Built in 2011 by Pendennis, Hemisphere’s passport has acquired an impressive number of stamps for a modest time on the water. Sitting down with Captain Gavid Blayden - who has successfully navigated Hemisphere to over 50 countries since her launch - we asked what such an alternative approach to charter destinations, on such a wide (in both size and diversity!) platform could offer.
“She’s a little bit unique in the sense that we are the largest catamaran in the world. And what does that offer to the guests? It gives them a very big platform, a very level platform, lots of space.” Gavin began.
“Our back deck is about the size of a 70m back deck, we have a very big fly-bridge, the inside spaces and the outside spaces link seamlessly, the outside spaces are level so there’s not a lot of going up and down the stairs… she's just a big play platform!” he exclaimed.
Quite simply, Hemisphere makes it easy to forget you’re actually on board a vessel, rather than feet-firmly on dry land.
However, the charter experience on Hemisphere is just as much about the time spent off the yacht, and in the water. Dawn Singleton, Hemisphere’s Dive Instructor and Deckhand gave us an insight into ocean-life; “Hemisphere is unique,” Dawn explains, “she is actually a certified PADI training facility, so when guests come on board, if guests are interested in diving [...] we have the capacity to certify them. So if they’re on board for long enough we can give them their open water PADI diving certificate.”
So it seems, a charter on board Hemisphere leaves guests not only relaxed, but also qualified!
Aside from the dive school, Hemisphere is unsurprisingly the charter of choice for getting up close with nature. Chief Stewardess Rosie Packer highlighted a moment at sea that painted the picture of a magical charter moment. She described, “We went to Tonga and we spent time with humpback whales which was incredible, we actually woke up one morning and we had a mother outside right off our transom with a baby. We were able to swim with her for about 45 minutes, uninterrupted time, one on one, it was awesome!” A story that makes chartering further afield worth the long haul.
Available to charter with Burgess in the South Pacific this summer, Captain Gavin shared Hemisphere’s next movements.
“We'll leave the Caribbean around May time, push back through the Panama Canal and it’s just a big playground for us. We’ll revisit some of our favourite locations like Coco Island, part of Costa Rica, and we’ll be down in French Polynesia where we spent a year the first time… We can do very good, high-quality charters there. It’s such an easy destination to cruise and it’s very easy everyday to give guests a different experience.”
And for Hemisphere and her crew, a playground the ocean truly is.
