Halekai debuts at the Palma International Boat Show
The Palma International Boat Show is rapidly approaching, running this year from Wednesday 30th April to Saturday 3rd May. Not only will Pendennis Vilanova be exhibiting once again in the Varadero area of the Palma Superyacht Village, but Pendennis will also be showcasing Hoek Truly Classic 128’ SY Halekai, a bespoke build launched from our UK facility in 2020 and fresh out of a 5-year survey and refit period in Vilanova. Berthed in the superyacht new build hub in Club de Mar, the event will be Halekai’s industry debut following her global cruising programme.
The second Hoek Truly Classic 128’ to emerge from Pendennis’ construction halls, Halekai has covered around 30,000nm since departing Falmouth in May 2020. Upon delivery she headed straight for the Pacific, spending much of her time in French Polynesia and as the global pandemic situation slowly improved, she was able to visit Hawaii, Mexico, Fiji and New Zealand. In 2023 she sailed to the Solomon Islands, then continued north to Palau for trips centred around the incredible diving and further adventures to Indonesia, a surf trip in the Telos Islands and a season in Thailand followed. Captain James explains, “We had always planned a worldwide cruising programme, and part of the brief when designing Halekai was to increase our range and capability to cruise further off the beaten track in tropical areas, while never compromising on the classic sleek look of the yacht.”
As the fourth hull in the TC128 series Halekai shares the same hull lines and keel as her predecessors but other elements are extensively customised. The steering position and main sail handling are controlled in the aft cockpit, leaving vast storage for all the vessel’s toys and surf boards, and a lounge area at the sun pad. Half of the aft deckhouse is part of the owner’s cabin and the other half is a navigation station, providing a place for the crew to shelter from the elements during bad weather or long-distance sailing.
At the end of last year, Halekai returned to Pendennis for her 5-year survey – this time at our Vilanova facility near Barcelona. Works included a full repaint by our in-house team of painters, a deck sand and revarnish, as well as tank cleaning works. The Pendennis team completed the hull valve service, electrical upgrades and worked in tandem with onsite contractors to facilitate the rudder and shaft works required for her survey.
Kirk Oldfield, Production Manager at Pendennis Vilanova explained; “We are perfectly placed to assist with the technical requirements of a 5-year survey here in Vilanova. Of course, it’s a huge benefit having built the yacht at our Falmouth base, as it means we have direct access to the technical data, and the original build team are on hand to help. However we are proud to offer all of our yachts through life support – whether they are a Pendennis-built yacht, or one of our many refit projects – we consider them all a part of the Pendennis fleet. We offer the fleet the same level of service, whether that’s aftersales support at our Mediterranean facility, parts supply all over the world, or flying our technical experts to international regattas to be part of the yacht’s race crew.
Also exhibiting at the show will be repeat Pendennis refit client, SY Catalina (ex Timoneer). Originally built in 2001 at Vitters Shipyard, Catalina has returned to Pendennis Falmouth and Pendennis Vilanova for multiple refit projects, most recently in 2024 in Falmouth, and earlier this year for a post-Med pitstop in Vilanova before heading over to the Caribbean. Supplemented by a small team from Falmouth, Catalina undertook aftersales works, taking advantage of the flexibility that our Spanish base provides. She then crossed the Atlantic to compete in the Antigua Superyacht Challenge, with two members of the Pendennis hydraulics and electrical teams on board to provide technical race support. Although there is no overall winner of the regatta, at the end of the week she was awarded the highly prized Gosnell Trophy - presented to the yacht which competed in the Spirit of the Regatta as voted for by the competing yachts and the race committee.
Catalina is currently listed for sale with Pam Barlow at Luke Brown Yachts and Bruce Brakenhoff at Edmiston.