll see crewmembers up in the rigging. The 42 sails can be set from the deck, hoisted by power winches. And when the wind is infuriatingly in the wrong direction, Captain Jürgen Müller-Cyran can be sure of making the next port at the appointed hour by switching in two 2,500hp diesel engines, their exhaust stacks cunningly concealed in the rear two masts.

She’s been specially designed for superior stability at sea, so whilst conventional sailing vessels will heel over in certain situations, Royal Clipper has active anti-roll tanks which limit the amount of heeling over to around six degrees - negligible, in other words. And even when she’s under power, the soundproofing is so good it’s hard to tell unless you actually go up to the sun deck to check how many sails are up.

Royal Clipper is the only sailing ship to have been built with an atrium, housing the piano bar and split-level restaurant below. There’s no shortage of windows, but a novel extra source of sunlight is the glass-bottomed swimming pool above. The cabins come in a range of categories, from the owner’s suite with its two double beds and marble bathroom with whirlpool to modest inside cabins. I’m in a very comfortable category three outside cabin with marble bathroom and shower - it even has air conditioning and a TV set!

Every morning at 10, Captain Jürgen holds his story time at the sun deck behind the bridge. Not so much a diversion for the kids, his stories explain the intricacies of operating a 439 foot sailing ship, and the high-tech navigation systems it employs. And on the morning before we pull into Barcelona, renowned for its street crime, he dispels any myths about modern day pirates. Not romantic figures at all, but nasties who stop at nothing to get what they’re after.

In fact, Captain Jürgen is not the only master of the Royal Clipper. When he goes off on holiday, his twin brother Klaus takes over. They both graduated from the Star Clipper and Star Flyer, themselves twin sailing ships also operated by Mikael Krafft’s Star Clippers. How can you tell them apart? Klaus plays the bagpipes, although whether this is a cunning ploy to increase shore excursion bookings was not made clear to me.

Once or twice during the voyage, passengers get the opportunity to climb the rigging up to a crow’s nest. It’s not way up the mast, but it’s high enough for some to tackle it with gritted teeth and a determination to overcome their fear of heights. It’s perfectly safe, though. Everyone is strapped into climbing harnesses, and a safety rope ensures that even if you somehow managed to slip off the rigging (you’d virtually have to throw yourself off), there’s no chance of a rapid descent to the Clipper’s beautiful teak deck. They operate a sort of shuttle service for around an hour or so when I go up, and of everyone that makes it up to the crow’s nest, those who’d confessed a certain degree of trepidation beforehand are delighted they had the bottle to see it through. The view is terrific, but strangely only a few express the slightly more suicidal desire to continue up the considerably narrower next section of rigging.

Another highlight not to be missed is sprawling in the netting suspended beneath the bowsprit. It’s a pleasant spot for sunbathing, but if you look straight down through the netting, you notice that it’s only a few strands of rope between you and the sea around 50 feet below you. It’s another one of those places not to be if you’re less than happy with heights, but the view down to the water and back along the whole of the ship is absolutely sensational. Or if nothing else, you can gaze wistfully into the eyes of the traditional topless figurehead, modelled, I was told, on Mikael Krafft’s daughter.

But if there’s one story upon which I’m likely to dine out for months, it’s the half an hour that Captain Jürgen allows me to take the helm of the Royal Clipper, steering the ship to her anchorage outside St Tropez. To be fair, deckhand Sergei is constantly at my shoulder, but I cope admirably, keeping the ship on its heading, and spinning the wheel around smartly to the 30 degree mark whenever the Captain orders hard a’port. It’s the only time in my life when I can say I’ve had 150 million pounds worth of anything in my hands, and boy, does it feel good!

Many of the passengers come more for the quiet life, however. There are three pools, two fairly small, with the glass-bottomed midships one big enough to splash a few strokes from one side to the other. And there are plenty of sun loungers, some thoughtfully beneath a canopy for those who prefer to sprawl out with a good book without frying in the sun. But if it gets too hot, you can retreat to the library and sink into a leather Chesterfield with a good book. And that’s really the essence of it. Royal Clipper isn’t just a floating base from which to see a variety of different places. She’s meant to be enjoyed in her own right, from the sumptuous fittings throughout the ship, to the good food and service in the restaurant and at the bar.

There’s plenty in the way of organised activities, from fitness sessions in the amazing and unique Captain Nemo lounge, beneath the waterline, with observation portholes so you can work out while the fish look in, to all the various watersports on offer, including dinghy sailing, and scuba diving. Each evening a programme for the following day appears in my cabin. The first day’s even wishes me “good wind”, meteorologically, I trust.

Attila, the Clipper’s Hungarian cruise director demonstrates boundless enthusiasm and energy, not to mention linguistic capability, as he conducts a musical quiz night in English, French, German and Dutch. Small wonder he’s dubbed “Attila the Fun”. It’s definitely a night to remember for me, as I and my hand-picked team of music experts wipe the floor with the opposing teams, winning a bottle of champagne.

I’m also lucky to be sharing the ship with Sir John Mills, still going strong at 93. He gives a short talk to the passengers, recounting a few behind-the-scenes moments in his continuing movie career. The famous scene at the end of the 1958 classic “Ice Cold in Alex”, where Mills downs a pint of lager in one go, was filmed with real beer, since none of the non-alcoholic substitutes looked right. But it took 14 takes before the director was satisfied. “Best morning’s work I’ve done in my life,” says Sir John, “and I got drunk for nothing as well.”

It’s easy to forget that the Royal Clipper does actually stop off at various places for you to explore, and there are shore excursions a-plenty. Barcelona, whilst fascinating with its Gaudi architecture, is a trifle too hot and bustling for me after a day at sea. My favourite stops are somewhat smaller - Mahon, in Menorca, birthplace of mayonnaise and gin, whose harbour was used by my fellow Norfolk seafarer Lord Nelson as a base for his Mediterranean fleet, and St Tropez. And although I’ve not walked more than 30 paces from the harbour before having passed two Bentleys, an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage and three Ferraris, my lingering memory of St Tropez is of the rosy glow of the late afternoon sunshine on its tiny streets and pastel-coloured buildings.

For me, the delight of Royal Clipper without doubt is just being on her when she’s under way, enjoying the sun and sea air on a true lady of the seas. And at the end of a week’s wonderful sailing around the western Mediterranean, I only have one problem. I don’t want to get off!

Read more travel writing by Clive Tully