Sail Training Vessel Vela Launched in Thailand

On July 22, the 34.14m custom sail training schooner Vela was launched by Marsun Public Company Ltd., in Thailand, at the company’s Samutprakan Shipyard at the mouth of the Chao Praya River, near Bangkok.

“We just finished sea trials aboard Vela, our new sail training vessel and sister ship to STV Argo, also built at the Marsun Shipyard – she’s a beauty,” reports Jim Stoll, founder of Global Expeditions Group, which runs Sea|mester, a study abroad training programme for student crew trainees.

Sea|mester runs classes in seamanship and marine biology, credited through the University of South Florida. STV Argo conducts 90-day journeys, with berthing for 26 students and seven staff. The yacht is currently underway in the Caribbean. 

Vela will circumnavigate the world with trainee crew at the helm. Stoll says that Vela will sail to Singapore in about two weeks, in a note to Gordon Fernandes of Asia Pacific Superyachts. STV Vela is scheduled to depart Singapore in November, heading across the southern Indian Ocean to Cape Town, South Africa, via Christmas Island and Mauritius. Students will be able to earn 12 college credits, as well as learn blue water sailing, Scuba dive training and cultural exploration. Sail training certifications are issued through International Yacht Training. 

STV Argo has already sailed the world six times with trainees since her launch in 2006. Stoll says that Vela will sail to Singapore in about two weeks, in a note to Gordon Fernandes of Asia Pacific Superyachts. 

Both Vela and Argo are two-masted Marconi rigged schooners, certified and inspected by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency as a Category 0 vessels, allowing them unrestricted operation in the world's oceans.

Vela’s highly functional, sophisticated yet classic design and engineering are the work of the Langan Design team from Newport USA, which designed the STV Argo and numerous other sailing yachts, Travis Yates from Global Expeditions Group, and the Marsun Shipyard team.

Marsun has built over 300 vessels for various clients (Vela is hull #300) and has an engineering department that can build or repair vessels such as Vela as well as larger yachts. They have recently expanded their dry-docking capacity so that they can handle a variety of projects at any one time. 

Stoll also reports that the 46-metre Perini Navi yacht Aquarius will soon leave San Diego and will arrive in Phuket in November, before moving on to the Superyacht Cup in New Zealand early next year.

www.seamester.com

www.asia-pacific-superyachts.com