Also named Post One, his big, beautiful new Hatteras launched from our factory in New Bern, N.C., on January 12th. Today, she is in the fertile fishing grounds off Costa Rica. But transiting the Panama Canal to get there was only the start of the GT63 Post One’s adventures. In July, her owner plans to send her on a voyage that very few sportfishing yachts of her size have ever attempted. Accompanied by Dorothea III, she will cruise across the Atlantic Ocean nonstop from Bermuda to the Azores on her own bottom.

Dorothea III’s Captain John Crupi reported that his boss considered the entire Hatteras GT series before deciding to build the GT63 Post One. “The 54 isn’t big enough to do the [transatlantic] crossing, and the 70 is too big – we just don’t use the staterooms,” he said. The GT63, which is powered by twin CAT C32 diesel engines, proved to be the perfect choice for the owner’s globe-trotting yachting lifestyle. “We’ve put over 500 hours on the boat in three months and we’ve had almost nothing go wrong – and what did go wrong has been rectified almost immediately,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal boat.”

While Capt. Crupi is master of the superyacht, Capt. Josh Heater drives Post One. The two boats left Florida in late January for a relatively quick trip to the Pacific. The first stop for the GT63 was Isla Mujeres off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

“We enjoyed several good days of sailfishing in Isla Mujeres and it was extremely impressive to see the GT63 eat up the nasty afternoon chop that the relentless tradewinds provide,” said Capt. Crupi. “Post One made easy work of the 50-plus-mile headsea run home every day.”

In late February, the GT63 left Isla Mujeres with Capt. Heater at the helm, bound for the Panama Canal. “The trip to Panama was just over 900 miles – four days nonstop and no issues along the way,” said Capt. Crupi. “Post One transited the Canal on March 3rd and after a few days in Panama City, both Dorothea III and Post One set off to Panama’s Gulf of Chiriqui and Isla Coiba in search of marlin and tuna. 

“The marlin bite was slower than we expected however the tunas made up for it,” he continued. “We found a bait ball 50 miles offshore that was hard to imagine. Literally hundreds of 100- to 200-pound tunas leaping out of the water, porpoise as far as you could see, and birds diving everywhere – the stuff fishing dreams are made of!”

Next, Post One and Dorothea III ran northwest along the Pacific Coast of Central America from Panama to Costa Rica in search of more offshore fishing action. The owner and crew also plan to distribute school supplies to students in Golfito, Costa Rica, and will help to put in a much-needed cistern for one of the schools, in conjunction with YachtAid Global. But in May, the yachts will be returning through the Canal to prepare for their next voyage.

“In July, Post One is going to cross the Atlantic Ocean on its own bottom,” said Capt. Crupi. The 1,800- nautical mile trip from Bermuda to the Azores nonstop will take about 10 days, he added. In order for Post One to extend her range that far, he and Capt. Heater plan to put an extra 1,500 gallons of fuel onboard in bladder tanks. In addition, Dorothea III, which will run with Post One, is equipped with a fueling station that they can use to transfer diesel from the superyacht’s fuel tanks to the GT63. “In the world of these sportfishing boats, it’s going to be an epic journey,” he said.

Stay tuned to the Hatteras Yachts Facebook page for updates from the crossing. For more information on the Hatteras GT63, please visit www.HatterasYachts.com/sportfish.