With the economy in recession, people are suddenly desperately trying to cut down on unnecessary spending.

But some are still living it up, basking on board a luxury yacht while sipping wine on the high seas.

If you think luxury yacht charters are solely for celebrities and tycoons, think again.

Meet the new breed of luxury yacht hirers: Average Singaporean students, just barely out of their teens.

On Friday, nine first-year students from the Singapore Institute of Management booked a $800,000 38ft luxury yacht, Southern Serenity, from SG Yachts for a fishing expedition.

And they're not the only ones who are doing it.

Mr Wilson Sho, 35, senior executive director of ECG Group of companies, which runs the six-month-old SG Yachts, noted that such students typically form about 20 to 30 per cent of his clients. They include polytechnic students, he said.

On Friday, the group kicked back in the air-conditioned comfort of cabins fitted with a flat-screen television, DVD player, two bedrooms with queen-sized beds and even a fully-equipped kitchen in case culinary inspiration hits.

As the yacht made its way around Lazarus, St John's and Kusu islands, the students sun-tanned on the deck, cast their fishing lines out or just snapped pictures with their digital cameras.

Sounds extravagant? Perhaps not as much as you might think.

A four-hour charter costs $900, which boils down to just $100 per person for this group. A full-day cruise costs $2,500. The amount includes sandwiches, soft drinks and the services of the yacht's skipper.

As marketing student Darren Seto, 22, put it: 'I used to have the perception that going out on a yacht is an extravagant thing.'

But after being referred to the company's website by a friend, he realised that the prices were actually 'quite affordable'.

Mr Seto, who gets about $500 in pocket money every month, pointed out that chartering the yacht cost only slightly more than the $60 to $70 he typically spends going out with friends.

The students on board insisted that they aren't from rich families and actually supplement their pocket money with part-time jobs.

Miss Vanessa Kho, 21, conceded that in these bleak economic times, it might seem 'a bit extravagant' to charter a luxury yacht.

But she said: 'It's a once-in-a-blue-moon thing, so we don't mind spending a bit of money to enjoy after working hard in school.'

The students said that SG Yacht's rates were more affordable than those of some other firms which provide luxury yacht charters.

Marina at Keppel Bay, for example, offers weekday rates of $2,700 for four hours for the charter of their 54ft luxury yacht. And Il Lido, a restaurant and bar which charters out a luxury yacht, provides lunch cruises for rates that start from $2,400 for four hours.

But SG Yachts' rates are not the lowest in town.

Raffles Marina has a 37ft yacht for charter for half a day at between $580 and $770, depending on the time of day.

Plans for expansion

Despite the financial crisis, SG Yachts is planning to expand.

It bought a second yacht, which is larger at 45ft, for $1 million. It will arrive by year's end.

The company aims for a fleet of nine luxury yachts in two years.

Business is good, said Mr Sho, despite Singapore being in technical recession.

He said: 'On an average monthly basis, the take-up rate is almost 75 per cent of the month.'

However, Mr Ryan Lee, owner of Maxout Hydrosports at Raffles Marina, believes that it's only a matter of time before the recession hits the business.

What gives the industry hope for now are young customers like Miss Joanne Lee, 19, a third-year Ngee Ann Polytechnic business student.

She took her first luxury yacht trip with eight other friends four months ago and said she will 'of course, do it again'.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 19, 2008.