Yachts at Ancol Marina offer an alternative weekend away
Yachts at Ancol Marina offer an alternative weekend away
JAKARTA (JP): Yacht crews at Ancol Marina recreational park,
North Jakarta, have their own version of peak season.
They call every July and August, for example, the Arab holiday
season. At the end of the year, it's the Japanese holiday period,
they told The Jakarta Post last week.
The marina seamen name the periods simply to mark the presence
of crowds of Arabs and Japanese who, at particular times of the
year, rent yachts to sail to several spots in the vast Seribu
Islands marine resort in Jakarta Bay.
"From July to August, many Arabs usually come to the marina to
rent boats. That's why we call the months Arab holiday," deckhand
Gufron, 15, said.
The busy days of the crews do not only depend on foreigners.
Even though the rental fee could be considered relatively
expensive by locals, particularly in such a time of hardship,
local businessmen often spend their money treating their
counterparts to a pleasure cruise.
When the city was hit by riots in July three years ago, the
yachts became "lifeboats" for fearful Chinese-Indonesian
families. The crews say the time was also a peak season.
Mahfud, 21, a crew member of Pari Kudus, said the marina was
heavily packed with Chinese-Indonesians, who hastily asked the
crewmen to sail them to islands in the Seribu Islands.
"They did not bargain at all. They just paid whatever price we
mentioned," Mahfud said.
Home to some 125 luxurious yachts, the marina sees dozens of
crewmen going about their daily chores of maintaining the boats
every morning in the sparkling waters of Jakarta Bay.
According to the crewmen, many of the boats -- with price tags
of around Rp 3 billion (US$340,000) each -- belong to Jakarta
residents. Few of them are owned by expatriates.
Several noted figures, such as TV presenter Zsa Zsa Yuzaryahya
and businessman Surya Paloh, have their own yachts, they said.
"This big boat over here is Zsa Zsa's," Mahfud said.
Surya Paloh, owner of Media Indonesia daily, berths his boat
at Sunda Kelapa harbor, about two kilometers from Ancol Marina,
he added.
According to Mahfud, people usually rent the boats on
Saturdays and Sundays to travel to one of the many islands in the
Seribu Islands chain.
The yachts, which are between 10 meters and 15 meters in
length, are furnished with comfortable sofas. Some of the boats
have a company name painted on their hulls, such as the one
bearing the name of the National Family Planning Board (BKKBN).
Crew member Daeng Ahmad, 26, said his boat was for rent at Rp
3.5 million for a 10-hour trip.
"My boat can take a maximum of 12 people. So it is not that
expensive if you divide the cost by 12," Daeng said.
He added that people usually rent the boat to go fishing near
Putri island, some 70 kilometers northwest of the marina.
"We provide the fishing equipment," Daeng said. "And if
necessary we can leave very early in the morning when fish are
much easier to catch."
Rental rates, however, vary from yacht to yacht.
Other yachts are rented for between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 5
million per trip. Thus, bargaining skills are need by the
prospective renter to get the best deal.
An owner of a garment company in Cilincing in North Jakarta,
Tri Yuwono, who was trying to get a good price for a boat, was
patiently going from one boat to another.
"I usually take my business colleagues from Japan to the
islands on weekends. It's good for recreation and it's a good
deal," Tri said.
Head of the finance department of Marina Jaya Ancol office,
which administrates the docking of the boats, Boerny Amir said
that each of the 125 boats registered to berth at the dock was
charged Rp 121,000 for each meter of the boat's length.
"We check the yachts every day so it's impossible for
unregistered boats to dock here," Boerny said.
However, he refused to mention the names of the owners of the
boats. (08)