New yacht travel scheme makes waves but can Hong Kong cash in on marine economy?

Boat owners and maritime experts say Hong Kong must seize the opportunity to upgrade marine infrastructure to attract mainland yachts For the first time, veteran sailor Thomas Wong Kam-chuen and his partners set sail from Hong Kong on their 46-foot yacht on a two-day trip earlier this month to a holiday island in Zhuhai, testing the waters for more leisure travel to mainland China. After a five-hour voyage from the Causeway Bay typhoon shelter on a sunny weekend, they anchored their Danish-built yacht, DBX2, at Guishan Island, went ashore for a seafood lunch with beer and stayed overnight. “Food is really economical. We had 11 people, and a seafood meal was only HK$112 [US$14] per person. If you eat seafood in Hong Kong, it is at least HK$600 to HK$700 a person,” said the 79-year-old structural engineer, who has 52 years of sailing experience. DBX2 joined nine other vessels in a flotilla organised by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in collaboration with the Zhuhai Yacht Association, with the early batch of sailors navigating Greater Bay Area waters under a new individual yacht travel scheme.

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