wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  Business Times Singapore 17 Mar 07
For some, living on water is more than gazing at the boats
By Vincent Wee

NATIONAL University of Singapore research professor John Potter wasn't sure about buying a waterfront property at Sentosa Cove. After all, he already has a great view of the water because he lives on it - aboard a boat berthed at the One 15 Marina.

Still, he eventually bought a waterfront condo as an investment. For most other people, buying a place on the water is more straightforward. They are attracted to the water because of the glamorous lifestyle it suggests. Perhaps 90 per cent of them are content to just live this life vicariously by gazing at the boats beyond their window or backyard.

But the other 10 per cent will go on to buy a boat - for any number of reasons. Among these is what people want out of life. Some want to connect with nature.

And these people are on the increase, says Mr Porter. Others want to enjoy water-based pursuits - such as fishing, diving, cruising and boating - with their family. And how better to do this than live by the sea, says Pen-Marine's Oh Kean Shen.

Still other people see the water as a way to express their personality. Plenty of new-generation Singaporeans have been exposed to boating culture in countries like Australia and the United States - and they have brought this interest back home.

Indeed, a new boat owner these days is just as likely to be a young businessman out to make his mark as it is an older person who has made a pile and wants to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labour, says Mr Oh.

Along with boat sales, berths are filling up fast at marinas that are well-located and have good facilities. A One 15 spokesman says about 90 per cent of the marina's 204 berths have already been taken up, and 1,400 of the club's 4,000 memberships have been sold.

Clearly hoping to ride on the waterfront wave right on its doorstep, One 15 has offered every land owner at Sentosa's South Cove an individual club membership. Raffles Marina won't reveal its figures, but marina manager Phil Blake says interest has picked up over the past year to 18 months, so the marina is 'comfortably full'.

Raffles is the only Singapore marina with the prestigious five Gold Anchor award - the highest rating on the international marina scene, while One 15 is set to gain that rating when it opens next month.
links
Related articles on Singapore: general environmental issues and wild shores
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com