http://www.boatinternational.com | April 2016PHOTOGRAPHS: HARDY EMERY PHOTOGRAPHYon a price of $130,000 to build the hull and
superstructure – but later I discovered that we
also needed $100,000-worth of bolts, which
we had custom made.”
A contact Robba made at the International
WorkBoat Show in New Orleans put him in
touch with an East Coast marine systems
supplier and, such was the interest in Robba’s
build-in-the-jungle project, one of the partners
quit to join the build.
The site for the hull construction was
a two-hour ride by speedboat up river, on the
fringes of the jungles of Sulawesi, where all the
wood for the build was harvested. With a team
of just 20 Indonesian builders and carpenters,
the hull gradually took shape. “As the project
progressed I realised it was more complex than
I had anticipated,” he explains.
The build faced other, unique challenges,
too. At one point, three and a half years in,
the local mafia seized the hull and
superstructure and threatened to put the
yacht into auction. “They wanted around
$100,000 to stop the auction,” Robba says,
“but my company director in Indonesia told
me not to play ball. We pushed for the auction,
which annoyed them, and managed to buy
the hull back for around $40,000. I had
around half a million invested in it at that
point. It also meant that when the hull
completed the 1,500-mile tow to Bali for fit-out,
the local police had nothing on us.”
It was in Bali that the build was completed
over the next five years, with Robba drawing
inspiration from the local furniture stores,
Indonesian culture and his travels to top hotels
around the world for finish and decoration.
The final stats are impressive. In total,
800 cubic metres of wood were used in
Dunia Baru’s construction – primarily
ironwood with some teak – along with 1.5km of
strip lighting and 360 LEDs. The result is
a glorious blend of traditional and modern –
but at a price. Robba estimates that the final
build cost six times his original estimate.
“When the boat was finally finished we went
through all the emotions,” Robba says. “It
qualified as the adventure, the ultimate
adventure.” This is reflected in her nameplate:
“Dunia Baru Adventures”.
It is a key tenet of Robba’s philosophy. “I’ve
always tried to instil in my family and children
that you should never take a vacation,” he
explains. “You can sit by a swimming pool
and it’s just kind of boring. Really, what we
always want is adventure, and the way I defineit would be when you did something where
you experienced all the emotions, and not just
joy, happiness and excitement but also feelings
of discomfort or frustration. But once you’ve
done it you have a feeling of accomplishment.
“When I’d be sitting in my office and having
to pay for the boat I’d become very frustrated.
But then every time I went to the build in
the jungle I’d leave with this positive sense of
everything,” he explains.
There’s no question that Dunia Baru’s build
has been an epic journey in itself, driven by
Robba’s desire not to cut corners, either under
the skin or in her finish. In fact, she is built
to ABYC standard. “From the very beginning
I laid out that Dunia Baru had to be the best
boat ever built in Indonesia,” Robba says. “She
is kind of the pride of Indonesia.”
Robba built her primarily for private use,
and regularly explores new areas of Indonesia,
from Komodo to Raja Ampat, often with
friends and various family members on board.
However, she is also proving a popular charter
yacht, with guests enjoying her combination
of all-mod-cons luxury, features such as her
country kitchen style aft galley, epic sound
system and affable Indonesian crew. Moreover,
with a permanent onboard divemaster,
she really does provide a perfect platform
for exploring the wonders of Indonesia’s
underwater world, from vibrant reefs
to stunning marine wildlife.
“There are other yachts that offer more
of a cultural experience,” Robba concludes,
“but if you want to have a really good time you
should go on Dunia Baru.”The local mafia seized the hull
and superstructure. “I had around half
a million invested in it at that point”B78