new zealand yacht owner

New Zealand's richest man Graeme Hart's new superyacht revealed after secretive construction

• Melania Watson

New Zealand's richest man's new superyacht has been revealed after weeks of speculation.  

Graeme Hart's 103m yacht was spotted in Amsterdam, featuring enough space for 20 crew and 18 guests.  

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His daughter, Gretchen Hawkesby, shared a collection of photos including herself, Hart and other family members on Instagram, while on a trip to Amsterdam for the boat launch.  

The freshly renovated, pristine white superyacht has been the subject of much speculation over the past month.  

Boat International revealed the yacht includes four exterior hot tubs, a swimming pool that covers the entire height of the main deck and a helicopter hangar concealed in the foredeck.   

On the interior, the yacht has a glass staircase and an elevator in the main atrium.  

"The yacht has maintained a single-deck engine room, which is no easy feat for a yacht of this size," Boat International reported.  

Formerly known as Feadship 1011, the yacht has now been named Ulysses.  

Boat International said the yacht was spotted recently in transport from Feadship's Makkum site to its Amsterdam facility.   

They described the yacht as having "distinctive clean lines" and a "squared-off deck design".  

Feadship revealed the yacht includes 1100sqm of exterior glass used in twenty exterior sliding doors, 12 glass windbreaks and 6m panels of glass along the main deck guest cabins.  

Ulysses is the same name as one of Hart's previous superyachts which he sold in 2017.  

The project is the fourth largest Feadship to be built to date, following the 118.2m Feadship 821 and Feadship 1010, both currently in build at the shipyard, and the 110m Anna. The superyacht is set to embark on sea trials later this year. 

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On board with Ric Kayne, owner of 63.4m SuRi

The American private equity investor became interested in boats as a way of keeping his growing family together. Since then the bug has bitten, taking him and SuRi to all corners of the globe, he tells Jim Raycroft

If you want to interview Ric Kayne, owner of 63.4-metre expedition yacht SuRi , you have to catch him first – and he doesn’t sit still for long. I manage to finally corner the 74-year-old near Savusavu in Fiji , where he and his wife Suzanne have just celebrated their wedding anniversary. But as soon as I land on the yacht by helicopter, he’s immediately whisked off in his 11-metre Intrepid to explore a new diving spot.

The man is a moving target – agile, active and in great shape. Once his morning satellite Wi-Fi routine is over, he gets busy cramming as much fun into each day as possible. He is still active as co-chairman of private investment firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and for the past seven years or so has been making headlines in New Zealand for developing the internationally recognised Tara Iti Golf Club.

Kayne grew up on Long Island, New York , in a family that believed in the value of a good education and hard work. He was a natural with numbers, and statistics seemed a good fit. Following Stanford, he earned an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. After working as an analyst in New York, he returned to Los Angeles where he was a stockbroker until 1984, when he started Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors with the late John Anderson.

“We are one of the oldest of what we call alternative investment firms – alternative in the sense that we don’t really invest in a mainstream kind of way. The firm was really started as a way to manage our own money, and money for people who were comfortable with the way we did it.

“Today, we manage about $30 billion [£25bn] or so. We have about 300-and-something people around the US. I’m very, very proud of it. I have an approach to management that really is what I would call ‘empowerment’ in the sense that I’m not a micro-manager – I’m not sitting on top of people. I try to hire people who are worthy of having ownership and so I think what you would find on SuRi , for example, is that the captain basically owns the boat.”

Kayne has long been a keen golfer and an avid amateur pilot but didn’t catch the boat bug until about 20 years ago. What got him into it was family. The Kaynes’ three daughters were becoming teenagers and were busy doing what most teenagers do – distancing themselves from their parents. “My wife and I tried [boating] as a tactic to get our daughters involved in a family experience – it turned into a family tradition,” he says.

The first meaningful boating experience came around 2002 when he chartered the 37.8-metre Delta Scott Free out of St Martin. “I knew we were on to something,” he says. “We followed up on that first trip and chartered five or six more times, off the Turkish coast, the Amal coast, in the Caribbean a couple of times and Costa Rica. The family loved the yacht experience; all the trips were wonderful.”

The experiences got him thinking about building his own boat. He delved into research, spending time aboard superyachts with various capabilities, talking to captains and generally gathering as much information as possible. All of that work led to JeMaSa , a 50-metre yacht capable of handling his Eurocopter and a fleet of tenders and toys, all hidden away, built by Hakvoort . Launched in 2006, JeMaSa was named after the Kaynes’ three daughters, Jenni, Maggie and Saree. The first trips were to the Med and then to the Caribbean. “After that we spent very little time on the charter milk runs.”

The yacht took the Kayne family around the world, leaving the glitzy Côte d’Azur behind to explore the fjords of Norway , Alaska and far-flung destinations in the South Pacific . “It was the adventure of doing rather than seeing and being seen that attracted me to yachting,” he says.

It wasn’t long before the toy box was over flowing. “I’m a toy guy, I love toys. My curiosity compels me,” he says. “It also became apparent that keeping the helicopter outside on the touch-and-go helipad was not the right way to do it.”

Kayne became intrigued by the idea of a capable craft able to carry all the kit he wanted without encroaching on deck or interior spaces. Soon the search began for an off shore supply boat with enough room for a massive garage to keep the helicopter and the ever-growing collection of toys out of the weather and follow JeMaSa around. A 52-metre crabber that had worked the Aleutians as Fierce Contender in the television series Deadliest Catch looked as if it would work as long as they could figure out how to create space for all the toys.

“Designing the garage was a challenge,” Kayne says. “In addition to the helicopter we had a hovercraft, one of the world’s noisiest boats, a hand-built mahogany speedboat, a work boat, WaveRunners, Sea-Doos, sailboats, ski and wakesurfing boats and, eventually, an amphibious airplane.”

Kayne, who has been flying since he was 16, was determined to get an aircraft aboard . When he could not find any other way to make it happen, he supported the research and development of a folding wing system patented by amphibious aircraft company SeaRey. Naturally he became its first customer, and the system is now available as an option on SeaRey’s Elite model.

The conversion of Fierce Contender to shadow yacht was completed in Seattle over the winter of 2007 and the renamed SuRi joined JeMaSa for the first time in Denarau, Fiji. A photograph on the wall of SuRi’s saloon shows the two boats tied up stern to stern. Kayne calls it his “hundred-metre articulated yacht”.

However, the two boats were rarely together. After a local boat T-boned JeMaSa in the Galápagos and the yacht had to spend several months in a New Zealand yard for repairs, SuRi picked up the slack. And that, Kayne says, was the tipping point. “Our family was growing and neither yacht was adequate for carrying all the people and all the toys,” he says. “By this time, I knew exactly what we wanted, so I did another silly thing – I decided to sell JeMaSa and jumbo-size SuRi .”

In 2011, SuRi arrived in Alameda, California for another major refit. This time, Bay Ship and Yacht cut the boat in half and added a 10.7-metre mid-section that brought her length to 63.4 metres. The extra length added guest cabins, pilot and security cabins, a lounge with two large “windows to the sea” cut into the hull, a larger sundeck, helideck and what is arguably the largest toy garage-cum-aircraft hangar afloat outside the US Navy.

Kayne immediately went to work filling his new hangar with even more toys and SuRi became the ultimate fun factory. The most recent addition is a crane capable of handling a serious multi-passenger submarine . “My mother absolutely delighted in showing people experiences that they might not have had on their own. For us to take family and friends on this boat has been that kind of a situation,” says Kayne, now a grandfather who enjoys seeing his grandchildren interact with marine life, and the smiles on the faces of his guests.

Because they keep themselves so busy, the Kaynes don’t spend more than a few weeks a year on the boat, so decided to kick SuRi’s charter programme into high gear. Kayne describes the boat fondly as “sort of an ugly duckling” but one that can deliver what people value most – experiences. The low-key decor focuses on comfort as opposed to glamour, but the food and service rival those of the world’s glitziest superyachts .

“Whatever it is that you want to do – put jet boots on your feet and go flying up in the air, go kitesurfing, take a cruise in a Riva type of boat, or go wakeboarding, wake surfing, waterskiing, fishing or diving, you just go and do it.”

He still enjoys spending time on SuRi but, he says, he is almost done with tweaking the boat. What excites Kayne these days is his golf project. Seven years ago, he bought an oceanfront property between Auckland and Whangarei on New Zealand’s North Island and set out to develop an American-style golf club. Tara Iti has now been open for three years and is ranked among the top golf courses in the world . He calls the club a “land-based superyacht” for its top-notch location and service.

Getting the project started was not easy and there was some pushback, but in the process he’s fallen in love with the country, its people and culture. “New Zealand is a treasure,” he says.

Recently, he filed an application with New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office to expand further with the goal of making it a world-class golf destination. “If we are fortunate enough to get the approval, we’re going to build what we believe will cause more people to come and visit,” he says. “In the US we have the Monterey coast, where you have Pebble Beach, Lone Cypress and Spyglass. There are a couple of real Meccas of golf in the world and that’s one of them. We’ve got a chance to do the same thing in the Southern Hemisphere and that’s what we are hoping to do,” he says. “It’s probably not something that any sane person would do, so I’m doing it.” And with that, he is off to the next thing on his to-do list.

This feature is taken from the October 2019 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.

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Tech billionaire’s $240 million superyacht the Artefact spotted in New Zealand

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The superyacht Artefact, owned by Canadian tech entrepreneur Mike Lazaridis, spotted in the Bay of Islands late last year. Photo / RNZ, Peter De Graaf

A $240 million superyacht owned by a tech billionaire has been spotted cruising through the Bay of Islands.

Locals living around Doubtless Bay, north of Russell, posted photos on social media saying they’d spotted the 80-metre Artefact paying their “little bay a visit”.

The superyacht is owned by Canadian Mike Lazaridis, best known for creating the BlackBerry smartphone, and has been in NZ waters since last year.

Its stops have included a two-week stay in Ōpua, near Russell, over Christmas 2023, and then a cruise to the South Island where it was spotted in the Marlborough Sounds in January this year.

The yacht is captained by Northland resident Aaron Clark , a Kiwi who grew up in the Auckland suburb of Beachlands, RNZ reports.

Built in Germany in 2020 at an estimated cost of $240m, it was named Motor Yacht of the Year in 2021.

The custom-built boat is designed to carry 12 passengers and 22 crew and has a range of about 6000 nautical miles or 11,000km, Clark told RNZ.

The boat’s most distinctive feature from the outside is its shape and use of glass.

Its 223 pieces of glass weigh 75 tonnes and cover an area of 760sqm, RNZ reports.

The crew includes two chefs and a sous chef and there is a tai chi room that has high ceilings so those practicing can wield a sword above their heads.

The owner Lazaridis, 62, was born in Turkey to Greek parents, who moved to Canada when he was a child.

He has been described as the father of the modern smartphone.

At the age of 12 he won a prize for reading every science book in the library at Windsor, his hometown in Ontario, RNZ reports.

After founding BlackBerry he specialised in quantum computing and has donated large sums of money to theoretical physics research.

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Spotlight on New Zealand

The arrival of the America’s Cup in 2021 brought renewed attention to New Zealand as a far-flung and multi-dimensional yachting destination.

“New Zealand is the best kept secret in the world, believe me”, says Sir Michael Hill, owner of superyacht VvS1 . “Of course, there are snippets of great places everywhere in the world, but there really is no place like New Zealand.” It’s a sentiment shared by many superyacht owners and charter guests who have gone the extra mile to reach this far-flung destination.

As the oldest trophy in international sport, the America’s Cup , lands in Auckland early next year, many yachts are considering heading over there for the first time, either to grab a spectator’s spot on the water or to compete in the Mastercard Superyacht Regatta, taking place at the end of February. In the meantime, many yacht owners, like Delisa Mayer, are coming to New Zealand purely to explore a remote country with enormous appeal.

“We almost didn’t come to New Zealand because we made the mistake of looking at it as one country instead of multiple destinations,” said Mayer, joint owner of The Big Blue , which undertook an extended tour around the country in 2014. “You get everything here; the variety of the country is incredible and diverse.”

Millennium Cup Image: JEFF BROWN | BREED MEDIA

This month, the world’s most southerly regatta, the Millennium Cup (29 January to 1 February) is taking place once again in the Bay of Islands, offering up yet another excuse for superyachts to get off the beaten path and head south. “We have raced the Millennium Cup multiple times and won it twice,” says the owner or Silvertip , which is taking part again this year. “Racing in the Bay of Islands surrounded by a dolphin pod playing at the bow is always a treat. Any superyacht cruising in the Pacific should make a point of doing the Millennium Cup.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Robert Gleed of superyacht photographers Breed Media . “Of all the places in the world we have filmed and photographed superyachts, the Bay of Islands stands out above them all,” he says. “It’s a magical place, far away from the crowds, allowing visitors to enjoy a unique environment in the seclusion of quiet bays with isolated beaches all topped off with some of the best sailing waters in the world. The Cup itself is a relaxed, yet exciting event that is truly Kiwi in its vibe. Anyone who is privileged enough to be part of it will remember it forever and want to return time and time again.”

Marlborough Sounds

Events like the Millennium Cup and the America’s Cup might draw the crowds, but New Zealand is really an exceptional yachting destination in its own right. With 15,000 kilometres of coastline and the two major land masses to explore (North and South Island, divided by just 12 nautical miles), yachting visitors really are spoilt for choice.

Peter Busfield, executive director at NZ Marine , believes that the country’s sense of freedom is a real draw. “One of the first things visiting yachts will experience is freedom,” he says. “Freedom to catch saltwater fish without the need for a licence, freedom to anchor and walk along any beach and the freedom to enjoy many activities without crowds and queues. And the locals are so appreciative of visitors that they will offer more assistance and advice than you can handle!”

Whilst Auckland and the Bay of Islands might divert more attention to North Island, thanks to their regattas and yachting events, the South Island is just as impressive and visitors should ignore it at their peril. With wine to sample in Marlborough Sounds, glaciers to climb (not to mention spectacular parachuting, mountain biking and fishing) in Queenstown and mesmerising fjords to sail through, it’s a rich, adventure-seekers paradise with breathtaking landscapes and incredible wildlife. “One of our best day trips away from the boat, hands down, was the Marlborough Sounds,” said Delisa Mayer. “Everything you want is right there in that little jewel of New Zealand.”

Whichever island visitors choose – or even if they attempt both (experts recommend at least three months to circumnavigate the country), there is culture, marine life and epic landscape to impress. From Northland at the tip, with its white-sand beaches and rich Maori heritage, to Southland, with its towering peaks and rainforest in the far south – it’s little wonder that many visitors are making plans to return the minute they leave. “You’ll see us back,” says Delisa Mayer. “You’ll see us back sooner than you know.”

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SPIRIT yacht NOT for charter*

35m  /  114'10 | new zealand yachts | 2005 / 2016.

Owner & Guests

Cabin Configuration

• 2 Convertible
• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Huge volume equivalent to a 50-metre yacht
• Secluded foredeck lounge
• Hydraulic swim platform
• PADI Diving Instructor and kiteboarding instructor
• Master suite with private balcony

The 35m/114'10" motor yacht 'Spirit' was built by New Zealand Yachts in New Zealand. Her interior is styled by British designer design house Ken Freivokh and she was delivered to her owner in April 2005. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Ken Freivokh and she was last refitted in 2016.

Guest Accommodation

Spirit has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 10 guests in 5 suites comprising four VIP cabins. She is also capable of carrying up to 10 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

Her features include a gym, WiFi and air conditioning.

Range & Performance

Spirit is built with a GRP hull and GRP superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by twin diesel Caterpillar (3412E) 1,380hp engines, she comfortably cruises at 13 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 18 knots with a range of up to 1,800 nautical miles from her 25,000 litre fuel tanks at 10 knots. Her water tanks store around 7,200 Litres of fresh water. She was built to ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) ✠A1, Commercial Yachting Service, ✠AMS classification society rules, and is MCA LY2 Compliant.

*Charter Spirit Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Spirit is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

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Specification

M/Y Spirit

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By SuperyachtNews 28 Nov 2019

Visiting New Zealand in 2021

Alongside the america's cup, what does the 2021 calendar in new zealand have in store for visiting superyachts.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron will be marking its 150th anniversary in 2021 alongside the America’s Cup. This means a packed year of events and celebrations, offering an exciting opportunity for visiting superyachts to experience the best of what New Zealand has to offer.

“The 150-year legacy of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is worthy of more than just one event at one time,” says Aaron Young, vice commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. “So we are marking this with a year of celebratory events and occasions, the pinnacle of which will be the hosting of the 36th America’s Cup. New Zealand is certainly the place to be in 2021 and visitors to Auckland during this time are in for a treat like never before when it comes to celebrating our rich sailing heritage.”

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is particularly looking forward to hosting many visiting superyachts and owners. “A full calendar of events from December 2020 through to April 2021 means fun on and off the water,” adds Young. “Owners and visitors can expect good down-to-earth and relaxed ‘kiwi’ hospitality. Our amazing and unique cruising waters around New Zealand are a must for any visiting yacht and we are doing all we can to make sure visitors won’t want to leave too quickly.”

“Our amazing and unique cruising waters around New Zealand are a must for any visiting yacht and we are doing all we can to make sure visitors won’t want to leave too quickly.”

The celebrations kick off with a race to Kawau Island on New Year’s Eve 2020, followed by the Kawau New Year’s Day Regatta, both of which are expected to attract the attention of visiting superyachts. An exciting and diverse calendar will then begin, including superyacht regattas in both the Bay of Islands and Auckland, as well as a superyacht fishing competition to ensure motoryachts are involved in the action. The Squadron also expects a number of J Class Yachts to come to New Zealand, with planned sailing in the Bay of Islands in February and Auckland in March.

To ensure that yachting and various associations are properly represented during this auspicious year, the RNZYS set up a 150th anniversary committee to roll out this series of events and regattas. The committee is working closely with Emirates Team New Zealand and supporting associations such as NZ Marine.

“We appreciate that New Zealand is a long way to come for a lot of yachts – it’s a destination – and we want to make it as enjoyable as possible for owners and crew,” says Peter Busfield, executive director of NZ Marine Industry Association. “As well as a month-long event calendar, part of the plan has been to build up facilities, optimise the country’s existing business potential and work with the government to ensure we are a user-friendly destination.”

New Zealand has a long-established marine industry renowned for maintenance and refit, and this is being enhanced by the development of berthing and facilities in anticipation of an influx of yachts in 2020/21 for the America's Cup. As well as being able to take advantage of New Zealand’s yacht-friendly regulations that allow foreign-flagged vessels temporary entry for up to 24 months and the ability to charter in its waters, yachts will have access to new infrastructure including a superyacht marina in the Bay of Islands, a superyacht village in Auckland for the America’s Cup, a new 320-tonne travelift at Vessel Works in the Bay of Plenty and a new 720-tonne travelift at Orams Marine in Auckland. DYT Yacht Transport is also putting on extra sailings to bring yachts to New Zealand for 2020/21 and take them back to Europe in time for the summer in the Mediterranean.

Having considered the lessons learned from the berthing and anchorage arrangements at the last America’s Cup in Bermuda, NZ Marine will be organising a superyacht VIP programme for yachts anchored in Auckland Harbour during the event. “From the registrations of interest that we have already received, we are expecting around 160 superyachts over the America’s Cup period,” says Busfield. “With only 100 berths available, that means there will likely be around 60 yachts at anchor, so we are working on a VIP programme to give those yachts easy access to the village and marinas and make their experience as smooth as possible.”

The America’s Cup has a longstanding superyacht following and, with the Pacific rising in popularity as a superyacht destination , the 36th edition is sure to see an increase the numbers of yachts in the region in the lead up to, during and after the event. Some yachts will also be planning to make the most of the trip south and extend their itineraries to the nearby cruising grounds around Fiji, French Polynesia and Australia. This will be an important time for the Pacific because many destinations are ramping up their superyacht offering in anticipation of increased activity and, for superyacht owners, the buzz forming around the region makes it an optimal time to visit.

For more information on cruising in the Pacific, be sure to get your copy of The Pacific Superyacht Report . Click here to purchase your copy .

Image: The Millennium Cup in Auckland by Ivor Wilkins

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