When I was studying overseas, I had a 3-hour yacht trip, sponsored by my rich friends, during autumn. Since it was cold, we just toured the waters of New York, sat around, chatted, drank champagne. But this 2D1N sailcation by Discover Asia Sailing was so much more fun with many activities.

Check-In

12pm at SAF Yacht Club at Admiralty. We met with Jia Qian, the person of contact who walked us to the yacht and introduced the crew to us, Yati and Amir (I hope I got their names correctly). And suddenly, without preamble, off we went. No delay, no long queue at hotel lobbies or immigration counters, no need to bring passport or check IC. Suddenly, the salty sea breeze combed through our hair. Shiok. Relaxing. Left our worries behind in the wake.

Service

We felt super safe in the capable hands of Yati and Amir. This yacht has a sail so midway, they let down the sail and we helped. We were sailers too! There is a safety boat, so in the most dire case that the yacht sinks, hop on to the safety boat. Or you can easily swim to shore, but remember to swim to Singapore’s side, not JB’s.  Also: I commend them for their COVID safety protocols. They always had their masks on. They are awesome.

Facilities and Amenities

This 3-room yacht can accommodate up to 8 people but since we went during restrictions, there were only two of us, my sister and me. The master bedroom has its own attached toilet, while the other two smaller rooms share a toilet. They provide amenities such as towel, shampoo, and body wash, but bring your own toothbrush and toothpaste.

The yacht is weathered, so things are not sparkly. The aircon in our room was spoilt—and it got very hot inside—but Yati and Amir fixed it. What can’t they do??? They sail, they cook, they fix air con!

Since the yacht isn’t new, there isn’t an electric plug near our bed, which means it’s hard to charge your phones. Bring a 5m USB if you want to lie on your bed and play your phone. There is no wifi onboard, so you will have to use your own mobile data.

The toilet is very, very small. For those who have mobility issues, I’d advise you not to go for the trip because of the toilet. When you shower, it is inevitable that the whole toilet is wet.

What surprised us was how stable the yacht was. For those who get seasick easily, you may try it. At night, the waves rocked us to sleep. It was a natural sleeping pill.

What to Do on a Yacht Trip

We also brought my macbook so we could watch Netflix. But for families, I recommend you to bring your boardgames.

4pm, after sailing for four hours, we set anchor. Singapore is so tiny, I didn’t expect the trip from Admiralty to Pulau Ubin would take 4 hours. We took the northern part of the island but you can customise your trip and do the Southern islands.

Discover Asia Sailing provides a kayak (that can sit 2 persons) and a Stand Up Paddleboard. My sis took the kayak and I took the SUP and we explored the mangrove. Unfortunately, it started to rain quite heavily and we had to return to the yacht.

Initially I wanted to swim in the sea too, but the rain… and there was a long trail of trash riding on a current near the yacht. Don’t litter, people!

Food

There is a stove that you can cook simple meals but there is a BBQ pit on the yacht! It would be really cool to sit around the table and bbq with your friends and family. Drink a couple beers. This is life.

Unfortunately it was drizzling still at night. Yati and Amir volunteered to BBQ for us so we stayed in the warmth of the cabin and watched Netflix. They are really good cooks, their meats were grilled perfectly.

We docked at 10am the next day, so you can get your breakfast/brunch after you dock.

I made a video of our sailcation:

Conclusion

It’s a pity that there were only 2 of us. I can envision a group of friends and family having fun together. The sailcation is great respite from the daily doldrums of life. It is quite expensive but I’ve spoken Discover Asia Sailing and they will be giving a 10% discount to RERG readers. Discount code: RERG10 (till 12 Dec 2021, travel period: till 28^th Feb, available for Pulau Ubin trip only).

GO. You’ll love it.

You may be interested in…
–Park Royal Pickering Staycation: Lifestyle Room. It’s Just Beside Hong Lim Food Centre
–Hilton Orchard Singapore Staycation: This Used to Be My Playground
–Goodwood Park Hotel Staycation: Almost Feels Like Bali
–The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Review: One of the Best Staycations ever

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.