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A bright idea: How LED lights are reducing the devastating toll of bycatch

Gillnets are one of the most extensively used pieces of fishing gear in coastal regions throughout the world’s oceans. These nets are hung in vertical panels, with floats at the top and weights at the bottom. They are designed to allow the...

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Private island development in North Maluku Islands, Indonesia halted

The sale of shares in a private island development in eastern Indonesia have been halted by the government, according to a report in Mongabay News. PT Leadership Islands Indonesia (LII), based in Bali, has placed its ownership stake in the Widi Islands...

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Boating in Borneo: Take a cruise on the wild side

The west coast of Peninsular Malaysia is a well-travelled and documented cruising destination for superyachts. But more adventurous yacht owners can find accessible, yet relatively unexplored, destinations by travelling across the far east of Malaysia to the large island of Borneo. The...

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Comment: We must work with nature to manage it successfully

As the climate crisis visibly intensifies, the world is struggling to set a course toward a net-zero economy. We need new tools to measure the sea and nature’s complex ecosystems. For climate, great efforts went into measuring carbon emissions – and providing...

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Spoiled for choice: Fiji is open for cruising

The cruising season runs from May to October in Fiji, and this appealing archipelago is fast gaining a reputation as a Mecca for yachting, attracting royalty, celebrities, billionaires and anyone else with a spirit of adventure and a love of the sea....

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Asia-Pacific's 20 ultimate yacht charters

The yacht charter sector has been through some challenging times over recent years, with the pandemic forcing many of the region’s most popular and attractive cruising grounds to close to visiting yachts. But, as the world gradually opens up for travel, yacht...

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Meet the underwater photographer who dives with humpback whales

Australian photographer Scott Portelli has won a slew of international awards for wildlife, nature and underwater images. But it was years of repeated trips to the South Pacific island nation of Tonga to swim with and photograph a local population of humpback...

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The charms of Indonesia: Discover a cruising paradise

Indonesia is a yachting destination that has been on the rise for years. It is easy to see why. The archipelago has 17,000 islands, with everything from well-known tourism hubs to far-flung uninhabited islets. Indonesia is also an Asian cultural melting pot,...

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Seeing red: IUCN reveals alarming extinction risk for sharks and rays

Like never before, sharks and rays are at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Fossilised scales show that sharks or their ancestors first appeared almost 450 million years ago, or in geological terms: during the...

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Explosive underwater scene wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year

French underwater photographer and biologist Laurent Ballesta has been announced as this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his image, Creation, which captures a group of camouflage groupers exiting their milky cloud of eggs and sperm in Fakarava atoll, French Polynesia....

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Dreaming on: A new era for Silolona Sojourns

Patti Seery is one of the best-known names in Southeast Asian yachting. She built Silolona, a traditional Indonesian phinisi, for luxury charter in her beloved adopted home. Silolona set a new standard for luxury phinisis; handmade wooden boats with the rigging and look of...

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Spotlight - Suri: Toy story

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts," said Han Solo about his beloved Millennium Falcon. The same could be said of the superyacht Suri, which does not look like much, but when you dig deeper into...

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The hidden magic of mangroves

Most yacht owners cruising Southeast Asia probably seek out the extraordinary marine life and spectacular colours found in the Coral Triangle, and they are right to do so. But there is another attraction that boaters have probably paid much less attention to...

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Four in ten sharks and rays now threatened with extinction

Almost four in ten sharks and rays worldwide are threatened with extinction, say scientists from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the extinction Red List. An updated IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which details the world’s...

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The conversion of a lifetime: 15 years aboard Northern Sun

“We were drawn progressively into boating in Asia,” says the owner of the 51-metre conversion superyacht, Northern Sun. “It started with a little card tacked up on a corkboard at a supermarket. Somebody was offering a share in a wakeboarding boat in...

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Asia-Pacific Boating Sep/Oct 2021 issue out now

CLICK HERE AND SAVE 10% OFF AN ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TODAYOne year ago, we relaunched Asia-Pacific Boating, in print and online, with a renewed focus on ocean conservation. Our website now features a new section we call Blue Planet. The aims are twofold: reporting...

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The Mission at Misool: Inside an extraordinary eco-resort

Sunset at a Misool water cottage The Misool Eco Resort sits on a small island in remote southern Raja Ampat, in the middle of one of the world’s greatest hotspots for marine biodiversity. This exclusive Indonesian dive resort and conservation centre, which...

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The blue dream: How Seychelles became the poster child for marine conservation

Courtesy: The Ocean AgencyThe Seychelles, a tiny island archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, has become one of the world’s greatest success stories in ocean conservation. For decades, the island nation was a go-to destination for Europeans wanting sun, sea and sand....

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The best places to go diving in Hong Kong

A river jellyfish provides homes and shelter for crabs and starfish | Photos: Simon LorenzIt may surprise Hong Kong yacht owners to learn that their local waters, in addition to having great places to go boating, also have some great places to...

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Chinese electric outboard startup ePropulsion has silent appeal

In 2020, while the rest of the world was on lockdown, a lake in Donghu in Wuhan, China, was quietly undergoing an all-electric facelift. Forty tourist and cleaning boats were refitted with electric motors, and the government erected charging ports around the...