State-of-the-art trappings meet traditionally built pleasure craft for tropical
cruising in the remote reaches of Indonesia, writesSANJAY SURANA.
True bearing
T
hree young Britons
move to Singapore
to work. They head
to Indonesia for their
holidays: kite-surfing in North
Sumatra, bumping along tracks
in South Lombok on dirt bikes,
surfing off West Sumbawa, and
mucking around on boats in East
Nusa Tenggara. Smitten, they toss
in their jobs to focus on projects in
Indonesia, among them building
a yacht. But not just any yacht – a
31-metre contemporary version of
a phinisi, a traditional Indonesian
boat, that took a team of 40
craftsmen three years to build.
Working on a remote beach
in South Sulawesi, where the craft
originated, and without plans,
the artisans used traditional
techniques, such as bending
ironwood over an open fire.Co-founder Erik Barreto and
his partners launchedRascaland
their private charter business in
March last year, taking groups
of up to 10 guests on voyages
to Komodo National Park and
Flores, in the Lesser Sunda
Islands, and to pristine Raja
Ampat, off the north-west tip
of West Papua.
“We spent time exploring
the diversity and raw beauty of
Indonesia,” says Barreto, “and
wanted to make it accessible
to others.”
Rascalhas the lines of a phinisi
but amenities designed for
21st-century fun. “We wanted to
push boundaries,” Barreto says.
“Phinisis are full wooden boats
and the cabins can feel dark and
claustrophobic. The white walls,
high ceilings and raw, unfinishedAbove:Rascal
at the Wainilu
dive site off Rinca
Island, Komodo
National Park.
Opposite,
clockwise from
top: the upper
foredeck; roof
deck; Master
Lounge Deck and
Master Cabin
(centre);Rascal
at Gili Lawa
Darat, Komodo
National Park.timber floorboards really give
Rascal’s rooms that bright,
beach-house feel.”
The five cabins each have an
ensuite, wi-fi audio systems, and
the ambience of a tropical villa.
The boat dispenses with the
twin masts typical of phinisis,
creating breezy, open communal
areas. By day the top deck doubles
as a sunbathing space and diving
platform; at night it becomes a
starlit cinema. Guests lounge on
rattan deckchairs in front of the
bridge – the best views in the
house – or on beanbags on the
master cabin’s terrace.
Among the crew of nine are
a divemaster, two waitstaff, and a
chef, who prepares menus designed
by the team at Watercress, the
popular rustic-hip cafés in Seminyak
and Ubud. Formerly of Byron Bay,166 GOURMET TRAVELLER