Just a few days ago we had a full day cruise from the Datai with a couple. He was an American and she came from the Philippines but had already lived in the US for many years. Unfortunately I had made an important appointment in Kuala Lumpur and couldn’t join the cruise. John, our guest, told me the evening before, that he would like to surprise her and ordered the most luxurious dinner on board possible.  

Due to Ramadan I had to organize the shopping very early and could only drop everything on the yacht before I rushed to get to the airport. From now onwards my crew and skipper Gerd were alone and had to prove that they were capable to handle a cruise on that level. A day ahead I had ordered a flower chain made of orchids and a fresh bouquet for the decoration of the table. 

I‘m afraid I was the only disturbing factor for them that day as I couldn’t stop calling them to ask if everything was alright. Shan and Helen had joined us for surely more than 20 tours by now and are a very good team. The last tours we had done together I felt almost like a guest myself. That is quite nice for me – has only the disadvantage that I’m gaining weight.  

As I could only get frozen oysters I had told Shan to fry them very shortly, add a bit of Chablis, fresh ground pepper and put them back into the shell to make them look nice. The lobster was supposed to be only fried in butter and served with a boat-made mayonnaise. The caviar – served on crashed ice – was a kind of topping up next to the lobster. 

The soft shell crabs were prepared in a not too spicy light chilly sauce accompanied by different salads and saffron rice.  

After the tour was over I called my crew again to hear that the guests ate absolutely everything, enjoyed the cruise, and killed the champagne followed by a good bottle of white wine. It must have been a success as they generously gave RM 100,- tip to each one of the crew. The Datai called me later to report that our guests were absolutely happy and had told them “This was our very best day in Langkawi!” 

What a relief to know that you (or your crew!) have done a good, a very good job!

The Andaman Resort approached us a few days ago to charter our yacht DADDELDU for a newly wed couple from England.

As we knew that the tide would be too low to make a private beach drop in the later afternoon we offered them one extra hour complimentary for this sunset dinner cruise

So Genna and Bobby came in the early afternoon having no idea about the itinerary that we had planned for them.

On the yacht we welcomed them with a cold towel and a fresh orange juice while we showed and explained “their boat” for this day.

Soon we took off to sail to “our” private beach in the South of the archipelago. There we dropped the anchor and Acik, our crewmember, and I drove to the beach alone to clean it and to prepare the setup.

Just a few days ago I had bought a nice hammock made out of parachuting material, light and strong and set it up between two trees on that beach. A bottle of French champagne on ice and some salmon canapés as a little surprise were ready for the couple. On this beach the monkeys are still shy and not at all aggressive as no stupid tourists are around to feed and spoil them. But to be on the safe side, I sent Acik back to the yacht to pick up the guests while I was on monkey watch (I had not seen a single one!).

When Genna and Bobby stepped onto their beach and saw the little set-up that we had prepared for their “Lover’s Cast-Away”, they were really touched. Acik and I left them alone, teasing them by telling, we would pick them up a few days later.

Being back on DADDELDU we started to prepare the dinner for them. I had been to the wet market in the morning and had bought some fresh seafood including one crab and nice big prawns. After 30 minutes I picked up the couple from the beach and made a tour around another little island that I love a lot.

That island shows the magic of Langkawi so clearly that I always drive around it to show it to my guests. It is actually just one big rock and it’s amazing to see that the vegetation grows and survives without any soil just clutching to the pure rock. Many different varieties grow here including wild orchids and some small palm trees. As the limestone is so soft, their roots  grow through the rock!

When we came back to the yacht, the crew had set up the table nicely and the food looked really yummy.

Bobby and Genna seemed to enjoy it and washed it down with a glass of a nice Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

Slowly we sailed back to Kuah Bay while they where having their romantic dinner. As another surprise we had a nice honeymoon cake complimentary and together with the crew managed to eat it all up. The sunset was just perfect; the best during the last 10 days; so lucky for them!

I think, they left being happy and we hope that this was the best day of their honeymoon here in Langkawi.

The Datai made a reservation for a couple that wanted to come for a half day cruise. The lady had the idea to surprise her boyfriend and made the booking weeks ago already. Lies and Steve are originally from Australia, but since a few months they settled down in Singapore.

I picked them up at the yacht club office and Steve was looking at me with big eyes of surprise, when he found out that he would be taken out for a cruise. He expected to be invited to play golf! The Datai had sponsored a nice little birthday cake and my crew succeeded to smuggle it onto the boat without him noticing it.

We took off from the marina and went into the direction of the Westin. Just behind that resort is a picturesque area with plenty of uninhabited islands, close to each other. Very safe and guaranteed no swell unless a ferry passes. No chance to get seasick! After a short but nice cruise we dropped anchor in front of “our” beach. But today the beach was occupied by a group of young Malaysians, who were engaged in a kind of teambuilding exercises. They had 2 funny looking rafts and tried to make a kind of racing by paddling. But as they were sitting back to back it was just too entertaining to watch them paddling to the North and the South at the same time!

Our guests went for a refreshing swim and we surprised them with a complimentary bottle of champagne and a loud and noisy Happy-Birthday-Stevie-Song.

For lunch we served: Prawns in Garlic Olive Oil, Mackerel on a Caper White Wine Sauce, Salad and Basmati Rice. They ate heartily and enjoyed the chilled Sauvignon Blanc accompanying the meal. While they ate on the aft deck we slowly motored back to the marina. We still had time enough to serve the birthday cake and a freshly ground coffee. Once back they were really happy and thanked us a lot for that great experience.

It is nice and very satisfying to know that a job is well done  and that guests have the impression that they got excellent value for their money.

Come and celebrate your special event with us! We guarantee you a successful day as this is our passion!

www.bluewaterstarsailing.com

It took me 6 years to get ready for the decision to propose to my lovely girlfriend Christine and I was looking for a very special event to make this day unforgettable. Chris had no idea at all when we arrived in Langkawi and was very surprised when she stepped on DADDELDU. She thought that you guys where some of my German business partners. We set sails at 10 a.m. and sailed around the WESTIN Hotel next to the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club from where we had started our tour. First surprise for Chris (and me) were the beautiful ornamental flowers you had bought for her hair. We passed some spectacular uninhabited islands and saw a group of six dolphins joining us for a while. Sailing away on your yacht was an experience we never had before and I saw Langkawi from a much different angle than ever before. At lunchtime we dropped the anchor close to a lonely and very private beach. Chris and I just jumped into the warm ocean, swam ashore and the world was just me and my lovely bride to be (still hoped she wouldn’t say No when I had to ask her the most important question of my life!) Coming back to your boat we had a nice freshwater shower. You served us towels and fresh juices. Our private and intimate lunch on the aftdeck of DADDELDU with a chilled glass of Chardonnay on that anchorage is something I will never forget. We proceeded to sail the archipelago of Langkawi and the soft breeze was cooling my nervous brain. At exactly 7.20 p.m., the sun 3 inches above the horizon, I went on my knees, took the ring out of my pocket and asked the most beautiful girl in the world to become my wife. Chris eyes got as big and dark as I have never seen them before and she didn’t say a word. Then a tear rolled down her cheeks and she accepted. You guys were standing next to us to take some photos and although I spoke Mandarin understood the conversation. I saw and will never forget, that both of you had tears in your eyes as well. You pampered us for the dinner with lobster and champagne. The flowers all over the entire boat must have been quite a job to remove the next day. Eva, Gerd, I know I asked a lot from you guys with all my emails ahead of the tour to make sure everything was perfect. How can I find the right words to express my feelings thinking back to that day? That day was just sooo much beyond my expectations! Chris and I had the most romantic start for our life together and you guys will be a warm part of our memories in life. All the very best to you and stay the way you are.