Insider Passage
Justin Ratcliffe
04/01/2007

"Long ago when the earth was still young and the rocks still soft, the gallant and fearless Atuf fell in love with the most beautiful woman in all Tanimbar. Not only Silolona’s beauty, but also her inner strength and skill in weaving and basketry made her the ideal wife for the strapping, handsome Atuf. In the time of the ancestors the sun was too close to the earth. Life was so harsh that Silolona died in the full flower of her youth. Atuf deeply mourned her death yet vowed to make the world a safer place for all his people. Inspired by Silolona’s spirit, he conceived a bold and daring plan to build a boat capable of sailing toward the sun. ..." —The Legend of Silolona

If Atuf was inspired by Silolona’s spirit, Patti Seery was inspired to build the 50-meter (164-foot) gaff-rigged schooner that bears the heroine’s namesake by the traditional Indonesian phinisi sailing ships that used to ply the Spice Island trade routes. An ex-pat American from Chicago who first traveled to the region 25 years ago to study Asian textiles, Seery was driven to build her own charter vessel after being abandoned with 16 guests by a local boat she had hired for the occasion. "Inspiration is a rather glamorous word for how it all came about," she admits, "but I knew I could build a better boat."

Amazingly, Seery had no boatbuilding experience whatsoever, but knew exactly what she wanted and where to go to realize the project. The Konjo people from the village of Ara in Southern Sulawesi have been building phinisi for generations, and Seery spent more than a year overseeing the build process in the mangrove swamps of Kalimantan Selatan in Borneo. Before starting construction, Seery spent months visiting boatbuilding communities to learn the specialized terminology and employed naval architect Michael Kasten, based in Port Townsend, Washington, to draw up the hull lines. (Click image to enlarge)

Last fall, ShowBoats International was invited to join Silolona on a short transfer voyage from Langkawi in Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand, where the schooner was booked as a hospitality boat during the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Our small group of five guests boarded Silolona after spending a blissful night at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort. An archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea, Langkawi is a tropical paradise of lush foliage, dramatic cliffs and golden beaches. Robb Report, in its Best of the Best 2006, described the resort as a "destination fit for royalty."

Top: Silolona’s RIB heads ashore. Middle: A double cabin. Bottom: Thai cuisine with local ingredients. (Click images to enlarge)

We were welcomed aboard by Zeth, a member of the crew, wearing a native sarong with a bird of paradise tail plume in his headdress and chanting the Silolona legend—the same chant that was sung when the keel was laid. We gathered on deck in the shade of the awning for a refreshing cocktail while Seery regaled us with stories of the tsunami that devastated the region just two years before. At the time Silolona was moored offshore in one of the few bays untouched by the killer waves. Seery quickly took on medical supplies and sailed for Aceh to conduct a survey of the ravaged coastline, despite her schooner losing its topmast in a squall. The information proved invaluable to relief agencies, and when she presented her findings to the United Nations Joint Logistics Committee, she was given a standing ovation.

Our route during the five-day cruise to Phuket was a casual affair based on passenger preference. Seery dislikes set itineraries and will specifically tailor each voyage to her clients’ interests. This is where her 25 years of sailing experience in these waters makes all the difference. She knows all the best places for game fishing when the marlin are running and the best dive sites. Called Ibu or "mother" by her crew, Seery has been adopted by three ethnic groups, and this gives her unrivaled access to remote villages. "I can organize hunting with bow and arrows, or visits to weaving communities," she explains. But Seery’s special interest lies in sharing the region’s cultures and customs that are increasingly endangered by Western influence. Many sacred ceremonies, for example, are falling by the wayside and, in one case, Seery offered to provide the sacrificial buffalo at the start of the rice harvest. The old folk had to re-teach the traditional chants because they were dying out. "That’s something you would never ordinarily be able to witness," says Seery, "but we were welcomed with open arms."

Top: A guest enjoys a massage on the beach. Bottom: A crewmember in traditional Thai dress. (Click images to enlarge)

After two hours of motor-sailing we dropped anchor off Ko Chuku, a miniscule island with a splendid natural arch carved out of the rock by wave action and a sparkling sandspit at low tide. While some of us relaxed on the beach, others began the PADI diving course in the shallows. All 16 crew aboard Silolona are qualified divers and trained First Responders, but dive master Goris has clocked up 7,000 hours of dive time in Komodo National Park and has the patient temperament ideal for accompanying novice divers. With the exception of courses and certification, all the diving and equipment is included in the cost of the charter.

That evening, we had our first taste of Silolona’s exquisite Asian-fusion cuisine. Chef Bill Collier will prepare Western dishes if preferred, but his flair lies in making the most of the finest local ingredients, from the organic meat and line-caught seafood to the whole gamut of fresh spices and pure white honey of Sumbawa Island. Upon completing culinary school, Collier embarked on an intensive 15-year period of work, study and travel, including working as sous-chef for some of America’s top chefs before taking time out from the hustle and bustle of restaurant work to join the crew of Silolona. Breakfast is served half-buffet style, while lunch and dinner are mouth-watering three-course affairs with accompanying wines. Justly proud of his creations, Collier appeared from his galley as each course showed up on the table to name the individual ingredients and their preparation.Weighing 450 gross tons, Silolona’s hull and keel are made of ironwood. Seery rejected two 25-meter keels before driving eight hours into the jungle with the Konjo builders to select her own perfect keel timber without a single knot along its entire length. Using Burmese rosewood, Halaban hardwood and 150-year-old teak salvaged from colonial Dutch warehouses in central Java, wood samples were sent to Michael Kasten to test the specific gravity. Silolona was launched in 2004 and transferred to Bali for fitting out to Seery’s specifications.

The schooner under sail. (Click image to enlarge)

Although phinisi schooners crewed by Bugi mariners still carry cargos between the 17,000-odd islands of the Indonesian archipelago, Silolona was the first to be specifically built with passenger safety and comfort in mind to Germanischer Lloyd specifications. Silolona has three fully air-conditioned master suites and two double guest cabins named after the different regions of Indonesia (Bali, Java, Asmat, Sumba and Borneo) that can sleep 10 to 12 guests in Asian-style luxury. Each cabin is personalized with ethnic sculptures and textiles and features its own spacious bathroom with shower stall, a day sofa that doubles as an extra berth, abundant storage space, freshly made island soaps, crisp white bed linens and soft cotton bath towels that are changed daily. Her 33-foot beam provides hundreds of square feet of warm teak decks and a deckhouse that can easily accommodate a full guest contingent at the dining table or seated in the salon.

Top: The natural archway on Ko Chuku. Bottom: Sunset viewed from the Four Seasons Resort on Langkawi. (Click images to enlarge)

Over the next few days we variously spent our time relaxing on deck, water-skiing, snorkeling and scuba diving. We also explored by kayak the famous sinkholes or "hongs" of southern Thailand, especially off the west coast of Ko Phanak. These awesome geological features are formed when rain absorbs carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and, over millennia, the resulting acidic water dissolves the limestone rock to create sinkholes, often with access from the sea. Some are well known and visited by tourist excursions, but Seery knows the best hongs off the beaten track. One of her favorite treats is to send the crew ahead in one of the tenders to light candles in the nooks and crannies of the cave walls. The resulting
cathedral-like atmosphere is quite magical and provides the perfect ambiance for champagne cocktails before dinner.

It was something of a shock arriving in bustling Phuket after five tranquil days at sea, where the only other people we met were fisherman who came alongside to sell their day’s catch. As we boarded the tender for the transfer ashore, the crew sang a farewell lament on deck and one or two even had a tear in their eye. It is difficult to praise too highly the quality of their friendly service and attention to detail, which when combined with Seery’s passionate enthusiasm and local knowledge make a cruise aboard Silolona a very special experience. This is superyacht cruising brought back down to earth with simple yet stylish facilities in total relaxation. Seery is planning to build two more phinisi, a 60-meter and a 35-meter. (Click image to enlarge)

Fact file
 
Specifications: 164' (49.70 m)
Beam: 33' (10.00 m)
Draft: 10' (3.07 m)
Year launched: 2004
Builder: Konjo boatbuilders, Ara, Borneo
Guests: 12 guests in five staterooms
Cruising speed: 10 kn
Cruising areas: Malaysia, Thailand,
Myanmar (winter); Indonesia (summer)
Charter rate: $ 70,000 per week ($87,500 per week for Myanmar); price includes food, soft beverages, fuel, kayaks, water-skiing and diving equipment
Central agent for charter for Silolona: Simpson Marine Ltd., Monaco
Contact:  Anna-Maria Hernandez (charter manager)
E-mail: annamaria@simpsonmarine.com
Tel: +377 97 98 28 28/+33 6 15 72 50 92
Website: www.simpsonmarine.com