KAWTHAUNG, Myanmar 5 September 2019: Burma Boating is set to launch monthly cruises around the Mergui Archipelago, combining yachting and scuba diving.
The SY Dallinghoo, a 30-metre classic gaff-rigged schooner crafted by renowned US yacht designer Dudley Dix, will cast off from the port of Kawthaung in southern Myanmar once a month from November 2019 through April 2020 and traverse the Mergui Archipelago on an eight-day, seven-night sailing trip which can accommodate up to eight qualified divers.
“With this new Sail & Dive adventure, we wanted to offer something extraordinary,” said Burma Boating head Michael Cole. “These cruises stop at no less than five dive sites, all of which feature a kaleidoscope of coral and magnificent marine life.”
The Mergui Archipelago is located in the Andaman Sea off the coast of southern Myanmar, and is home to the ethnic Moken community of fisherman, also known as “sea gipsies.”
For decades, the 800 islands, lagoons, atolls and coral reefs of the archipelago were off-limits to visitors. The islands are now accessible but on a limited basis as there are only five hotels in the area.
Memories Group, which operates resorts and travel experiences around the country, including the iconic Balloons Over Bagan, acquired Burma Boating in 2018. It has since built a resort, Awei Pila, on one of the islands in the archipelago. Awei Pila began accepting guests last December, and earlier this year opened the first scuba diving centre in the region, along with PADI certification classes for beginners.
In addition to the Sail & Dive cruises,
Burma Boating offers weekly sailing and yachting trips around the archipelago –
either three-night or five-night – starting 19 October through to mid-May 2020,
when the monsoon season begins.
