Interest in exploration (and explorer) suffered a prolonged halt caused mainly by the Second World War. It would be some time before there were any traces again of navigations to remote parts of the planet by people who had made headlines for their exploits. (For part 1 click here)
Before the advent of the Explorer
In the meantime, it must be emphasised that technological progress will also contribute significantly to giving a new impetus to this activity. However, we have to wait until the 1990s for the first significant trace. Making headlines was the voyage made by William E. Simon, the first person to complete the Northwest Passage with a motor yacht.
Feat aside, Itasca’s cruise provides an opportunity for another kind of reflection. At that time in history, explorers, as we understand them now, had not yet been born. So for those who aspired to stray from the known routes, the choice could only fall on those vessels born to carry out other activities, above all commercial ones. And this explains why offshore tugs, supply vessels, or more generally working vessels that have had and still live a second life as yachts, came onto the scene.
Explorer, it all began with Itasca
“The Northwest Passage,” reads the biography “A Time for Reflection: An Autobiogrpahy” by William E. Simon Secretary of the United States Treasury under Presidents Nixon and Ford, “has always held a strong appeal for all navigators, explorers and dreamers.
For centuries, the legitimate question of whether it was possible to sail to the top of the world in the remote region of the Arctic, and explore that no-man’s land between the Atlantic and the Pacific, could not be answered’. An imaginary route that became real thanks to the feat accomplished by Roald Amudsen in 1905 aboard the Gjoa and that exerted an irresistible fascination on Simon who harboured the dream of being the first to cover that route aboard a yacht in a single season.
An ambitious project
An ambitious project that needed an appropriate medium. This is where a boat comes into the picture that, in everyone’s opinion, represents the beginning of the new explorer era. Itasca, a word derived from the contraction of the terms (ver)itas + ca(put), is an ocean-going tugboat built in the Netherlands at the J & K Smits Scheepswerven shipyard in 1961.
For 19 years under the name Thames she served on behalf of SMIT International, a company specialising in ocean rescue operations. In 1980, this 53.6-metre long, 843-tonne gross tonnage tug was converted into a yacht precisely for the purpose of navigating in such remote areas.
A choice that was also justified in the light of the total absence from the yacht-building industry in those years of building a hull that had the kind of requirements that from that moment on became the identity card to identify an explorer. Starting from the hull, which was strictly steel, to the capacity of the fuel tank capable of holding up to 227,000 litres of fuel. The deck to accommodate the helicopter and the possibility of winging even powerful service vehicles could not be missing.
Itasca becomes a yacht, indeed one of the first explorer
The transformation of Itasca into a yacht was signed by Sparkman & Stephens at the hands of Bill Langan, who was on board in the memorable 1994 expedition in which Itasca was the first private motorboat to complete the Northwest Passage. An enterprise in which, as we read in Simon’s biography, there was no shortage of twists and turns.
A courageous choice
The most important was the one that saw Simon himself determined to continue despite the recommendations of the Canadian Coast Guard who urged him to turn back with only 40 miles to go. “With all due respect, commander, – Paddy Chafe of the Canadian Coast Guard ed – I understand what you are saying to me but this trip represents a dream for me that I have been hatching for many years.
We have carefully planned the trip and are prepared to face the rigours of the Arctic and are also aware of the pitfalls of ice and weather conditions. But we are here to complete our crossing and if we fail it will be because we have failed not because we have given up. So it would be very much appreciated if you could help us through this last part to reach the open sea 40 miles further north. But at the same time try to understand that we will not turn back. We will follow it all the way to hell. And hell is in the north’. So says Simon in his autobiography. Ultimately, Itasca’s feat opened up a new route for explorers that was soon followed by other examples that brought a golden moment to the refit industry with ocean-going tugs at the forefront.
The golden age of offshore tugs
Prominent among them is the Simson. Launched in 1973 by the German shipyard Schichau Unterwasser this 77-metre converted into a yacht in 1994 still sails today under the name Sea Ranger. From the same yard comes Arctic, another 87-metre ocean-going tug glory born a few years earlier (1970) in the same yard and converted into a yacht between 1993 and 1994.
The line of tugs that in terms of exterior styling would also greatly influence many future projects includes other famous names such as Giant I. This 77-metre giant, now fresh from a new refit after the one carried out in 1994, sails under the name Legend and was commissioned by the Soviet Navy in 1974 from the Dutch yard IHC. In the wake of Legend there are other ocean-going tugs that have been given a new lease of life thanks to their conversion into yachts, such as Prometej, Dolce Far Niente known in the past as Seawolf C (built in Holland by J&K Smits, the same yard as Itasca), Asteria, Ariete Primo and Latitude to name but a few.
Right before explorers, expedition yachts
In the vein of conversions to ocean-going tugs, the pilot ships or expedition yachts have also joined the ranks. Here too, the Netherlands is leading the way. In particular, one name stands out above all Amels, which has become one of the most important names in the megayacht sector thanks to its extensive experience in shipbuilding for professional use. The Dutch shipyard in the mid 1970s launched several units that 20 years later have become the object of desire for many owners with a penchant for adventure.
A history that brings together admired and celebrated yachts such as Altair and Akula; the 59-metre Blommendal launched in 1973 by Boeles to finish with Capella C perhaps the first expedition yacht to find a new use as a superyacht. Launched by Scheepsbouwerft Pot in 1968 this 59 was converted into a private yacht in 1985. There is also a little bit of the United Kingdom in this particular expedition yacht chapter as witnessed by Titan the 60-metre launched in 1968 as HMS Beagle. Having undergone a thorough refit, she has been given a new lease of life under the name Aqua Blu. Today it operates as a small ship on routes that smell of adventure.
Matteo Zaccagnino
