A hawk eye for detail

Following a career in the private yacht sector and expedition cruising, Captain Matthias Bosse and his team presented project Sea Hawk and the Hawk Yachts concept at the Monaco Yacht Show in September. He speaks to The Crew Report about how his background as an Ice Master, Master Mariner and explorer has set him up for his new venture.

“I was privileged enough to do some remarkable voyages in my years in the expedition cruise industry and there are a number of moments I will never forget; life changing moments if you will,” explains Captain Bosse, giving particular reference to his visit to Scott’s Hut at Cape Evans in Antarctica and spending Christmas in the historic whaler’s chapel in South Georgia with a couple of walruses and penguins as his only company.

“Experiences like this led me to ask the question; ‘Why?’,” Captain Bosse continues. “What is the ultimate reason for owning a superyacht? What is the purpose? In my opinion the ultimate reason is the capability to explore the world in total luxury and safety.” This led him onto the vision to provide the market with yachts that are both beautiful and sea-worthy. As a result, Sea Hawk has been developed as a concept of a superyacht that will fit in at the most prestigious ports of the world, yet is more than capable in the harshest conditions.


Coming from the operational side of the industry and having covered more than three-quarters of a million miles so far, most of them in the remote regions if the planet, Captain Bosse believes he has a good grasp of what an explorer yacht should be. “Most of the explorers being offered today, claiming they are ‘go-anywhere boats’ are not explorers,” he explains.

“They may look like explorers traditionally look like, but they are not. They are lacking in sea-worthiness, functionality, storage space, safety and long range - they are lacking everything that is required to cope with the numerous situations that you may find yourself in when traveling. I am not necessarily talking about dangerous or risky incidents, but about high and low temperatures, about high humidity, about rough seas, the effects silt river water, about ice… the list goes on.”


Finding himself in extreme situations that were only manageable safely with the proper type of ship, suitable equipment and experienced crew, Captain Bosse knows what it takes to cruise the world and has ultimately resulted in designing the Hawk Yachts range. “Fundamentally they are beautiful superyachts,” he says. “They have to be eye catching in marinas as well as totally functional. Of course there are a number of ‘true’ explorers around, but usually they are converted former tugs or research vessels. They will certainly cope with most situations but they do not really fit in to marina culture.”

Captain Bosse adds that there has been a noticeable interest in the explorer market, both in yachting and in the cruise industry and charter companies are being increasingly asked for alternative voyaging and commercial cruising is heading the same way. As such, Hawk Yachts are currently working on two further designs based on the same philosophy of exploration sea-worthiness and Monaco looks. The range will be extended to include 80m and 50m yachts.

Captain Matthias Bosse will be discussing Sea Hawk in the Global Superyacht Forum's 'Superyachts of Tomorrow' focus group. View the full programme here.

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