History of Our Chinese Junk

When the westerners first came to this part of the world, the Chinese were already well established as traders here. In fact, by the 14th century, the Chinese traders were already settled in Melacca. Junks from China used to sail southwards before the northeast monsoon carrying cargos of tea, chinaware, copperware, gold and silver threads. Six months later when the wind changes, they would return home with the southwest monsoon with their cargoes of betel nuts, tortoise shells, sandal wood and bird’s nest. Singapore was known as the great meeting place of south seas and asia. You would have seen sailing vessels from Mecassar in the Celebes, Borneo, Java, Sumatra and India. With these, ships from Europe mingled.

Junks like the Fairwind are becoming more and more rare as engine powered vessels take over the sea. They were build not from plans, but by “eye and rule of the thumb” methods passed down from generations. The Fairwind is an original Chinese Sailing Junk, built from a very hard wood called Giam. The hulls from Giam wood are much stronger in many ways than those of steel hulls.

A sturdy vessel indeed, she was once the workhorse of the Oriental sea routes before she was converted for tourism. The Fairwind used to ply between Singapore and Bangkok carrying coal, pepper and copra using the wind as the only means of power.

Now you can experience this wonder of the Orient by boarding our Fairwind vessel. It has been well maintained and we ensure it is kept to all regulatory standards for the safety and assurance of our customers.