Star of the sea

There's no bingo or ball gowns. But then the Star Clipper is no ordinary cruise ship

A THIN, WRAITH LIKE mist hangs just above the Andaman Sea at dawn, parting slowly to reveal the ghostly, soaring prow of a giant sailing ship, slicing silently through the swell. From up ahead, a series of giant, jagged limestone escarpments stand dotted around like a string of impassive exclamation marks, seeking refuge from the waters lapping at them.

Suddenly the sun breaks through and dances along the waves before bathing the vast white flank of the clipper in brilliant, early morning sunshine. A quartet of mighty canvas sails heave silently, driving her forward. The silence is disturbed by the sudden clanging of a bell from on board. Powder blue skies, intense and cloudless, frame the fantastic backdrop of looming limestone formations, each one swathed in shades of lush greenery, as the clipper slows and stalls with the grace of a poised swan.

If all this sounds like something from some 19th-century seafaring swoon fest, then think again. This was the amazing vista that greeted me last November as I stood on the upper deck of that same clipper ship as she came to a gentle stop. The Star Clipper is one of a pair of almost identical sister ships, lovingly recreating the feel of sailing ships of old in an environment as far removed from contemporary cruises as it is possible to get.

The Star Clipper is a beguiling blend of ancient and modern. Auxiliary engines are complemented by every hi-tech safety feature and all the creature comforts you could need, paradoxically folded into a hull that is a faithful recreation of a long-vanished breed of ship no-one thought would sail again. Decks are teak, fittings and fixtures are all mahogany and gleaming brass.

Above, four masts climb 200ft into the sky, and the soaring bowsprit boasts nets that allow you to watch dolphins leaping in and out of the briny. Ropes and knots are coiled, yet the sails can be hoisted by electricity. The Star Clipper also has Celeste, her own on-board parrot. Passengers are advised to feed her with caution, and rightly so. Caged or not, she should be approached with care.

Cabins are small but beautifully trimmed, with shower and TV, and just enough room to make them comfortable retreats. Clothing space is minimal, but you can forget tuxes and ball gowns out here. The dress code is almost always whatever you feel like, with lots of polo shirts in the evenings. The one main indoor/outdoor bar was the sole entertainment venue with our resident organist, the manic, engaging Csaba. Indoors, the dining room continued the nautical theme and, while it may have lacked the food choices of some of the larger cruise ships, the cuisine, decor and ambience were beautifully tailored to the whole Star Clipper experience.

There are a couple of small, outdoor plunge pools and a row of deckchairs flanking the graceful, curved upper deck at the rear. Nothing else. No disco, bingo or casino, shopping arcades or glass elevators. No seminars on health or well being, or roaming ship's photographers. And it is the complete absence of these things that make the experience so different from any other vessel.

The real entertainment is, quite simply, the ship herself. I boarded her by tender from the landing stage in Phuket, already awed by that graceful, flaring hull. On board, there was time to unpack and have a first drink at the bar before the theatrical lowering of the sails.

Passengers were drawn out on deck as if by some magnetic force for this. The amiable Captain, Jurgen Muller-Cyran, gave the order to lower sails, and a silent splay of ghostly white cloth descended from the illuminated yardarms to the strains of Vangelis' 1492: Conquest of Paradise. Passengers caught their breath as sails, unfurling like lowering theatre curtains, caught the warm evening breeze and, almost imperceptibly, this awesome steel and canvas cathedral gathered speed and headed out into the balmy, starlit spread of the Andaman Sea.

Technically speaking, the Star Clipper is a barquentine rigged vessel, but the hull is unmistakably that of a true clipper. If ever a ship possessed a soul, this one does; one so powerful and awe-inspiring that it took a disparate group of 170 passengers from over 20 different countries and held them in complete and utter thrall. For one glorious week, the Star Clipper was the centre of our universe.

And the region we sailed was the perfect complement for this ship. We plied a leisurely, 540-mile course through the otherwise inaccessible islands of the Andaman Sea, a protected national park where mainstream cruise ships are simply not allowed to go. What unfolded over the next few days was a series of jaw-dropping vistas both rich and rare in beauty, sound and scope; an all-out assault on the senses that is possibly without equal anywhere else on earth.

However, achieving landfall on these rare, unspoilt idylls was anything but easy. There are no landing piers, so getting ashore meant first bumbling across the briny on one of the tenders before stepping off into milk-warm water, often up to waist height, then wading ashore. Sometimes the conditions meant transferring into a second, smaller zodiac before wading in, and repeating the process on return. It is certainly not for anyone with doubts about their mobility, and you also have currents of varying speeds to contend with.

But the return on achieving these landfalls was priceless. Seemingly endless swathes of blinding white sand, deserted save for our own footprints, played backdrop to dense groves of tumbling jungle, backed by rows of idly swaying palm trees. Many were so remote there were no bars or restaurants. On some, inhabitants were limited to a handful of park rangers who left each night for their homes on other islands.

Reality seemed to hang by a thread. Our bar would consist of a cooler box of beer and wine, brought ashore from the ship. On Ko Lipe I caught my breath as a five-foot long komodo dragon emerged from the undergrowth like some primitive Tiger tank, foraging for food. He completely ignored me, but I kept a wary eye on him over the top of my beer bottle.

The whole region is a snorkelling paradise of almost pure, clear blue waters teeming with marine life of all shapes and sizes, so encounters with random dive boats became an everyday, pleasant diversion. At Ko Hong, we were amazed by the contrasts between the gorgeous beach framed by looming, monolithic rock formations and the tranquillity of its simple, stunning inland lagoon. The approach, through the Phang Nga channel, featured a backdrop of impassive, jagged peaks soaring from a sun-dappled sea that was simply stunning.

George Town is the capital of the Malaysian island of Penang, and constituted the one busy metropolis on this voyage. It is dominated by the 65-storey Komtar skyscraper, but elsewhere there is a spread of architecture more typical of its imperial past, and serene, tranquil temples like Kek Lok Si, regarded as one of the finest Buddhist temples in South East Asia. Shopping was good and plentiful, and a cocktail on the waterfront, accompanied by a mellow Malay sunset, proved a pleasant prelude to the bumpy launch ride out to where the Star Clipper sat silhouetted against a flaring, purple and rose-coloured sunset like some benign, otherworldly visitor.

That night I lay on a deckchair at the stern, watching lightning flashes that sporadically illuminated the sky, as if someone was flicking a gigantic light switch on and off. Behind us, there was no wake to mark our passage. Above me, a vast canopy of canvas surged and billowed as the Star Clipper forged ahead in response. Sometimes when the wind kissed the sails it sounded like so many rolls of muffled, subtle thunder. Like thousands of ancient mariners of old, I was captivated by what is nothing less than the authentic, unedited song of the sea. It engenders a deep sense of wonder, one as impossible to communicate as it is to forget.

The names of the islands were every bit as exotic as the places themselves in most cases. Ko Adang is typical of the islands that fringe the western coast of Thailand, a beguiling archipelago of 61 separate islands that form the centre of the Ko Tarutao national park. Here, the occasional rickety bench sprinkled across a glut of spun-sugar sand encouraged you to take a seat and take stock of the unreal panorama unfolding all around you every day.

Paradise comes at a price. Despite my best precautions and copious use of insect repellent, after two days my legs still looked like the start of some elaborate join-the-dots competition. Having spent the better part of a week living in shorts, sandals and T-shirts, this is hardly surprising.

The biggest thrill of all was surely that passage through the Similan Islands on the last full day. Zodiacs of passengers went thundering across the sparkling sea, getting up close to those towering limestone escarpments to see ropes draping down from them. They were extensively mined for tin, and still are. The ropes allow access to the summit for locals, though even we were not that adventurous.

A sudden burst of speed and a sharp, abrupt turn and stop would reveal an amazing sliver of delicate sand, sprinkled with half a dozen bodies and a dive yacht bobbing at anchor, before we hurtled off into a region of dense, creeping vegetation almost like a mangrove swamp.

We cut engines and had our ears assailed by the chattering cacophony of birds that filled the air all around us. Then, in one stunning finale, the Star Clipper herself emerged from around the headland, all sails set and with the crew, led by the captain, posing for photographs right up on the bowsprit.

While sparse on amenities and resort-style living, this trip offers a rare, priceless return for anyone with a sense of adventure or even an ounce of romance in their souls. Long after I left the Star Clipper, she remains with me in so many different ways, an adventure of a lifetime.

Factfile: Andaman Sea

Package

• A cruise on Star Flyer (twin sister of Star Clipper) in 2009 costs from £850pp, excluding flights. Contact Star Clippers, tel: [phone], www.starclippers.co.uk

And There's More

• Scotsman Reader Holidays offer Star Clipper and Royal Clipper holidays in Thailand. Call Connoisseur Travel, tel: [phone] for details.