Boat International – September 2019

VOYAGE

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

09 2019 boatinternational.com

fanaticalaboutprovidingguestswithagreat

underwaterexperience.Duringcharters,Lady

Eoffersonlyrendezvousdivingbutthecaptain

ensuresthatthisfeelslikeanextensionofthe

vessel.“Ourcrewgowiththegueststomake

themfeelathome,”hesays.“Weprepallthedive

equipmentandbringallthesnacks.Wehaveto

havethemanpowerthat’scapableofdoingthat.”

WhenwegoforadivethenextdayinthePhi

PhiIslandswearejoinedbyfourcrewmembers

whoareallaviddivers–oneisevenadivemaster.

Pairedwiththeguidesonthelocaldiveboat,

whichhasbeencharteredexclusivelyforour

use,wehaveagenerousratioofmorethanone

crewmemberperdiver.Thediveboatmakesthe

runovertoKohPhiPhiLeh,whichplayedthe

utopianparadiseislandinthefilmTheBeach.

Thebeachitself,calledMayaBay,wasonce

bombardedwithlong-tailboatsoffloading

touristswho turnedthe idyllicspotinto

anythingbut.Thegovernmentnoticedthe

environmentaldamageandhasbannedboats

fornow,butyoucanstillmooroutsidethe

harbourentranceandseethejungle-linedbeach

wherethefilm’sactiontookplace.

The real view, though, lies beneath the water

and we don our gear and descend. We are

greeted by a landscape populated with electric-

blue starfish and neon fish. A pair of grey-

skinned moray eels poke their heads out from

beneath an outcrop of coral, snapping their jaws

menacingly. I spot an enormous school of

miniature yellow snappers swimming tightly

together. The school scatters and merges, bends

and weaves. I stay as still as possible, breathing

slowly, and the school turns right in my

direction. Soon I am surrounded by a wall of

yellow fins as far as I can see.

Like the fish, the superyacht community can

be tempted to stick together but for those who

are prepared to break rank from the Caribbean,

Thailand is the ultimate adventure destination.

Whether scaling cliffs or exploring its deep coral

reefs, these islands are full of breathtaking sights

and epic experiences. And I’ve barely scratched

the surface. B

Lady E is available for charter with Burgess.

Her weekly charter rate starts from €476,000,

burgessyachts.com

• Foreign-flagged charter vessels are
  required to pay seven per cent of the value
  of the boat to be able to legally undertake
  domestic charters in Thailand.


• Because of this, foreign-flagged charters
  in Thailand tend to either start or end
  outside Thai waters (predominantly
  Langkawi, Malaysia) to operate under the
  regime of international charters instead
  of Thai charters.


• Currently there is no VAT on charter fees
  if the charter starts or finishes outside of
  Thai waters.

THAI CHARTER

REGULATIONS

Thailand is beginning

to emerge as a serious

superyacht and charter

destination. Seven new

marinas are planned to

cater for the expected

increase in visitor

numbers but for now it

remains a far cry from

the Med. You can cruise

in glorious isolation

for long periods

and concentrate on

enjoying the delights

its beautiful waters

have to offer

James Bond destinations

to visit by superyacht

boatint.com/james-bond

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