The Junk - June Hong Chian Lee - Liveaboard

The June Hong Chian Lee is one of several junks built in Penang, Malaysia, and is a 30 meters, 140-ton three mast junk with 330 square meters of sails. Built in 1962 for charcoal transportation the June Hong Chian Lee was part of a small merchant fleet that traded up and down the coastline from Burma to Malaysia. She was mainly used to transport mango wood charcoal till 1985 then she was restored and redesigned for the first time to serve as a classic yacht.

The June Hong is constructed mainly from a hard teak wood called Takien Tong. Extremely strong, the wood is used for the three masts that rise 23 meters above the deck - 28 meters above sea level. The trees cut for these huge masts date back over 300 years.

According to legend, the June Hong has a murky past with stories of pirate cargo hidden beneath the charcoal. Secret compartments were often built deep inside the bulkheads, and there are old tales of junks dropping anchor beside coastal caves rich with gold ore and of pirates blasting out their booty and hiding it on board.