“I love the fascination of being on the water and the sense of adventure,” Hill told Boat International in 2023.
He was a keen angler and Northland, where he grew up, was home to one of his favourite fishing spots, in the Far North.
“At the tip of New Zealand is a beautiful beach called Spirits Bay,” Hill told Boat International in 2023.
“It’s a very sacred place and off that beach is some of the best fishing I’ve ever experienced.”
Hill only killed fish for food, saying “if we are not careful, our children will not see fish anymore”.
To help satisfy his love of on-water adventures, he and wife Lady Christine Hill commissioned The Beast as a custom project.
It was to be an upgrade from the couple’s first foray into superyacht ownership, which had been with the 34.2m VvS1.
Hill had loved boats – he owned at least 11 and built at least six.
Sir Michael Hill at the bow of The Beast as it travels alongside Beach Rd, Onerahi, in December 2020. Photo / NZME
The Beast was designed by Kiwi naval architecture firm LOMOcean Design and was completed in 2019 by New Zealand-based Profab Central Engineering.
A year later The Beast won a World Superyacht Award from Boat International, considered among the most prestigious accolades in the worldwide yachting industry.
The judges praised the superyacht’s camo-style paint job for disguising its luxurious interior by giving it the appearance of a small warship or patrol vessel.
Hill, in a 2019 interview with Boat International, acknowledged The Beast may not be the best-looking boat.
“ … It’s called The Beast for a reason,” he had said.
The Beast pictured in Whangārei in 2020. Photo / NZME
Hill had wanted a low-key exterior given the upkeep involved in glossy boats and the fact once you’re on board you can’t see the sides.
“Though even I can’t pretend this one is low-key – it’s probably going to turn heads everywhere, regrettably,” he told Boat International.
And The Beast did. Summers in Northland were often marked by online posts concerned about the warship-like vessel spotted offshore.
No one could tell from the outside that inside the craft, five luxurious staterooms boasting either king beds, bunk beds or twin beds – and one of which features a walk-in wardrobe – were ready to host 12 guests.
Meals, some cooked with the Teppanyaki grill on board, could be enjoyed at three separate outdoor dining areas across different decks.
Hill had always found enjoying downtime on the water important, so it is no wonder The Beast is equipped with kayaks, paddleboards, waterskis and a wake board, 12 sets of scuba gear, snorkelling equipment, a Schiller Bike pedal-powered catamaran, and a sport fishing set-up.
A key feature is the 13m “Baby Beast” – a 19-ton tender with twin beds, ensuite, galley, bar and sheltered seating. Hill had lauded it as the perfect craft for fishing adventures.
Hill had shared how The Beast had taken he and his family as far as Tonga and Fiji and that he had fished some “amazing bays” along the way.
The vessel made headlines in 2023 when it played a role in rescuing a crew member from another vessel off the coast of Fiji.