If you think life on a superyacht is a Dog’s Life you need to check out this Instagram account. Instagram/BuddyAtSea
Buddy is a dog with a superyacht lifestyle. His dog’s life Instagram account offers an interesting insight into a dog’s life onboard the superyacht Ulysses
Buddy is a Golden Retriever and the US$275 miilion dollar, Ulysses is the latest superyacht to leave the Feadship yard. She is the latest superyacht built to bear that name for Graeme Hart her owner. He is a New Zealand businessman.
Billionaires are famous for how private they are. And this self-made billionaire businessman is no exception. So far, the Instagram site has not confirmed that Buddy belongs to Mr Hart. But the chances of the dog being his family pet are high. If not the owner himself, it will be someone close to him.
Buddy clearly has a social media person on staff to handle his dog’s life account. And it is quite an active profile online. He posts content under the name Buddyatsea. While he does not have as many followers as we do, he still takes the job seriously.
Images show him riding ashore in the Ulysses custom tender and taking walks on the beach. When he is not doing that, he is seen flying in the superyacht’s helicopter. Or taking dips in one of the four on board spa pools.
Other posts show him playing fetch on the helideck, which he has declared his favourite spot to run around. Feadship, the builders of the yacht, even presented him with a stuffed seahorse toy wearing sailor’s clothes. Buddy told his followers that it was his “favourite toy right now.”
Downsizing
The latest Ulysses represents something akin to a downsizing by Hart.
Commissioned in 2020 and delivered in April 2024, she is the successor of a much larger Ulysses.
Built by Kleven Verft, that Ulysses was much larger, both in length and volume. At over 3000gt she needed to crew who held unlimited certificates. This would have considerably added to her cost of operation.
With an LOA of 102.6 metres and an interior volume less than 3,000gt of the new superyacht is said to feature the same facilities and amenities as his previous one.
Feadship have described Ulysses as the biggest challenge the yard has ever undertaken. It entailed them completely shaking up and rethinking the build process. They had to reduce the size of the engine room so that it occupied only one deck
Encased in glass
That, in turn, meant the engines had to face the wrong way so that they would fit. Such a move freed up more space for social interaction. These included a large plunge pool with four spa pools. Large areas of yacht were encased in glass over 1,100 square metres of it that could, in fine weather, be opened to the elements. This included an atrium and a garden. Not only did the tender garage have a shell door made of glass, but all guest suites had oversize picture windows sliding doors and windbreaks. All made of glass.
Azure Yacht Design handled the Naval architecture. Sinot Yacht Architecture provided the exterior and interior design.
Details of what accommodation is provided for Buddy have not been revealed just yet. But human accommodation onboard allows for 20 guests across nine suites. They are served by. 30 crew who live in separate quarters.
Power comes from twin MTU engines that allow a maximum speed of 18 knots. At cruising speed of around 15 knots Ulysses has a range of 5,000 nautical miles.
Support vessel
Ulysses, is often accompanied by the Damen Yachting built U-81. She acts as a support vessel to the mothership
Perhaps running for the title of the world’s luckiest dog, Buddy has proved that life onboard a superyacht can indeed be, a dog’s life.
