PRESS ARTICLES - Dockwalk - Happenings, Feb 2007

THE WRITER F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, who was never one to miss out on an opportunity for social-climbing, once remarked to Ernest Hemingway that, "The rich are different from you and me." "Yes;" replied Papa, a man who hated wasting 20 words when four well-chosen ones would suffice. "They have more money."

Indeed they do, and as a result, they tend to do things a little dif­ferently from the rest of us. Take the Phuket Invitational Superyacht Rendezvous for example, which got started in 2000 through an almost languid process of social chit-chat among the elite fraternity of superyacht sailors and those who cater to them, rather than through any long-term planning process.

My brother and I, who are Superyacht services specialists and owners of the charter and dive adventure company South East Asia Liveaboards (SEAL), had the original inspiration for the event. We see Asia, especially Phuket, emerging as the ultimate yachting and lifestyle destination in the not-too-distant future, and wanted to help promote the area. As Superyacht owners are quite often the sort who want to be at the forefront of pioneering new destina­tions, many of them were among our clientele and got involved in the project.

Six years ago, there were already as many as 15 Superyachts spend­ing Christmas in the Phuket area, so it became obvious that a tailor­made event involving a little sailing and a lot of socializing would be greatly appreciated by the members of this exclusive little club. It was relatively easy for us to organize and with only about a month's lead time, the first Phuket Invitational Superyacht Rendezvous came almost magically into being.

The 2006 Invitational was held at the ultra-fashionable Amanpuri Resort and Spa, which joined SEAL Superyachts and Bombardier as co-sponsor of the event. There could hardly be a bet­ter setting for the event's land-based activities and entertainment, as the Aman Group has set the gold standard for discreet luxury resorts and villas across the region ever since the Amanpuri opened on Phuket's northwest Pansea Beach in 1987. The resort will hold its 20th anniversary celebrations at the 2007 Phuket Invitational Superyacht Rendezvous in December.

Amanpuri Resort	Julie Street on Silolona	S/y Silolona Crew	Silolona
The victors in the Feadship Challenge S/y Cordelia	S/y Cordelia Crew	M/y Northern Light Crew	Blue Gold

The Invitational is a two-day event during which the focus is very much on fun rather than serious competition. In fact, with such an idiosyncratic selection of really big boats, it would be almost impos­sible to devise an equitable system of handicaps. It's also probably fair to say that the participants in the event already have won most of yachting's elite races in order to be sitting where they are. So rac­ing is not the top priority.

The first day of the 2006 event saw the owners' and captains' briefing and cocktail party held at Amanpuri's Villa Seven with its huge private lap pool, which was built for one of the owners of the Aman Group itself. The cocktail party also featured the Feadship Challenge: Each of the teams was given a kit from which they had to assemble a small boat in 20 minutes. The kit contained tape, balsa wood, plastic, super glue, as well as a ladies' bra (possibly to be used as a "double spinnaker," as one wag joked). Once these little boats were assembled, a prize was given for the best design, and then they were used in a series of head-to-head races in two parallel water troughs. Each team's master blower had to down a beer at the end of the downwind leg, then blow the little boat back up the trough against the prevailing wind, which provoked much hilarity. A devil­ishly tricky event for even the most practiced team, it was the crew from Cordelia who took the racing honors this year.

The second day dawned with clear blue skies and a 17 to 20 knot northeasterly wind. The races started at a highly civilized lO am two miles off the Amanpuri, before they headed south to Kamala Beach. The course was set offshore in order to afford land-based spectators the chance of seeing close at hand fabulous bluewater yachts like Silolona, Argo and Blue Gold under their mighty clouds of sail. These big sailing boats really need 15 to 20 knots to get them hum­ming. In all, 13 superyachts graced the Invitational, including many returning from previous years, plus three Feadships - Northern Light, Lionwind and Montigne.

Two motor launches stole the show during the racing as Phuket­based millionaires Pavel Kopecky and Gulu Lalvani in their stun­ning, retro-style launches - an homage to the 1950s Rivas - buzzed the fleet, leaving froth and excitement in their wakes. With the sails of the classic yachts billowing in the background, these were scenes reminiscent of Les Voiles de Saint Tropez. F. Scott Fitzgerald would have been beside himself with envy.

After the day's racing, Patti Seeri, the owner of 165-foot Silolona, welcomed all the participants aboard for sunset cocktails. Then the 130 or so guests were ferried ashore to the Amanpuri's gorgeous pri­vate beach, where they were welcomed by Thai musicians and dancers. Dinner was a white-linen, sit-down affair at the water's edge, created by the resort's master chef Dan Lentz. Speechmaking was kept to a minimum so that the live band could get into funky action as soon as possible, enabling the dancers to groove on past midnight with sand between their toes and stars over their heads.

Feadship Marketing Director Hein Velema, whose company was a principle sponsor of the event, said, "I want our customers to know that there are more cruising places than just the Mediterranean. Asia, and in particular Thailand, has so much to offer. It's one of the fastest growing regions for yachting in the world."

"Champagne" Charlie Dwyer, skipper of the 116-foot Yanneke Too, who has been part of many Phuket Superyacht lnvitationals, once remarked, "We've been around the world and everywhere we go, the owners say, "this is beautiful - in fact, it's almost as beautiful as Phuket." When you have the choice and the means to pick anywhere on earth, where else would you want to spend Christmas?