APSA: The Grand Tour 2021 (2)
by Guy Nowell 22 Jan 2021 03:13 PST
19 January 2021
Penghu Islands, Taiwan. APSA Grand Tour 2021 © APSA
Last week, the first part of m/y APSA’s virtual grand tour proved to be very popular. Presentations from industry insiders in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Australia were well received by a substantial online audience. The principal barrier to superyachts visiting Asia and the Pacific is lack of information. Quite understandably, owners may be reluctant to commit their rather expensive ‘floating asset’ to a voyage into the complete unknown. The whole purpose of the Asia Pacific Superyacht Association (ASPA) is to disseminate information about facilities and cruising opportunities in the region, and the APSA Grand Tour webinars appear to be getting the message out admirably.
Yesterday’s follow-up was a great follow-on. Nigel Beatty was wearing his Superyacht Logistics hat, and presented a fast-paced summary of big boat yachting in Japan. From Hokkaido to Kagoshima 1,800km, and Ishigaki is a further 1,000km south. That’s the difference between Newfoundland and the Bahamas – a substantial climatic range, meaning that in Japan there is, indeed, cruising all year round. The north west coast is something of an adventure land, and a properly exhaustive cruise in the Inland Sea could involve months. For warm water cruising, volcanic islands, coral reefs and spectacular diving, head south to Okinawa and beyond.
Japan imposes precious few restrictions on visiting yachts: and when you go ashore the sights, sounds, food, culture, sports, history, people and scenery of this clean, safe, and friendly country are already legendary. Even better, the shipyards are squeaky clean, the quality of workmanship absolutely first class, imported parts can be easily moved around the country, almost every sizeable port (there are lots) is a port of entry, and crew can come and go with relative ease – visa, waivers, and passes are not a problem.
“Come and visit Japan,” said Beatty. Hang on Nigel, as soon as I can clear out of Hong Kong, I’ll be on the way.
Next on the programme was Capt Paul Brackley, who runs Central Yacht in Taiwan as well as moonlighting as a superyacht captain. Brackley is quite right in saying that “most people don’t know anything about Taiwan”. The island formerly known as Formosa has limited appeal for cruising, but provides very good repair and refit facilities. Indeed, Taiwan is the 5th biggest builder of superyachts in the world, with the yards of such well-known names as Horizon and Ocean Alexander present in Kaohsiung. Some of the smaller yards are not so glamorous in appearance, but Taiwan permits easy access for foreign specialist contractors, and the local skill level among subcontractors is first class.
“It’s a good place to stop between cruises for maintenance.” Furthermore, the island allows crews to sign on/sign off, there’s plenty of crew R&R opportunities, English is widely spoken, taxes are low, customs and immigration are neither complicated not difficult, and everyone is friendly. The prime cruising area is the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait, just 50nm northwest of Tainan, locally famous for diving and seafood, but also well-beloved by the international windsurfing set who come for the strong and steady breezes.
Brackley also mentioned his recent visits to Hainan, the first being an unscheduled visit in the middle of a typhoon. “Checking in to Sanya is generally friendly and uncomplicated. However, cruising is somewhat restricted by the presence of a large naval base, and in any case is only allowed in daylight hours, and with a pilot.”
Mike Simpson concluded today's series of presentations, even if it took a while! Mike is, of course, the founder of Simpson Marine (1984) and has a valid claim to seniority in the leisure boating industry in southeast Asia. Mike was talking about Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Hainan, and southern China.
“Hong Kong could be the Monaco of the East, if the government would only wake up to the possibilities…” In a small space, Hong Kong has a beautiful coastline, myriad islands, and world class cruising." (It’s not all a built-up cityscape, you know.) On the downside, Hong Kong suffers from a pronounced lack of berthing for big boats, and some irksome entry and crew regulations. Superyachts are recognised as non-commercial vessels, but are treated for the most part as small commercial ships.
The Greater Bay Area (GBA) is an administrative construct of the China government, and consists of nine cities sprinkled around the Pearl River delta, and includes Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. However, if you are looking for a way into China, think again. Even in the GBA there is a 42% import tax on incoming yachts of all sizes, and lack of a centralised boating policy means (still) that moving from anywhere in China to another involves inconsistent inter-province cruising policies. Not only are the rules unclear, they change.
Generally, there is a lack of qualified crew in China, and strictly limited repair and refit facilities. The exception that proves the rule is Kingship Marine and HeySea Yachts in Zhuhai. That exception may in the near future be extended to include the southernmost province of China, Hainan Island. Hainan has been designated as a Free Trade Zone, with a particular emphasis on the city and surroundings of Sanya, which the central government wants to turn into a boating hub for the region – “marine tourism” in China parlance. There will be no import tax on boats arriving in Hainan, and all sorts of financial incentives for companies and businesses opening offices or ancillary bating facilities. Simpson Marine have an office there already. “Hainan has huge potential,” says Mike, “but the rules are not entirely clear yet.” Watch this space.
The whole purpose of the APSA Grand Tour is to disseminate information, presented by people (members) who know what they are talking about. This seems to be working. Response from the international internet audience has been overwhelmingly positive. Information is gold dust, and here it is being sprinkled about.
This year marks APSA’s 10th birthday. It was formed in response to comments aired at the 2011 Singapore Superyacht Conference, suggesting that some sort of cohesion needed to encouraged between the operators of superyacht services in various countries in the Asia region. “That evening, after maybe a glass of red or three,” remembers Colin Dawson (Expat Marine), we decided that there had been enough talk, and we would do something about it.” “We”, on this occasion, included YP Loke and Gareth Twist, names well-known in the industry in Asia. Two more recognisable names, Simon Turner (that year’s conference Chairman) and JJ Levigne (Asia Superyacht Development) were quickly co-opted onto the original Council. Ten years ago, APSA concentrated on turning up at European boat shows, “just to let people know that Asia existed, has beautiful places to visit, and has water that you can float on,” says Dawson. “Now the remit has expanded, and the Association is engaged in connecting member to member within the region, some polite lobbying, and (still) getting the word out about the best cruising on the planet, backed up by some world class support facilities. It’s great see that what we started 10 years ago is growing and going from strength to strength.”
The next APSA Grand Tour will be on 26 January – Australia Day in case anyone has forgotten. Panelists will include Scott Walker (NABS Engineering Pte Ltd) in Singapore, Gordon Fernandes (Asia Pacific Superyachts – no relation) in Phuket, and Andy Shorten (The Lighthouse Consultancy) in Indonesia. The Grand Tour (3) webinar starts at 17.00h HKT (GMT +8).
Register here – it’s free: (https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DEknFsHbQ1SlWL1upJzeQw)