{"id":55998,"date":"2018-09-14T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-14T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/?p=55998"},"modified":"2023-08-11T14:25:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T18:25:54","slug":"chartering-antarctica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/chartering-antarctica\/","title":{"rendered":"Chartering Antarctica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Chartering Antarctica<\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

It was midnight when Nicolas Benazeth stepped onto the aft deck as the crew prepped the sub for a dive to about 200 feet.\nThe 254-foot expedition yacht Legend was anchored in an Antarctica bay that looked like it was \u201con another planet. The light \u2014 you have these amazing mountains all covered in ice and snow, so everything is smooth with this eerie, moonlight glow,\u201d he says. \u201cThe sub has this amazing array of lights, and you see these alien life forms down on the seabed. And I was thinking, I\u2019m in a submarine at night in Antarctica seeing these jellyfish and worms and things that you see on nature programs.\u201d\nEven after the sub returned to the yacht, Benazeth remained in awe.\n\u201cYou think, Did I just do that? Is this real? \u201d he says. \u201cI came out of that night dive thinking nothing could ever top this, and the next day, I was hanging out with a whole pod of killer whales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"antarctica <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The yacht:<\/strong> Legend is a 254-foot Class 1 ice-breaking vessel that accommodates 26 guests, 19 crew and 10\u00a0expedition specialists. \u2009The destinations:<\/strong> The yacht alternates seasons between Northern Europe (Greenland and the Norwegian fjords) and South America and Antarctica. All-terrain toys:<\/strong> On board are a helicopter, a three-person submarine and more. The fine print:<\/strong> Camper & Nicholsons International markets Legend in Antarctica at a starting weekly base rate of about $570,000.<\/span>\n Christopher Scholey\/Eyos Expeditions<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Jacqui \u00adLockhart was with Benazeth as the orcas encircled Legend\u2019s tender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was on my knees on the bottom of the tender with my elbows on the tube, on the side, and I took this picture, and this whale was coming straight at me,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd then it went under the tender. It was \u00adcrazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same bull whale kept going alongside and looking me in the eye \u2014 it was looking right at me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liz Howard was there too, and \u00adequally speechless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have spent, I don\u2019t know how much time with whales in Alaska,\u201d she says. \u201cI was crew up there for three years. Nothing was like this. They would come right up to us \u2014 their eyes and face would be less than a foot from the tender \u2014 and then they\u2019d go under the tender, and we could feel them there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"antarctica <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n (Clockwise from top left) Intricate sole inlays in Legend\u2019s interior; Penguins at play ashore; Legend\u2019s three-person submersible for exploring under the ice; Legend has 13 staterooms for 26 guests; The yacht was built with cabins for 10 expedition staff, such as these guides, in addition to 19 crew.<\/span>\n Christopher Scholey\/Eyos Expeditions; Jacqui Lockhart (above left)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

These people may sound like gushing schoolchildren after a first trip beyond their hometown borders, but they\u2019re actually three of the most experienced charter brokers in the world. Benazeth, who is director of charter at CharterWorld, has been in Australia\u2019s Kimberley coast, Indonesia\u2019s Raja Ampat Islands and the South Pacific islands. Lockhart, a broker with Camper & Nicholsons International, knows top-end yachts so well that she was tapped to run the MYBA Association\u2019s boat-show committee. Howard, a broker with Fraser, has cruised everywhere from Fiji and Dubai to the Galapagos and Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are people who have seen it all, as far as superyachts and exotic destinations go \u2014 and to a person, they\u2019ve never seen anything like what Legend is now offering in Antarctica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe only word that I can use to describe what the experience was like is otherworldly,\u201d Howard says. \u201cAmazingly u\u00adnique doesn\u2019t begin to describe the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"antarctica <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Vessels like cruise ships with more than 50 passengers are limited in terms of shore excursions. Legend\u2019s guests can have more intimate encounters.<\/span>\n Christopher Scholey\/Eyos Expeditions<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Legend is the only Class 1 ice-breaking charter yacht, converted during a two-year project at Icon for use in extreme regions. Where yachts in the Caribbean might pile paddleboards, Legend has gear for heli-skiing down Greenland\u2019s peaks. Where yachts in the Mediterranean might have \u00admahogany sailing dinghies, Legend has a commercially rated helipad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInside Legend, you would not know that it\u2019s an expedition vessel,\u201d Howard says. \u201cBut what he\u2019s done is that instead of filling it with Wave\u00adRunners and \u00adSeabobs, there\u2019s a \u00adsubmarine and ice-ready tenders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ice-ready is a key concept in Antarctica, where vessels often turn back because of the frozen waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"antarctica <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n A guest knelt in a tender while this whale came right at her and dove under it.<\/span>\n Christopher Scholey\/Eyos Expeditions<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

\u201cLegend is set up where, even the tenders, they can get through the ice fields,\u201d Howard says. \u201cIt was like sitting in a huge gin and tonic with crushed ice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weekly base rate for an Antarctica charter is about $570,000, and all-in with the sub, helicopter and other expenses, Howard says, the total is about $1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s worth it, she and the others say, for anyone who thinks he\u2019s seen it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt offers something that there\u2019s no other way in the world to do,\u201d Howard says. \u201cIt\u2019s pure luxury in pure nature.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Antarctica may be the ultimate in exotic cruise destinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Yachting Staff","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20180914","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"156","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The 254-foot Legend charters in Antarctica and delivers unforgettable experiences.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"What It's Like to Charter a Yachting Expedition to Antarctica %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"KG6I5VVUXJHPTLMZX3FFDEDGGE","arc_website_url":"chartering-antarctica\/","custom_permalink":"chartering-antarctica\/","arc_subtype":"no-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true,"ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true},"categories":[156],"tags":[376,191,218,173,214],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55998"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}