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N° 26 - July/August 2011
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
PRODUCTION ZONE

Gulf Craft abroad
July-August 2011
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July-August 2011
Gulf Craft abroad
2011 SOUTH-EAST ASIA TOUR
MAJESTY OF
THE ORIENT
As Asian economies and markets
develop at a rate of knots, the
Middle East is building a
bridgehead between established
markets and cruising grounds in the
west, and new opportunities in the
east. One company capitalising on
this situation is UAE-based shipyard
Gulf Craft, as we discovered when
joining them on their recent tour of
south-east Asia. By Mik Chinery/Craig Barnett
The ceiling fan slowly stirs the warm scented air of the Phuket
Boat Lagoon Hotel’s reception as I await the arrival of Erwin
Bamps, Gulf Craft’s COO. Taking in the different scents and
sounds of Thailand, between watching an endless stream of Chinese
tourists check-in and the buzz of activity in the adjacent boat
yard and marina, its easy to understand why so many companies,
investors and individuals are pouring into south-east Asia. The
place is buzzing, it’s beautiful and there’s a sense of energy in the
air. But more than that, it’s fun and exciting and there’s still enough
of a pioneering ex-pat atmosphere to get the juices flowing.
When my interviewee arrives, its easy to see he’s feeding off the
energy too. We’ve met on countless occasions before, but this time
Bamps’ usual ebullient enthusiasm has kicked into overdrive. He’s
in his element here. Without even a prompting question he waves
his hand to take in the scene and launches into a machine-gun
summary of Gulf Craft’s presence in Asia, what attracts them here
and his plans for the future. Probably the easiest interview I’ve
had to do. I sit back, press record and join him surfing a wave of
ideas, opportunities and potential.
As Erwin and I shoot the breeze, RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and
all-round industry veteran Mik Chinery is mooring up the new
Majesty 88 and Majesty 56 that he has delivered from Singapore.
The yachts have been shipped over to Asia as part of a tour that
took in the Singapore Yacht Show, Malaysia and Thailand, before
returning to Singapore for Boat Asia 2011. Right now, they are
next door, in the opulent surroundings of the Royal Phuket Yacht
Club, where Tony Nixey of Go Boating, Gulf Craft’s representative
in Thailand, is frantically putting the final touches to a glittering
gala event. What follows is the tale of Gulf Craft’s Southeast
Asia tour, from a cruising perspective with Mik Chinery, an insight
to the local market through Tony Nixey, and a regional overview
from Erwin Bamps. Hang on… it’s quite a ride.
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Gulf Craft abroad
July-August 2011
ORIENT EXPRESS
SINGAPORE
TO PHUKET
PART I
When watching the rain drive against your window
with the vigour of a force eight behind it in the UK,
it doesn’t take long to make a decision to a question
on a phone call that asks; “Hey Mik, can you drive
a new Majesty 88ft from Singapore to Thailand for
us?” My instant decision and favourable reply
probably took less than one second…
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July-August 2011
Gulf Craft abroad
…The plan was to take the boat from the Singapore Yacht Show,
motor north through Malaysia and deliver it to Phuket, Thailand for
an event being held there by the local dealer, Tony Nixey of Go Boating.
We had company along the way in the shape of another Majesty
56ft doing the same 800-mile trip. These two new boats had been
lifted off a container ship and moved into the show, which still had
a day to run when I arrived.
Being sneaky, I blended in with the potential customers looking over
them and ran some pre-sailing checks: fluid levels in engines, generators
and steering system, the operation of winches, electronics,
and safe stowage of any boxes, table lamps, ornaments and pictures.
This is a normal part of a delivery Skipper’s job. If you look for trouble
before it happens, most times you can avoid it. Then finally, using
the chart plotter plus some old-fashioned paper charts to double
check, we planned the route North and entered our waypoints.
Singapore paperwork is a bit of a minefield, especially as our boats
were Dubai registered, but an agent smoothed complications and,
after a few hours, clearance was received. Clearing Singapore Port
involves holding position around a small island about two miles off.
With a strong ebb tide flowing and a proliferation of signs stating
‘No anchoring!’ this was a tricky proposition. In their own time, the
Port Authority boat arrived and reached up with a large butterfly
net to collect our paperwork, passports and licences and about 30
minutes later, with all necessary stamping and processing completed,
the net was proffered once again and we were wished bon voyage.
The area all around Singapore is incredibly busy with ships coming
at you from every direction, so the first couple of hours were spent
playing ‘dodgem cars’with the fleet of freighters, tankers, barges and
bulk carriers heading for port. In this part of the world, there are
also many towing operations to contend with. Tugs pull huge barges,
cranes, and rigs with sometimes as much as 300m between the tug
and its tow. Great care is needed to avoid crossing a submerged towline.
Grateful not to be navigating these hazards at night, after a couple
of fraught hours we cleared the traffic and stepped up to a
comfortable cruising speed of 26-knots at 2200 rpm.
Our Majesty 88ft was fitted with twin C32 Caterpillar V12 engines
of 1,800hp each and with full tanks her top speed measured 27.9
knots. She also sported a full electronics package from Raytheon
with the latest touch screen technology for radar, plotter and sonar
with integrated GPS. The standard twin Caterpillar 50Kw genera-
THE PROSPECT OF RIDING THE ANCHOR OFF ONE OF
THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS IS NO HARDSHIP
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Gulf Craft abroad
July-August 2011
tors are three phase 380 volts, and there is one heavy-duty (100A)
three-phase shore power supply to run everything on the boat when
in a marina.
Our first stop was at the brand new Pangkor Marina at Lumut. The
entry position is N 04-12.767 E 100-35.100, but arriving at low tide,
the approach we found was too shallow, despite our draught of only
1.2 metres. We called the Manager James Khoo, who bade us, “Wait
a minute,” before appearing in a fast boat to lead us in. On shore,
James explained the buoys for the channel had yet to be laid, but it
had been dredged to 2.5m. The marina is very new, but the essential
things are in place, a good restaurant with bar! The fuel dock was
not quite ready, so the staff happily filled us from 20-litre drums
trundled over using marina trolleys. Quite a job considering we needed
over 4,000 litres… but the staff cheerfully put their shoulders to
the task, while we dined in style.
After a comfortable night in the marina, we waved farewell to John
and headed off. Checking the gauges, I mused on how the fuel
consumption of the C32 CATS is very good. The engine management
system keeps a strict control at all rpm’s, so you never see smoke,
even at cold start, as the electronics do not allow any unburnt fuel to
escape into the exhaust. From the performance chart, you can see
how the fuel curve flattens between 1700rpm and 2100rpm – meaning
the range of the boat does not change from 18.7 knots to 23.9 knots.
So, choosing our speed according to sea conditions, we set a course
for the Royal Langkawi Marina, one of my favourite ports in Asia.
On this leg, the weather was not pleasant, it was dull and miserable
and with a force five headwind just off the bow. With a lot of water
being thrown about, we reduced speed to 23 knots. Surprisingly, only
the odd shower of spray reached us on the flybridge, though the
windscreen was being well doused. The large wipers coped with this
onslaught without any problem and visibility from the lower helm
was still very good in these wet conditions. Carefully checking for
window leaks, I found none, the boat was totally dry. This goes down
as a credit to the diligence of the production-line staff.
Langkawi marina was a welcome sight as we nosed into the narrow
buoyed entrance. By now the sun was shining on our salt-caked
yacht, so as soon as the lines were secured we stripped down to
shorts and commenced scrubbing… its then that you realise, with an
88ft Majesty, there is a lot of boat to wash! We moored stern to the
line of restaurants that fringe the marina and had the privilege of dining
that evening no more than 20m from our boat. With blue underwater
lights matching those on the aft deck, the boats attracted
a lot of attention. Feeling like VIPs, we enjoyed an evening soaking
in the envious glances, atmosphere and idyllic surroundings.
The next morning, our fuel fill took forever. I think we found the slowest
fuel pump in Malaysia. The majority of the three-hour filling
time, however, passed amusingly as the fuel station staff were totally
perplexed by the fact we wanted to pay using local currency. Continuously
counting the huge pile of cash and incessantly calling their
manager, we eventually managed to complete the fill and trade and
be on our way.
Phi Phi Island in Thailand made for our final overnight stop, and the
prospect of riding the anchor off the shore of one of the world’s most
beautiful islands is no desperate hardship. With the sun shining and
sea calm, we just set a course and purred along at 26-knots, serving
tea on the flybridge and not spilling a drop. During the passage, I had
learned a lot about the Majesty 88. Initially, I was surprised that the
yacht was not fitted with stabilisers, but after 800 miles in varying
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July-August 2011
Gulf Craft abroad
sea conditions I can say that they are not required. With a 21ft (6.4m)
beam and relatively low superstructure, the yacht showed no signs
of rolling in beam seas and provides a comfortable ride at all times.
We had made such good time on our leg to Phi Phi, that we took the
opportunity to stop at some small islands for a swim and photo shoot
on the way. Calculating our arrival at the Royal Phuket Marina
would not be possible due to the state of the tide… we dropped the
pick off wonderful Phi Phi. That night, however, we had a very
strong wind squall, requiring a constant anchor watch, so maybe someone
didn’t want this job to be all fun for us. Though the yacht
sheered around with the wind in the night, she remained rock solid
with no noticeable rocking or pitching, so much so that when dawn
came and some of the crew rose to a flat calm sea, they had no clue
about the conditions during the night.
On the short trip into our hand-over in Phuket, I reflected on my
first experiences with the Majesty 88. The fact is I like the style, I
am seriously impressed with the build quality and especially the engineering
standards applied to the boat. I have never taken a new
boat off a ship, put it in the water, motored 800-miles without a single
fault of any kind, and the 88 did just that. I can only say the final
quality control inspection at Majesty Yachts is a credit to the product
and I look forward to my next opportunity to sail one.
•
I HAVE NEVER BEFORE TAKEN A NEW YACHT OFF A SHIP
AND MOTORED 800-MILES WITHOUT A SINGLE FAULT...
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