Asia Superyacht Rendezvous 2014 - fabulous, darling

by Guy Nowell, Powerboat-World.com on 24 Dec 2014 What do superyachts do when they are not cruising through idyllic island archipelagos with a happy owner on board, or carrying enthralled charter guests to fabulous destinations, or hot-footing it from one legendary location to another? There are lots of answers to the question, most of them prosaic – such as cleaning and maintenance – but once in a while the Captains and crews get five minutes off and an invitation to a party.

The Asia Superyacht Rendezvous, now 14 years old and sponsored by Feadship,was hosted for the second time by the spectacularly positioned and equally spectacularly appointed Kata Rocks Resort. Perched on the Kata headland overlooking the Andaman Sea, Kata Rocks provides not only world-class accommodation and service, but also a world-class view of the anchorage. If you were the owner of a 40m superyacht, then sitting beside the horizon pool, imbibing a well-built gin and tonic and admiring your boat moored immediately below you might just be one of life’s ultimate luxuries.

In anticipation of the next day’s planned 'gentle racing', this year’s socials started with a skipper’s briefing for those owners and Captains not entirely familiar with racing flag etiquette. 'There’s a blue one with a white square in the middle which goes up at 4 minutes to go. We call it the ‘P’ flag' explained ARO Simon James, patiently. Suzy Rayment, Editor-in-Chief of Yachtstyle magazine, dispensed bottles of Roger Coulon courtesy of the Hong Kong Cruise Plaza (the perfect place to moor a superyacht), saying, 'this Rendezvous is about having fun, right? So here’s the champagne.'

This was followed by a cocktail party on board Si Datu Bua, the 130’ Indonesian phinisi schooner that is the ‘little sister’ of the well-known Silolona. Owner Patty Seery and her tribe of Indonesian crew do this sort of thing probably better than anyone else on the planet, making everyone welcome, rain (it was!) or shine. 'I like to bring my boats to the Rendezvous so that our crew get to meet other big boats crew, and understand that they are part of a marine industry in Asia that has many manifestations', says Seery. 'This is a great occasion for them to meet the Feadships and the Lurssens – when we are on charter we don’t see a great may other vessels, so this is a good meet-and-greet opportunity.'

Next morning there was some gentlemanly racing on the cards – Si Datu Bua, and Sunshine shook out their canvas while Escapade simply unrolled hers – for three laps of an up-and-down race along the coast. Si Datu Bua was a little late for the start, so headed straight from the anchorage to the top mark, and on only the second leg of the race Peter Wood’s heart-stopping Sunshine (designed by William Fife in 1900, built in Burma in 2003) sustained a snapped bobstay that put paid to further racing activities.

Never mind: that just allowed a little more time for all crews present to limber up the mental muscles in anticipation of the annual Feadship Challenge, in which each crew is presented with a bag of bits and bobs and is given an hour to build a ‘boat’ and race it against all comers. Drinking beer is also involved. Past observation of this event shows that fine naval architecture is not at the top of the required skills list, but a big ‘sail’ area and plenty of puff are. This year’s worthy winners were the crew of the 155’ Feadship, Samax, and a special design prize was awarded to Si Datu Bua.

The weather thus far was proper December sunshine in Thailand, but the blue skies disappeared for the second and last day of the event. It was actually raining on the Thursday morning, and this, combined with precious little breeze and a shortage of competition, caused racing to be cancelled. However, all boats present were out on the water for a photo call – the idea being to get the entire fleet lined up and moving in one photo, which is a great deal more difficult than most people imagine. Herding kittens is for beginners. Big boats have precious little steerage at low speeds, and the sailing boats don’t keep up with the motor yachts when they are properly steaming. However… the line-up was achieved in the end (see picture) and many thanks go to all the boat captains - who have both patience and nerve.

Those with an appetite for theatricals, or with young crew members to entertain (or both!) spent the afternoon building sand castles on Kata Beach and searching for the Pirate Booty cunningly concealed at Kata Rocks and guarded by The Bendy Lady (who turned out to the resident yoga instructor). Anyone who has witnessed a beach landing from a RIB conducted by the band of Indonesian desperados from Si Datu Bua wil not forget the experience in a hurry!

And so to closing time, which at the Asia Superyacht Rendezvous means the Boat International Media Gala Dinner, also held at the Kata Rocks. Vietrio pushed the evening off to a great start, the magnificent cuisine and setting of Kata Rocks carried it on, and DJ Nemo picked it up the ball and carried it until the party wound down to mark the end of ASR 2014. It would not be any sort of exaggeration to say that 'a great time was had by all'. From the Owners’ Dinner to the Crew Party at the famous (infamous?) Ska Bar, and from the pirate treasure hunt to the parade of boats, ASR 2014 was another resounding success for organisers Asia-Pacific Superyachts, venue hosts Kata Rocks and principal sponsor Feadship. Roll on 2015!

Participating boats:
s/y Sunshine (31m, Fife)
s/y Escapade (37.5m, Dubois)
s/y Si Datu Bua (40.2m, Konjo Boat Builders)
s/y Yanneke Too (36m, Dixon)
m/y Samax (55m, Feadship)
m/y Titania (72m, Lurssen)
m/y Northern Sun (50m, previously Japanese ice-class marine research vessel)
m/y Moon Sand (41m, Sovereign)