My very first cruise was on the barquentine Star Clipper

I'll never forget this voyage on Star Clipper from 16 March starting in Phuket in Thailand and ending 2 weeks later in Singapore. It was my induction into the decadent life of a 5 star passenger. No night watches. In fact no responsibility whatsoever beyond deciding whether to order the cocktail of the day. I would have been bored shitless if it hadn't been such a romantic tall ship with a Master who had us under sail almost every day. So yes - it was great.

I took this photo one day when the Master hove to and sent those who wanted off on the vaporettos. Of course hove to the sails weren't setting well.

In Penang showing the vaporettos.

Every day we set sail around 5 pm and as the sails were raised they played the theme song Conquest of Paradise  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Conquest+of+Paradise  (please play that while you read this blog). All the passengers congregated on deck, cocktail of the day or champagne in hand, to watch this romantic spectacle as the sun went down.

Most days we stopped for a few hours and went ashore to snorkel and swim on different islands but we also spent a day in the cities of Penang and Malacca, which have changed so much since I was there in 1969. It's always good to get a swim but quite honestly the Thai islands aren't as good as those on the Great Barrier Reef (assuming that there are still some patches of good coral remaining).

No sailors going aloft to set the squares. The first officer's yellow "baton" controls the hydraulic system.

There is still plenty for the sailors to do.

One day the Master gave a memorable talk with accompanying slides. He has been on tall ships all his working life, starting as a Russian naval cadet, later the Russian equivalent of a naval seal and now is their most experienced Master. He told us of the time he was Master taking this very same Star Clipper down the notorious Somalian coast, passengers aboard. There were rolls of electrified barbed wire round the entire ship to repel pirates. In addition they were escorted by a 21 ft speed boat with 3 heavily armed mercenaries aboard. It was a gripping saga which almost ended up with the mercenaries shooting at a good samaritan vessel that came to assist the Star Clipper as it thought the mercenaries were pirates!

Thought I had better prove I was on board

It was an all male crew (except for the masseuse). I made a few barbed comments and was assured that it was too heavy work for a woman! Most of the sailors, cabin crew, cooks and waiters were Indian, Indonesian and Filipino. The Master was Russian and the first officer Ukrainian and the two sports staff Australian and Swedish.  I suspect that indicates low pay, but many of those I spoke to had been aboard for years. I was shocked at how they seemed to be cooped up below decks except when on watch. There was no area of deck where the crew were allowed to relax.

The officers "dressed" the bowsprit while we were taking photos from the vaporettos.

My cabin with ensuite and unlimited hot and cold water. Total luxury in comparison to anything I have previously sailed on, plus a cabin steward who put chocolates on my pillow every night. I couldn't believe it when I heard a few passengers complaining about the noise of sea water whooshing past the portholes and even that the ensuite was small (it was huge by my standards)

My Canadian dinner companions. The food was absolutely superlative, more French than Asian. 

The passengers were almost all English, Canadian, US, French and many Germans. For the first week I was the only Aussie. Over half had done previous Star Clipper voyages in different parts of the world. It seems that Star Clipper is meeting the expectations of its rather niche clientele - those hankering after the romance of tall ships and having no interest in conventional cruise ships with thousands aboard.

I ended up in Singapore and visited the orchid garden.

TECHNICAL DATA

Tonnage:	2,298
Length:	360 feet
Beam:	50 feet
Draft:	18.5 feet
Sail Area:	36,000 Square feet
Mast Height:	226 feet
Total Staff:	72
Passenger Capacity:	170
Masts:	4 Masts, 16 Sails