THAILAND 11


Growing number of leisure sailing facilities


T


hailand is bordered to the North by Burma and Laos, to the East by Laos and Cambodia, to the


South by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the West by the Andaman Sea and the Southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the South-East and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the South-West. The following marinas are just some of the country’s growing number of leisure facilities for the international yachting community: Ao Po Grand Marina in Phuket


is a spectacular development in the North-East of the island. Construction of the marina started in 2006 and was completed two years later. With an impressive capacity of 300 berths, it can host yachts of any boat length from 6 m up to more than100 m and specialises in berthing superyachts. A deep-water fuel dock, a


high-capacity fuel pump and three-phase electricity up to 200 amps are just a few of the utilities available to visiting yachts. Ocean Marina Yacht Club


is Thailand’s premier marina resort complex, situated on the calm crescent beach of Jomtien, Pattaya. It’s just a short drive from Bangkok, less than an hour from Suwannabhumi international airport and only 15 minute from U-Tapao airport. Ocean Marina is renowned as one of the best international-class marina and yacht clubs in Asia. Surrounded by mountains, beach and the splendid seascape of the Eastern coasts, and close to many tourist attractions, golf courses, shopping and entertainment areas, as well as rarely-visited islands, the marina offers cruising yacht-owners a unique nautical resort. Phuket Boat Lagoon situated at Ao Sapam, about 20 km North


Woranart Wongvanich, Manager of Royal Phuket Marina, with her team at the marina’s dry stack storage, which utilises American forklift technology.


of Phuket City, is an inland lagoon with tidal channel access that offers 170 wet berths with power and water. Within the marina, yacht and boat charter companies can provide every conceivable craft for hire. There are also brokerage and tour companies with offices in the shops that line the waterfront. For visiting boats, there is a chandlery, as well as water, fuel, repair and maintenance services. There are also boat hoists and hard standing if craft need to be removed from the water. Other facilities include a swimming pool, gym, restaurants, bar and laundry service. There is also a sister operation


at Krabi Boat Lagoon offering the same level of service. Royal Phuket Marina has opened the island’s latest dry stack boat storage facility with Wiggins Marina Bull forklift technology from America – the first of its kind in Asia. With the aim to grow boating in Phuket and in response


THAILAND


Surface area: 513,100 square kilometres


Population: 67.96 million (2014) Capital city: Bangkok Largest City: Bangkok Main language: Thai Currency: Thai Baht


GDP per capita US$5,732 (2015)


Fact: Thailand is the only country in South-East Asia that was never colonised by a European nation!


to the needs of smaller powerboat owners, Royal Phuket Marina’s dry stack storage caters for boats up to 12 m in length and increases boat capacity at the marina to 296. The marina has also introduced


a unique ‘Boat Butler’ service, akin to valet parking, whereby a boat


owner makes one call to Royal Phuket Marina and their boat is in-the-water, fuelled and ready to go upon their arrival. When an owner returns they simply pull up to the dock, hand-over the keys and leave the marina’s concierge team to wash-down the boat and put it back into storage. Yacht Haven Marina located at


Laem Phrao on the North-East tip of Phuket can be accessed from the East on all tides. The marina has over 220 berths for vessels up to 70 m. All berths are entirely free- floating and, as the marina is very sheltered, there are no towering harbour walls to obscure the view or block the wind. This helps it to feel as close to being at anchor as possible in a marina. On shore, the Yacht Haven


Clubhouse contains a restaurant and bar, showers, lockers and toilet facilities. The marina also offers fuel, water and provisioning services.


MAY 2016 • MARINA ASIA-PACIFIC


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