First Impression: Hokulani

Date toured: May 2008

Hokulani is hull number two in builder Palmer Johnson’s 150 series. The first of these muscle-flexing express-style motoryachts, O’Khalila, went to an owner who keeps her private, so Hokulani is the first to become available for charter.
     Her captain, Egon Viljoen, knew he had a never-before-seen boat when he pulled into the marina for the annual, industry-only charter show in Genoa, Italy. “Look there on the bow,” he told me as we stood in the pilothouse, pointing toward a pirate flag he’d hung where traditional vessels might fly a yacht club burgee. “We’ve come to steal the show.”
     It’s a bold attitude—no doubt inspired by this bold motoryacht, which oozes sexiness and speed the way many other charter yachts emanate Old World grandeur. Hokulani’s exterior is bathed in paint that the builder calls champagne, but that Viljoen calls metallic olive gold because, well, it better fits the boat’s rock-star image. All the exterior accents are black, including the liferaft canisters and satellite domes. Even when Hokulani is sitting at the dock, she looks ready to tear across the sea (which she does at a whopping top speed of 29 knots, according to Viljoen).
     When I saw her tied up at the dock alongside all the traditional, white, trideck motoryachts, I felt as though I were looking at a Lamborghini parked alongside a bunch of Bentleys. All gorgeous, but definitely different.
     “In my humble opinion,” Viljoen explains, “charterers have not understood that they can have a boat other than what they’ve been aboard before. We can be at anchor in a new harbor well before most other charter yachts can get there, and we can be gone before the crowds. Two hours at sea is enough for most people each day, and in that time, we can cover 60 miles. We’re not for the middle-aged people who have always had slow, heavy boats. We’re younger, sleeker, and sexier.”
     That kind of styling and performance comes with compromises, of course, and in my own opinion, they are the kinds of compromises that younger, more agile charter clients might be happily willing to make. One example is that the master stateroom is accessed by walking down nine wooden steps, while the guest cabins are down a 10-step stairwell. The day head is here, too, instead of on the main level, so anyone needing to use the toilet during the day will have to make the climb. One reputable charter broker told me she felt like she had to be a gymnast to get down there in a hurry. I didn’t think it was that bad, but then again, I’m in my 30s while the broker is in her 60s.
     Also in the category of compromises are the three dining areas, two of which seat eight people even though the yacht is marketed as taking 10 guests (the third table seats everyone). There’s also no hot tub onboard, a feature that has become a staple onboard traditional trideck charter yachts in this size range. 
     On the other hand, there are plenty of lounging areas for sunbathers and shade-lovers alike, including on the top deck, where there is a permanent hard top with six square skylights. All of Hokulani’s water toys are kept in a garage, too, so every inch of deck space is available for guest use.
     Performance-wise, the crew tells me they don’t mind the fact that the yacht lacks zero-speed stabilizers, which also are becoming a staple onboard similar-size trideck motoryachts. Because Hokulani performs differently, moving across wavetops quickly instead of pushing through them slowly, she is designed to have an easy motion under way even without stabilizers. The crew told me they felt limited rolling at sea, and I believe them based on the rides I've taken onboard slightly smaller express motoryachts in the past.
     Fuel consumption, though, is most definitely a concern at this yacht’s speed, especially given ever-increasing diesel prices. As Viljoen put it, “At some point because of the fuel crisis, these boats may become a thing of the past. People want to get places faster, and at this size in the charter market, they can afford the fuel. But there is also the element of people who are doing it now, before it perhaps becomes impossible in the future.”
      The yacht had yet to perform her first charter during my visit, and her captain and seven other crew members were all new to charter (though had a good deal of experience working onboard private yachts with owners who used them frequently). Hokulani was fully booked for July and August, and planned to stay year-round near San Remo, Italy, offering charters in all seasons at a weekly base rate of 175,000 euros. Any reputable charter broker should be able to give you details about how the crew and yacht perform during Hokulani's first charters this summer.
      Hokulani is part of the fleet at International Yacht Collection.—Kim Kavin