UPDATE, MARCH 7, 2016: Ulysses has been delivered in Gibraltar. Read on for our original article.
One of the year’s most anxiously awaited deliveries, Ulysses is progressing through additional sea trials. The latest occurred yesterday, with all tenders onboard for the first time.
Spotted departing Bremerhaven, Germany, Ulysses toted several tenders, in fact. A handful were situated on her bow, with others stowed high up to each side. They’re no ordinary tenders, though. Take a close look at the photo here, and you can see the pilothouse of a particularly rugged-looking boat peeking up over the bow. The rake of that pilothouse’s ports mirror those of Ulysses herself. A good-size speedboat is mounted on her starboard side, too.
Some of these tenders were photographed by yacht spotters earlier this month as they were being loaded. Not everything went smoothly, unfortunately. Ulysses was noticeably listing to one side. And at least one tender, despite being raised midair via a crane, did not end up being placed on deck.
Whatever the issues were, they seem to have been resolved. The 351-foot (107-meter) Ulysses was floating fine on her lines, mini armada in place, yesterday.
By now most of you surely are familiar with the facts behind Ulysses. She arrived in Germany in August, having departed her build site in Norway. Her builder, Kleven, is known for commercial and military vessels that don’t shy away from significant seas. This latter point particularly influenced the owners’ choice of Kleven for their explorer megayacht—really, an explorer mothership.
Those owners are Graeme and Robyn Hart, New Zealanders who have owned a handful of yachts all christened Ulysses. The new Ulysses is by far the biggest, further capable of carrying an owners’ party of 60.
As to why the megayacht made her way to Germany, it’s quite simple. Kleven isn’t experienced in the more refined aspects of yacht outfitting. Dörries Maritime Services took on oversight of her completion in its homeland.
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