Largest sailing boat in Asia attracts attention
by Chen Chin-ping and Lilian Wu, Focus Taiwan on 2 May 2010
Ta Chiao Chu 34m Focus Taiwan
A large sailing boat, touted as the biggest in Asia, attracted widespread attention Saturday when it anchored in Keelung's Pisa Harbor.
Chou Ming-hua, secretary-general of the Keelung Sailing Boat Committee, said the yacht, the RT-Mart, is owned by Samuel Yen-liang Yin, chairman of the Ruentex Group.
The boat was designed in Italy and built in Taiwan by the Ta Chiao Chou Yacht Building Co. in Taipei County, Chou said. Its hull is constructed of carbon fiber, making it relatively light at 99 tons, and it has a draft of 4.5 meters. The 34-meter, US$10 million racing yacht is not only the largest sailing boat in Taiwan but also the largest in Asia, Chou said. The hull of the boat is twice as thick as that of the average sailing boat and it also has twin water tanks and an extra-large oil tank.
The RT-Mart is scheduled to compete in the second Cross-Strait Sailing Competition, which will be held May 22, with the boats sailing from Keelung to Wuyuan Bay in Xiamen, China. About 30 yachts from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will take part in the race.
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