12 passengers
From HKD 8,000
Lying in Causeway Bay
History: Previously know as Rapid Transit, En Passant was once counted amongst the fastest sailing yachts in Hong Kong. Commissioned in 1983 by yachting and scuba-diving enthusiast Charlie S., she was custom-built in Cheoy Lee’s Penny Bay shipyard in Lantau, on plans drawn by the Portuguese-born, Hampshire-based naval architect Tony Castro. The idea was to make her big, fast and comfortable, which is how they liked their yachts in the early eighties. Having successfully competed in the San Fernando race for several consecutive years, she went on to sail around South-East Asia on a two-year family adventure. No GPS, but two gensets and central air-conditioning for comfort, and a sub-machine gun for pirates. After returning to Hong Kong in the mid-nineties, she remained a keen participant in local regattas for many years, until she was eventually acquired by The Boater in March 2018. After a one-year overhaul, new sails and a new rigging, En Passsant was sailing the South China Sea again.
The experience: They don’t make yachts like En Passant any more. There’s nothing contemporary about her skipper either. And there lies En Passant’s Unique Selling Point. If you enjoy taking the helm of a 63 ft ketch, fishing, diving, learning how to use a sextant, playing chess, sharing stories over a fine meal and going for a midnight swim, you are in for a treat. If on the other hand, you prefer lounging in air-conditionned splendour while the kids play with their telephones, we can help you find more suitable alternatives.
En Passant‘s table: Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink; there is no corkage fee. There are three refrigerators onboard as well as a large icebox, a stove, gas rings etc. Alternatively, cold cuts and cheeses can be ordered from the RHKYC’s delicatessen; fine wines from their extensive cellar. Finally, the Franco-English skipper is fluent in Italian, French and Portuguese cooking and knows plenty of ways of preparing the catch of the day. As for En Passant’s cellar, it reflets the skipper’s partiality to Portuguese wines, Japanese beer, Islay malts and Pimm’s sundowner cocktails, wihtout forgetting the odd Habana cigar. All of which are available on request.
Accommodation: En Passant boasts a master cabin with en suite bathroom (with bath tub and bidet), three cabins with bunk beds, a guest head with shower, a large, well-equipped galley and a comfortable saloon. The well-protected center cockpit is large enough to accomodate 8 guests in the shade. The interiors are all original and pleasantly old-fashioned, from the captain’s Hemingway chair to the galley’s antique gimbal-mounted stove.
Equipment: Designed with an emphasis on comfort, she is fitted with a generously-sized generator (Westerbeke 24 kW), to keep all the ship’s utilities running: air conditioning, hot water, two 400 liter refrigerators and a 600 liter freezer. An onboard compressor, scuba-diving bottles, snorkelling equipment, fishing rods and tackle, guitar, chess and naval battle sets provide all the necessary equipment for some serious inboard and outboard fun. The latest navigation, communication and safety equipment, including AIS and HAM radio, complete the picture, making En Passant the ideal blue-water sailing yacht.
Options include all cruising destinations in Hong Kong. Price: HKD 8,000 for 4 hours, HKD 16,000 for 8 hours, HKD 26,000 for overnight (32 hours). Basic prices cover crew, fuel, hot drinks, ice and drinking water. Sai Kung departure: HKD 2,000 delivery fee. F&B on request.
For more information, call Stella on 5578 0351.
Taipan Charters 