Member Spotlight: Wong Min Qi

Wong Min Qi fell in love with sailing five years ago when her father, TC Wong, bought a boat in September 2013—a 40-foot Lagoon 400S2 sailing catamaran he named Ximula. Min Qi was working as a marketing executive at the time, but resigned from her job to join her family on a month-long sailing trip to Phuket.

Several months later, in June 2014, the 29-year-old marketing graduate from National University of Singapore started Ximula Sail with her father, offering yacht charter services. The business was born after their family and friends expressed interest in renting the Ximula for parties and events.

With her father spending a lot of time away sailing on his other boat, the Ximula II, Min Qi is now in charge of sales, marketing and business development. She works with a business partner who looks after operations, and they have a team comprising a captain and crew member to take care of maintenance and charters.

“Our vision is to inspire a happy sailor in everyone,” she says. “We’re trying to do that through more open trips where people can join us on our scheduled sailing excursions. You can get to so many beautiful destinations you can’t access on a plane, plus you’ll also enjoy the journey there. This year we did one to Tambelan, which is a cluster of islands off the west coast of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was two-and-a-half days of nonstop sailing.”

Min Qi has been a Member of the Club for a year now. Prior to that, she came here frequently with her father, who has been a Member for five years. She now comes by three to four times a week, meeting clients at LATITUDE Bistro, getting some work done at the lounge and hanging out with her crew. She sometimes even spends the night on the boat.

“I enjoy the community here,” she says. “I love to come here because everyone is very friendly and relaxed. When you get here from the city, you instantly feel relaxed. It’s a very nice ambience to share with your friends.”

Min Qi reveals that she and her father became Members of the Club because they wanted to berth their boats here. “My dad specifically chose ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove because of the location—it affords easy access to wherever we want to go. It is the closest to the Southern Islands, where most yacht owners go for swimming, kayaking or just to relax on weekends. It’s also close to Sisters’ Islands, which is where we need to go for immigration,” she says.

“My dad specifically chose ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove because of the location—it provides easy access to wherever we want to go.”

Another reason Min Qi picked ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove: The availability of shops, restaurants and other services in the marina. She’s also appreciative of the fact that they are able to get assistance and use of the buggy service when needed.

Her most memorable moment at the Club took place even before she became a Member. “We came for the Singapore Yacht Show in 2012 when my dad was looking to buy a yacht. We looked at the different yachts and learned about yachting and the whole lifestyle. The Singapore Yacht Show is still a highlight for me as a Member because for the past two years, I was able to participate as an exhibitor through ONE15 Luxury Yachting, the agent representing the charter yachts here,” she says.

Sailing is more than just a business or a hobby for Min Qi; it is a way of proving that she is able to overcome adversity. “You’re just a little boat in the vast open sea—that thought terrifies me and excites me at the same time. You’re so vulnerable to the wind, tide, current and storms. But even though these are things that you cannot control, there are still ways to adapt. When you are able to adjust, hoist your sails and go with the wind, you realise that you can overcome anything even though you’re so small.”