Darren Lim turns his yacht into a business opportunity, takes people out on rides

Thinking of a quick getaway but want to be a little unconventional?

Why not take a ride on Darren Lim's yacht Gracefully? The 47-year-old is now offering a short trip on his boat where you'll travel from the south of Singapore to the north. The trip will take six hours, and you'll get a chance to see a different side of our Lion City.

The local actor-host was previously living aboard the yacht for four years with wife, former actress Evelyn Tan, and their four kids before he moved to a house so their kids can experience school life.

According to Lianhe Wanbao — which went on a two-day, one-night trip on his yacht — the entire journey starts at 10am at ONE15 Marina Sentosa Cove. You'll ride all the way up north for six hours to the waters close to Pulau Ubin and spend the night there before returning to Sentosa the next day at 6pm.

The yacht can usually take about 20 people but due to social distancing measures, there can only be a maximum of 10.

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Speaking to the Chinese evening daily, Darren said the most dangerous experience he's had at sea was when he encountered a typhoon years ago near Thailand's Koh Samui.

"It wasn't the typhoon season so I didn't think we would encounter one. The waves were six to seven metres high and it felt like we were going to be submerged anytime. It was scary!

"But when your entire family is on board, you don't have time to be afraid. You can only drive the boat as best as you can and ensure everyone's safety," he recounted.

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In a span of 24 hours, Darren battled eight thunderstorms and he only got through it with the help of his assistant. Both of them alternated between manning the boat and taking three-hour breaks.

Darren added: "After that incident, I learnt that you can't appreciate the highs of life if you don't have the lows."

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As for his kids, they've adapted well to life on land after living on the yacht from 2011 to 2015. "Though there wasn't much space on the boat, they were happy. But now that they've moved into the house and realised that space isn't a constraint anymore, they're asking me for more," he said.

While they were living on the boat, Darren had a rule for any item that the kids wanted to bring home. Firstly, the length of the object can't exceed the length of his arm.

Secondly, for every object they bring onboard, they've got to remove something as well so the boat doesn't become filled with items.

However, after moving into their house, the kids have seemingly forgotten the rules and started buying things. Now, their house has become a warehouse, he joked.

bryanlim@asiaone.com