Like hundreds of other yachts, Asean Lady lay at anchor in Thailand’s nearshore waters early on the morning after Christmas. It was a cloudless blue-sky day that melted into the flat horizon of the Andaman Sea. The boat hung motionless about 400 meters off the beach in Patong Bay, one of the busiest and most populated harbors in Phuket, Asia’s island yachting capital.

"It was the most serene Sunday morning," recalls Capt. Sutara. "We were caught completely off guard by the first tsunami that swept in – it came with absolutely no warning. Because we were far enough from the shore, in relatively deep water, we were able to pass over the cresting surge, nearly a story high, well before she broke closer to shore.

"However, the trough that followed the massive surge was so extreme that Asean Lady struck bottom and was momentarily aground. The feeling was surreal, being on this massive yacht and realizing that she was actually aground, nearly half a kilometer from shore.

"We were incredibly fortunate to survive the experience," he said. "There’s no question in my mind that the sheer seaworthiness and low center of gravity were pivotal in our ability to survive that first hit."

Capt. Sutara and his all-Thai crew reacted in lightning fashion. Their initial assessment was that there was no structural damage to the yacht, and there was still just enough water in which to maneuver her. The crew engaged her power systems, drew the anchor and motored her into deeper water just as the second of the tsunamis swept through the bay. The captain turned Asean Lady’s bow into the wave and rode over it.

Still in a vulnerable position and open to other tsunamis that would likely come to shore from the southwest, the captain powered Asean Lady out to sea and eventually around Phuket’s southern tip into Chalong Bay, a safe and well-protected anchorage on her eastern shore.

Further assessment revealed only minor damage to the interior. "We were much farther offshore than many of the smaller yachts around Phuket," reflected Capt. Sutara. Not as lucky, the bucolic island and its residents and visitors were among the hardest hit by the series of massive tsunamis and sea surges in the Indian Ocean caused by earthquakes a few hundred miles northwest of Sumatra.

Asean Lady was subsequently surveyed and was issued a clean bill of health. Her unconventional hull design had passed its ultimate test. As of press time, the yacht and her crew were still in Phuket, preparing to go back to sea, and to provide her owner and his family with the enjoyment, the stability and ultimately the safety for which she was designed.