Sailing Yacht Charter in Phuket

Horizon Cruises Phuket offers one sailing yacht for charter in Phuket: the classic ketch Aventure, for seven guests in four cabins, on itineraries from two days and one night to eight days, from ฿290,000, out of Ao Po Grand Marina into the Andaman Sea and, with permits, the Mergui Archipelago. She is not chartered by the day; for one day under sail, 19 sailing catamarans start at ฿34,900 for an eight-hour day. Write to us on WhatsApp with your dates.

One yacht, and why there is only one

A monohull sailing yacht is a rare thing in a Phuket charter fleet, and the reason is commercial rather than nautical. Day charters here are sold by deck space and guest numbers, and a keel yacht offers less of both than a catamaran of the same length. So the boats that survive in this market are the ones chartered for the sailing itself, over several days, by people who want the passage and not just the anchorage. Aventure is that boat: a twenty-nine-metre classic ketch, custom-built in 2011 by Patrick Balta, working out of Ao Po Grand Marina with a crew of four.

Multi-day only — no day charters

This needs saying before anything else, because it is the most common reason an enquiry does not proceed. Aventure does not run single-day trips at any price. Charters start at two days and one night and run up to eight days and seven nights, from ฿290,000.

Seven guests sleep aboard in three double cabins and one single, each with its own bathroom, and the crew of four provides full board along with airport and hotel transfers. If you are looking for a day at the islands under sail, the sailing catamarans are the answer and they start at ฿34,900 for an eight-hour day.

Where she goes that nothing else does

Aventure works the southern and northern Andaman Sea, and on the longest itineraries she crosses into the Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar. That destination is not available on any other vessel in this catalogue, and it is the main reason people charter her. Mergui requires permits and lead time, so those trips are planned months ahead rather than weeks. Shorter itineraries stay inside Thai waters, and the route is set by the wind on the week rather than by a fixed schedule — which is the point of a sailing charter and the thing that makes it different from a motor yacht doing the same coastline.

What a ketch gives that a catamaran does not

A ketch carries two masts, which splits the sail area into smaller pieces and makes the boat easier to balance on a long passage. A keel hull cuts through a swell instead of slapping across it, so at sea overnight a monohull is calmer than a multihull. And a narrow hull heels — the boat leans, and for people who sail that is the sensation they came for.

What you give up is deck space and level footing at anchor, which is exactly what a catamaran is good at. Neither is better; they are built for different weeks.

What is aboard, and what is included

Full board for the length of the charter, airport and hotel transfers, and the crew of four. Water equipment includes fishing gear, a kayak, a paddleboard and diving and snorkelling equipment. Rates are quoted in Thai baht and depend on the length of the itinerary; the exclusions are the same as for the rest of the fleet, and a 50% deposit confirms the booking, with the balance paid on the day of the charter. For a sailing charter the season matters more than for a motor yacht, because a ketch sails properly only when there is wind — the manager will tell you honestly which months deliver that.