Captain Tom Francis (ULTIMATE LADY) Interviewed About the South Pacific

Launched on superyachts.com, the final episode of their Australia InDepth documentary explores Tahiti, Fiji, and New Zealand, showcasing these as not to be missed yachting hubs and bucket list destinations for most Captains.

On Tahiti, Captain Tom Francis shared that, "as a yachting destination , it offers incredible diversity. It's paradise. Each archipelago has its own paradise, its own unique beaches.''

What makes this destination even more special to him? The people. "One of the reasons we've stayed so long is the people. Local French Polynesian people are fantastic. It's proven through the history of time, of sailors visiting Tahiti and the islands making great friends."

He also shared why charter guests enjoy this destination so much: We are getting more and more requests to go beyond (...) and explore further... so many times people have commented that this is the best diving they have ever experienced, which is pretty cool. There's a lot of great surfing, remote scuba diving, a lot of places people have not been before which opens up to a pretty special trip. In Tahiti, you can have the civility of a European village but within a day's cruising you can be on one of the most remote islands on the planet.''

In his interview, he speaks about New Zealand with the same affection. They're two things about New Zealand: rugby and boating. New Zealand as a boating, fishing, sailing culture is engrained. The Hauraki Gulf, as simple as being close to Auckland, has a fantastic number of islands and anchorages to visit, whether you want to be remote in Great Barrier Island or visit Waiheke and go and sample some of the vineyards. Obviously, there is the Bay of Islands, called the Bay of Islands for a reason, with just an unfathomable number of islands, anchorages and spots you can experience, snorkel, scuba dive, hike (...) these are cruising grounds everyone should see once in their life.''

To watch the full episode:

About Captain Tom Francis:

Since the launch of ULTIMATE LADY in 1998, Tom worked his way up through the ranks, from deckhand to gaining his Captain's and Engineer license. In 2001, he was offered the position of Captain. Tom has operated the ULTIMATE LADY throughout the South Pacific, cruising the East Coast of Australia to Lizard Island, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour, Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, Norfolk Island. The last 10 years have been spent extensively exploring remote French Polynesia, throughout The Marqueses Islands, Societies, Austral Islands, Gambier, Tuamotus and Rapa in the very south. With a growing family in Tahiti, Tom now calls French Polynesia home.