Ultimate Fishing Yacht
Introduction
Ross, a long time sailing friend, was working on the 165' yacht Holo-Kai. The yacht is for sale and the owner decided on short notice to move the boat from Galveston, TX to West Palm Beach, FL to a boat show for mega yachts. Two of the normal delivery crew couldn't make the trip, so Ross gave me a call - All expenses covered, stand a watch, help tie up the boat, and have a good time. I was on a plane to Houston within two hours!
Holo-Kai
The Holo-Kai is a 165' oil field supply boat that was converted into the Ultimate Fishing Yacht. The yacht is designed to carry the owner to anyplace in the world to go fishing with all the toys. One of the larger toys is the 41' sport fisher carried on the aft deck by a huge hydraulic controlled ramp system. Just in case someone is in a hurry to go fishing, the sport fisher can be launched or retrieved in about 20 minutes. Only about 12 vessels like the Holo-Kai exist.
Some of the smaller toys include (from left to right) a 23' rib with a 115 hp, jet ski, 14' rib with 40 hp, and a 24' flat fishing boat with 115 hp. The hydraulic hoist in the center of the picture is used to launch and retrieve the smaller boats. The boat also has a dive compressor, more fishing rods than most tackle shops, and just about every other luxury someone with lots of money can buy.
The custom inlay on the teak deck is an absolute must for all Ultimate Fishing Yachts. We all knocked down a few cold ones while sitting in the shade at that table!
This is the main salon with the giant screen TV and sound system just to the left. It looks a little small in the picture, but will comfortable seat about 20 people. The bar is just behind me, with the formal dining room opposite. Galley is just to the left of the stairs. Owners cabin and other guest cabins are down the hall behind the stairs.
The Trip
The crew included Mike the master (above), Woody, Ross, me, Fred, Vito, Nicky, and Dr. Steve. Mike and Woody worked together for several years running a fishing charter business. Fred had been working on the Holo-Kai for several years as engineer. Vito was from Brazil and had been working on the Holo-Kai for about 8 years. Nicky was the cook and cleaned up all our messes. Dr Steve was a long time friend and heart doctor to Mike and was along for the ride.
Operating a 561 gross ton vessel that is foreign flagged within US waters is a full time job. Ross hard at work at his desk on the main bridge deck arranging pilots, clearances, permissions, and dockage with the USCG and port captains.
The trip started with Ross and I doing all the provisioning for the trip. Everyone else was hard at work getting the boat ready for sea and thinking of one last thing we might need for the trip. Ross probably put about 200 miles on his car in 15 different shopping trips, but everyone got what they wanted and Ross used his special ESP provisioning skills to purchase even a little extra. It would have been scary to see the final shopping bill!
With a pilot on board, USCG clearance, and a pile of other paperwork we finally left Galveston Island in the late evening. The pilot got off in the ship channel and we set a coarse directly for Key West, FL. The seas were running 5-7' with a 15-20 kt wind right on the nose and it was sure nice not to be in an open cockpit sailboat. In fact, it was really a great ride with a 360 degree view about 35' above the water, AC going full blast, big screen TV with lots of DVDs, stereo, great meals, private cabin, plenty of water, and all we really needed to do was make sure we didn't hit anything. Holo-Kai motored in these conditions at about 8 kts and we made it across the Gulf of Mexico in 3.5 days.
We planned only a short stop in Key West, but the wind turned out of the north and there was 12-15' seas in the Gulf Stream. The yacht's deep draft would not allow us to go up the Hawk Channel, so the decision was made to wait on the Gulf Stream to settle down before continuing on to West Palm Beach. Now if you have to wait on weather and someone else is covering all the expenses, Key West is just about the best place in the US to get delayed. For most of the time, we were docked at the Westin Hotel just inside the cruise ship docks and were the main attraction for tourist getting off the ship. (In the 1st picture above you can see a big cruise ship off our stern.)
Dr. Steve (on the right) needed to get back to his practice and left the yacht in Key West. During the day, I walked all around the island, spent lots of time at the beaches, and visited the local fort. After 6 days, the Gulf Stream calmed down and we made the trip to West Palm Beach in 29 hours. The yacht was docked at Rybovich, a 1st class marina for mega-yachts.
We missed the boat show, but the listing broker had several clients interested in looking at the boat. I stayed on board for several more days and helped a little with cleaning. Yes, we did lots more partying with the other mega-yacht people at the marina and a good time was had by all.
Maybe these stink-pot people really do have the boating world figured out!