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History
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,
Build 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 the masts date back over 300 years.
Movies
The junk featured in movies as early as 1974 when she was still operational as a cargo vessel. Everybody remembers the James Bond movie "The man with the golden gun". At the end James escapes with his Bond-girl on a Chinese Junk, the "June Hong Chian Lee".
More recently (October 2000) she featured in the ZDF documentary "Das Weisse Gold". The director used the Junk to show what life must have been like, hundreds of years ago when Junks were the main mode of transportation in South East Asia.
The last project is a Hallmark production, the "Swiss Family Robinson" a remake of the famous movie by Walt Disney. The Junk will feature as the "Albatross", the boat used by the pirates. The shooting is to be finished before August 2001. And the movie is to be released at the end of 2001 (2 x 2 hours TV release).
To all you movie makers out there, if you need a truly unique vessel to feature in your movie feel free to contact us. Our price is not much more for you than a normal charter. If the price is right we can show up anywhere in South East Asia. Especially in the May to October period.
Rituals
Another link with the past is a daily ritual of offering fruit, tea and incense before a small Chinese temple in the Captain’s quarters. According to Chinese tradition, the goddess of the shrine, if honored, will protect the ship. At the entrance of the temple, two small wooden soldiers stand guard. They are named Chian and Lee-the last two names of the June Hong-and
they represent the Ying and Yang.
A second altar is on the junk’s bow. Fresh flowers are placed there each week. Below the bow are the Eyes of the ship. According to the Captain, the bow is a sacred part of the junk and sitting or standing there is a sacrilege. Sometimes guests sit on the bow, it makes the crew nervous. You can see it in their faces, says the captain.
At the start of each season when the June Hong Chian Lee is launched, a Chinese shaman or priestess performs an ancient seafaring ceremony to call ashore the spirits.
part of the text is from The June Hong Chian Lee: A mystical journey into the past by Christopher G. Moore.
The junk June Hong Chian Lee (Respect Wind Travel Forever) is now restored to her old glory to serve as a liveaboard in the Phuket area. Therefore she is renovated to meet today's divers expectations.
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