SV Jenny joins Dream Charter operations

WHAT'S happening at Serasa Beach? After six months of very successful business, Dream Charter has decided to bring another yacht onto the chartering scene.

This new addition is another yacht that could cater for more guests at any one time, provide all round weather protection, whether it be from the sun or rain, is big enough to provide fishing charters with large deck space for onboard dining.

These were all the promises that Dream Charter had made before. So how are they coming along? The Brunei Times went to Serasa Beach to speak to skipper Peter Moeller and wife Aideen Henry. We were curious to see how yacht number two was progressing.

Tell us about the new yacht?

The new yacht is called 'Jenny'. Jenny is a 12 metre steel yacht. She was originally built in Finland and has sailed around the world. She is a very strong and stable vessel.

She has very high sides so guests onboard will feel very safe and comfortable. She also has a lot of deck room, a lot more than SV Petima and therefore will be able to cater for a lot more guests and guests will have a lot more room to move around.

SV Jenny will be a Brunei registered yacht and we hope to launch her in October 2009. In fact she has to be ready because we are entering the 2009 Borneo International Yachting Challenge from Oct 9 to 15 and we are looking for crew.

How is progress so far?

All reconstruction work on Jenny is taking place at Serasa Beach on anchor so locals can come down at the weekend and see the progress for themselves. All construction work is undertaken by Peter and Aideen both having experience at building and renovating yachts before.

The first major step we took was to take out Jenny's 52hp engine which was completely rebuilt. It now looks and runs like new. The second major reconstruction we did was to tear down her old pilot house and build a wooden roof from mast to stern (back). This meant lifting up the boom.

The advantage of this is that guests can walk around without having to bend their heads and they are completely protected from the sun or rain. They are also safe from the boom and there is no possibility that anyone can get hit by the boom as it's above the roof.

What's the next step?

There is so much room on the deck of Jenny that we are in the process of installing comfortable chairs on the deck for our guests to relax on while we sail. We are extending the bathing platform at the back so guests can relax on the platform.

There is also a ladder attached for easy boarding of Jenny from the water after you have had a swim. We are also rebuilding the interior to make way for new shower and toilet facilities. So there is plenty of work ahead for us.

Between reconstruction and charters we are kept very busy. The public can keep an eye on Jenny's progress by logging onto our website at www.sailinginbrunei.com.

If you would like to book a charter with Dream Charter, Sailing in Brunei you can call Aideen on 7119744 or send an email to dreamcharter@gmail.com.

The Brunei Times