Yachts of dreams
Chris Hogan, 8th August 2013, Boat
Has the global economic downturn caused a slowdown in the yacht one-upmanship game that's been played with increasing vigour over the last decade or so?
Early in June Roman Abramovich launched his latest toy, a 557 foot long yacht reported to have cost £300 million. The generally held belief is that the super yacht had primarily been built to dwarf the 'Dubai', owned by competitor oil magnate and that country's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
At 525 feet long the Dubai was previously the largest private yacht in the world. To put that into perspective, an aerial photo on the yacht's Wikipedia page shows it docked around the corner from an American aircraft carrier. There isn't a great deal of difference in size.
Customer Satisfaction
Abramovich, best known in the United Kingdom as the owner of Chelsea Football Club, is estimated to have a personal fortune of £7.7 billion, having lost nearly twice that in the global downturn. The super yacht was already on order and Abramovich obviously decided to complete the deal, but it hasn't all been plain sailing.
When you're one of the richest people in the world you have high expectations but rumours abounded of problems close to launch. Sea trials showed vibration problems, leading to a broken mirror and unsettling rattling of crystal glasses in the dining rooms. On a more serious note Abramovich is said to have complained that one of the two helicopter pads is in the wrong place. Oh dear.
The Geek Yacht War
Yacht one-upmanship isn't restricted to oil magnates. The battle between uber-geeks Paul Allen (Microsoft) and Larry Ellison (Oracle) resulted in the construction of numbers six and nine in the super yacht top ten.
Paul Allen's Octopus was built in 2003 after the dust had settled from the burst dotcom bubble. The world's biggest yacht when launched and still one of the largest privately owned yachts, Octopus was commissioned after Allen had cut his teeth on the Tatoosh, a mere 301 foot long and now the 26th largest (or 27th, depending whose list you are reading).
The Oracle v Microsoft wars had been going on through the Nineties. They were more often held on the computing product battlefield and Oracle usually came off worse. Ellison enlisted the help of music mogul David Geffen to ensure this was one battle he'd win. They are now co-owners of the Rising Sun, a comfortable forty feet longer than the Microsoft founder's toy.
Which yacht is the best depends on your personal preferences; the Rising Sun has a basketball court on the main deck, which doubles as a helicopter pad when those pesky celebs come visiting. But for underwater exploration Octopus comes with two submarines, one remote controlled for just viewing.
Design Parameters
Not everyone thinks that size is the only thing that matters. There is a growing trend for innovative design rather than sheer size, using big names in the design world who aren't usually associated with yachts.
Architecture firm The Norman Foster Partnership have designed the 40 Signature Series for UK builder Yacht Plus, a dramatic, sleek shape with acres of glass, decking and luxury space over four decks. Nearly two million euros will buy you an eighth of it on a 'fractional ownership' basis (nothing as gauche as a time-share in the super yacht world, darling).
Even more dramatic is the A, designed by Philippe Starck. The hull appears upside down, giving it a look more akin to a submarine with a huge conning tower than a conventional super yacht. The arrangement means there's a little less space than in a more traditional design but A can still comfortably accommodate fourteen guests and thirty-seven staff, in an extraordinarily lustrous interior. And there are three swimming pools with whirlpool currents to swim against, one of which has a glass roof.
Don't Forget Running Costs
Of course it's not just the expense of building one of these yachts that you have to stump up for. All that luxury has to be cleaned and polished so there's the staff to be paid for, seventy on Abramovich's Eclipse. In fact the staff to guest ratio for super yachts generally runs at about three-to-one. Staff uniforms on Candyscape, a small but designer-conscious yacht available for charter at £165,000 per week, are designed by Alasdhair Willis, Stella McCartney's husband.
Then you've got the maintenance and servicing of all the toys, the mini-submarines, jet-skis and tenders, not to mention the pools, whirlpool baths and spas. Just to fill the tanks of Pelorus, Abramovich's second largest yacht (only number fifteen in the world super yacht table) costs £73,000. The total running costs for the Rising Sun are estimated to be US$13 million every year.
This is not the life of a mere lottery winner. Membership of the super yacht club is only available to unbelievable rich people. Although showbiz celebs are often seen on deck, none of the top thirty in the world super yacht table are owned by celebrities - they are all owned by business owners or heads of state.
So if you fancy a super yacht and haven't been born into the royal family of an oil-rich nation then you'd best get entrepreneurial.
