High-end travellers go island hopping 
High-end travellers go island hopping
Sailing boat cruises, right out of the pages of a yachting magazine, are up for grabs in Phuket starting this month.
Based
in Phuket, the hybrid sailing craft, SY Diva Andaman, started its first
Andaman Sea cruises this month after leaving the dry dock in Bangkok,
last July, for a final fitting in Phuket.
The boat is owned by
Diva Group of Companies made up of Diva Marine Company and Diva Diving
Company, and established in 2008 by 14 “friends who shared a love for
the sea, sailing boats and diving”.
No.4 InsideOne of the
shareholders, a Thai businessman and the group’s executive director,
Chakkrit Bhamornsatit, estimated the boat cost Bt20 million to build.
“This
is the first sail boat in Thailand that can really be sailed most of
the time due to the use of a hybrid system. Built by Suthorn Group, a
Thai company that specialises in fishing boats, we took on board a Thai
national sailing team coach as an advisor for the design and
construction phase,” he said.
Based on a wooden hull, the vessel
is powered by sails made from Dacron textile imported from the
Netherlands and noted for strength and lightness.
The vessel is
rigged in a traditional schooner fashion with some adaptations based on
the rigging of a Chinese junk. It has 420 sqm of sail surface that
helps it achieve speeds of eight knots with winds of around 15 knots.
A single lower deck has eight double cabins, six with double beds and two with bunk beds. All cabins have private bathrooms.
The
main target audiences are hi-end sailors and families, while the vessel
will need to achieve a 60% occupancy, September to December, to be
financially viable. By mid-2010, the company will start construction of
a second boat similar in design that will be based in Phuket.
SY
Diva Andaman’s will cruise the islands in the Andaman Sea not far from
Phuket. The five-day/four-night cruise departs from Phuket to Mai Phai
island, Phi Phi Lae island, Ha island, and Rok island, at a per person
cost of Bt16,260. The shorter two-day/one-night cruise, during
weekends, departs from Phuket to Racha Noi island priced at Bt16, 260
per person.
The rates include scuba diving, snorkelling and
kayaking. They do not include air fare, wine, liquors, Thai traditional
massage and roundtrip limousine to the hotel and airport. There is a
special launch 20% discount on cruises booked and paid in full by 30
September.
Source: http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2009/09/high-end-travellers-go-island-hopping/
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