Heesen’s Solemates features a host of personalized upgrades and design enhancements. Captain Robert Frost shares what will set her apart.
Captain Robert Frost — yes, he’s heard the poetry jokes — grew up in a beachfront home in Durban, South Africa, spending much of his time on or in the water. “I learned to surf before I could walk,” he says with a laugh. “My dad would take us out on his board and push us into the waves, while my mom yelled from the beach, asking what he was doing with the kids.” It was a fitting beginning for someone who would go on to spend life at sea. Robert is now captain of the newly launched Solemates, a 180-foot Heesen that will serve her owners as well as charter guests.
Robert’s early years were shaped by freedom and structure in equal measure. He was sent to boarding school at the age of seven, attending Kearsney College in the hills outside Durban. It was there he first discovered sailing, racing Lasers as part of the school’s extracurricular program. But his connection to the sea ran far deeper than after-school activities. “Our backyard was the ocean,” he says. “Fishing, surfing, boating — it was just part of life.”
After school, Robert stayed in Durban, running his own construction business, and in his spare time, sailing along the South African coast. “I had a great life in Durban, but there weren’t many opportunities left for me,” he says. “So I bought a one-way ticket to Europe and started again.”
He landed in the South of France in 2007 and scored his first yacht job within 48 hours — on a classic 92-foot wooden sailing boat. Just three years later, he was in command of Quid Pro Quo, a 98-foot Benetti, leading one of Camper & Nicholsons’ busiest charter boats in the Med. “It was a great size for a first captaincy — not too hard to drive and lovely owners,” Robert recalls. “We built it into a really successful program.”
More busy boats followed, including the custom Baglietto Club M and then a rotation role aboard an Amels 55 with a longtime friend — though that one didn’t last. “He’d been with the owners for eight years already, so it was tough to build my own relationship there,” he says. “But that’s yachting — you live and learn.”
Robert joined Solemates in January 2025, brought on through the Luxury Yacht Group, which project managed the build and manages the crew and operations. The boat’s performance impressed him from the start. “We pushed her hard coming down from the Netherlands to Gibraltar — 19 knots in four-meter seas,” he says proudly. “She’s got great seakeeping and is surprisingly nimble for her size. One of the best hulls I’ve worked with.”
Solemates is a refined, second-generation version of the Dutch yard’s 55-meter Steel series, reimagined by long-time owners with the help of Omega Architects, Luca Dini Design and their trusted team. While based on a proven platform, the yacht integrates a host of personalized upgrades and design enhancements, reflecting the owners’ evolving lifestyle and tastes. Omega Architects gave the exterior a sleeker, more contemporary profile with uninterrupted floor-to-ceiling glazing and a bold new “shark tooth” detail, while the reworked layout includes a fixed balcony off the owner’s suite, a six-cabin configuration, a larger sundeck with DJ booth and a redesigned central staircase tailored for long-term use. Behind the scenes, technical upgrades such as elastic-mounted gearboxes and improved shaft couplings deliver a quieter, smoother ride — coming in at five decibels below target throughout.
Inside, Luca Dini Design layered smoked oak, alabaster, custom carpets and hand-picked marbles to craft a richly textured interior, with every loose furnishing replaced post-contract to reflect the owners’ personal taste. From a walk-in beach club fridge to custom bridge tables and convivial salon layouts, every detail supports how this family lives and entertains at sea.
While her contemporary exterior and interiors (with ample natural light and a relaxed feel) will appeal to charter guests, it’s the crew that Robert believes will set Solemates apart. “You can have bad weather, patchy internet, even a toilet that’s acting up — but if you’ve got great crew and great food, guests will still have a brilliant time.”
Luckily, Solemates is well-equipped in both departments. Chief among the talent is chef Ryan Squires, a Michelin-level chef who keeps a low profile but dazzles with his culinary prowess. “One minute he’s quietly prepping in the galley, the next he’s shredding on a sailboat or teeing off at golf,” Robert says. “He’s full of surprises.”
As for the crew quarters? “They’re better than most,” he says. The new 55m Steel layout was re-designed with a forward staircase that allows direct access from the crew area to the sundeck, streamlining service. The main-deck pantry was also enlarged to offer more prep space and storage.
Charter bookings are already rolling in, with the first trip taking place in August 2025. Robert plans to make it a standout season — and then, perhaps, shift his own home base. Though he’s lived in the South of France for years, he no longer feels rooted there, nor entirely connected to his native South Africa. “It’s a strange feeling, like I belong everywhere and nowhere,” he reflects. He’s recently hired an architect to build a beach house back in Durban. “I don’t know when I’ll get to use it properly, but it’s a project close to my heart,” he says.
For now, there’s plenty of sea left to roam. “That’s what I love about yachting. You can have your routines, but every day holds the possibility of something unexpected,” Robert says. “And that’s what keeps it exciting.”
As the poet Robert Frost once wrote, it’s the road less traveled that makes all the difference — and for this captain, choosing a life in yachting was just that: a path that’s led to a career rich in adventure, challenge and reward.