The Eclipse Anchors In Bermuda

Photo: Eclipse docked in St George's on Tuesday. Photo by Gillian Outerbridge

'World's Biggest Private Yacht' In Bermuda -- Bermuda Sun

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30: A multi-million dollar motor yacht cruised into St George’s Harbour yesterday morning.

The Eclipse was built for Russian billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich in 2010. The mega-vessel is believed to be the world’s largest private yacht and reportedly comes complete with helicopter pads, mini-submarine and German-built missile defence system.

Eclipse pulled alongside at Penno’s Wharf at 8am and is expected to make the trip around Hamilton Harbour later this week. The Sun understands that the yacht, which is flagged in Bermuda, is hoping to anchor at Salt Kettle later in the week.

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Editor: For more photos of 'The Eclipse' go here.

Super Yachts Are Now A 'Tough Sell'

'Super-Yachts' Are a Tough Sell to the Newly Rich -- CNBC/Reuters

The glamour, champagne-soaked launches, astronomical price tags, and celebrity clients belie a mounting unease in the world of "super-yacht" building, according to industry insiders.

The billionaire financier clients of the pre-financial crisis world are fewer. And the new rich of Asia with the kind of money needed to spend at least $100 million on a holiday gin palace just aren't that into boats.

"The business has been going through a lot of change in the past four years," says Henk de Vries, head of shipbuilder Feadship, which recently completed the 80-meter (yard) Venus motoryacht, reportedly ordered by the late Applefounder Steve Jobs and impounded in Amsterdam for unpaid bills.

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My Comment: I guess money is getting tighter.

12 Best Yacht Video Shots Of 2012

Yacht Builders Pin Hopes On Super Rich (Video)

From Reuters: Jan 18 - The glory days of the great shipyards are long gone but an increasing appetite for superyachts from the world's wealthiest is providing vital new business for today's ship and boat builders. Hayley Platt reports.

Johnny Depp’s Yacht Vajoliroja Is Available For Charter

Rent Johnny Depp’s Yacht Vajoliroja -- Business Insider

Did you know that you can rent Johnny Depp’s Yacht Vajoliroja?

Indeed, you can… Burgess Yachts rents the Depp yacht for €98,000 (approximately $130,000) per week in the high season and €84,000 (approximately $110,000) in the low season.

Depp named the yacht “Vajoliroja” — a combination of the first letters of the names of his family: Longtime girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, (“Va”), himself (“Jo”), his 10-year-old daughter Lily Rose (“LiRo”) and 8-year-old son, Jack (“Ja”.)

Depp often takes the Vajoliroja on trips to his private island in the Bahamas, Little Hall’s Pond Cay.

Last summer, the actor set sail with Vanity Fair editor Douglas Brinkley, along with three of Depp’s best friends, for a trip to the island.

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Editor: Vajoliroja's website is here.

LoveSail.com Connects Sailors With Their "Sailing Soul-Mates"

Photo: Wendy Robson-Burrell and Ian Morris.

Lonely Sailors Search Online For Love On The High-Seas -- CNN

(CNN) -- When Ian McLaren-Morris named his 12 meter yacht "Silver Slipper," he never could have known it would bring him a real life fairytale romance.

The divorced father-of-two had long dreamed of sailing around the globe with his very own Cinderella; a soul-mate who shared his love of the ocean and sense of adventure.

But finding a special woman willing to quit her job and say goodbye to her family and friends for a romantic voyage into the sunset wasn't quite as straightforward as the 52-year-old had hoped.

Like a growing number of single people across the world, McLaren-Morris searched for love on internet dating websites. Two years later and the sailor was still no closer to finding his seafaring sweetheart.

It wasn't until McLaren-Morris signed up to a website catering specifically for boating enthusiasts, LoveSail.com, that he found the woman of his dreams -- 45-year-old former superyacht hostess Wendy Robson-Burrell.

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My Comment: The website LoveSail.com is a smart idea. Kudos to the developers.

A New Marketplace For Yachts

Photo: RobW_/Flickr

Live Out Your Jay Z Fantasies With Incrediblue, a Marketplace for Yachts -- Wired

With the havoc wrought by superstorm Sandy still fresh, and winter storms Athena and Brutus threatening, it’s a safe bet that sailing a luxury yacht across the Aegean sounds downright heavenly. Sure the economy may be in shambles in that part of the world, but the highs are in the 70s this week in Athens, Greece, where a startup called Incrediblue is launching a boat rental marketplace akin to Airbnb, but at sea.

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My Comment: Incrediblue's website is here.

Sailing Like A Boss

Photograph by ALEX THOMSON RACING

Building A Superyacht - Designing From The 'Inside Out'

From YouTube: The management of Arista Marine Ltd openly debate issues of Superyacht construction. How Superyacht values are calculated, how the builders and designers can deliver a yacht that really fits the owners needs, and what is the difference between a yacht builder and a shipyard. http://www.theroadlesstravelled.eu This segment discusses the theory of designing a superyacht from the Inside Out

Behold The World’s Finest Superyachts

Tango Dutch yachtbuilder Feadship took home the Motor Yacht of the Year award for Tango. The 252.8-foot yacht was launched in April of last year and features accommodations for 12 guests, an owner's deck, beauty salon, massage parlor and an outdoor movie theater. Despite all that weight, four engines propel the Tango to a top speed of 22 knots.

Beauties Of The Sea: Behold The World’s Finest Superyachts -- Wired

Even among the most luxurious of pleasure boats, some yachts are finer than others. And the finest of them all win the coveted Neptune Trophy, given out at the World Superyacht Awards.

The ceremony recognizes the ultimate achievements in superyacht design. To qualify in any of the various award categories, yachts must be over 30 meters in length and must have been delivered to their owners in the past 12 months.

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My Comment: My favorite superyacht is this one.

Incredible Racing Images From The Sea

Malta photographer Kurt Arrigo leaned out of a helicopter to capture this stunning picture of the Rolex Volcano Race, winner of the World Yacht Racing Forum Image of the Year competition.

Capsized Ships And Battered Rigs: Incredible Racing Images From The Sea -- CNN

(CNN) -- A line of sailors teeter on the edge of a giant yacht, peering down at the blazing orange island reflected on its lurching hull.

The sailboat slices through the gray Mediterranean, passing the Italian island of Capri at just the right moment to catch a dazzling silhouette on its exposed underbelly.

It's an incredible image, captured by Malta photographer Kurt Arrigo as he leaned out of a low-flying helicopter during the Rolex Volcano Race earlier this year.

Arrigo has just been named winner of the prestigious World Yacht Racing Forum Image of the Year competition in Gothenburg, Sweden, chosen from an elite pool of internationally renowned sailing photographers.

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Super Yachts Made In Italy: Benetti And Ferretti Group

Larry Ellison's Yacht 'The Musashi'

The Musashi, whose owner is Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corp., is 288 feet long and five stories high. Ellison bought 98 percent of the Hawaiian island of Lanai last year. Pacific Business News

Editor: For more info on this yecht, go here and here (photo gallery included).

Taking A Cruise In A Luxury Yacht

A Cruise Ship? I'd Rather Set Sail Around The Greek Coast In My Luxury Yacht... -- Daily Mail

The sky was inky blue and filled with stars - the sort of magical sight you never experience in light-polluted London. As we lay there gazing upwards, the movement of the yacht rocking in the wind seemed to make them dance.

Sleeping under the stars is one of those must-do things, but these days I am way beyond roughing it. Luckily, as SeaDream II sailed overnight from Santorini to Hydra, we were as far away from a hippy experience as you could possibly imagine.

Wearing monogrammed Sea Dream Yacht Club pyjamas, my partner Grant and I were tucked into a Balinese dream bed on the top deck. By day they're for lounging on, but at night, by request, they come complete with a vast white duvet and pillows. We drifted into a deep sleep and woke as dawn turned the sky a glorious pink.

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My Comment: The concept is smart. Why be on a cruise ship with a thousand people .... something smaller will be more appealing.

What Is A Yacht?

A yacht can be any kind of pleasure boat, but Americans associate the term with large luxurious vessels. Photo by Paul Vinten/iStockPhoto.

What Is a Yacht? -- Slate

And when did owning one become a symbol of wealth?

A 38-foot ocean yacht sank off the shore of Palm Beach, Fla., last weekend. What is a yacht? A sailboat or motorboat used for recreation. Most yachts are privately owned and big enough to contain a cabin, but even small, cabin-less dinghies are sometimes described as yachts. The Dutch term jacht, meaning hunt, originally applied to light sailboats that were used to pursue pirates. Such boats eventually gained popularity as leisure vessels, and the term was anglicized in the 17th century when King Charles II returned from his exile from the Commonwealth of England—part of which he had spent in Holland—with a newfound passion for yachting. The term later came to be associated with steamboats and motorboats that were used for leisure purposes, and during the Gilded Age, yachts became a status symbol among wealthy Americans. J.P. Morgan, for instance, owned a 240-foot yacht, the Corsair (which was later acquired by the U.S. Navy and converted to a gunboat). Yacht clubs—exclusive associations of yachtsmen—also became popular around this time and helped associate yachting with wealth in the popular imagination.

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My Comment: A good summary on what is a yacht.

Inside Simon Cowell's £270,000-A-Week Super Yacht

Inside The Music Mogul's Mega-Yacht: Simon Cowell And Entourage Of Exes Languish In Luxury On Board £270,000-A-Week Floating Palace -- Daily Mail

It's his home from home while he holidays in St Barts every year. So it's no surprise that Simon Cowell's £270,000 a week super yacht is decked out with every possible luxury for his group of friends, his mum and his exes.

The music mogul has been spotted languishing on the deck of the 196ft Slipstream yacht, which sleeps 12 and is moored just 200 yards off shore, while he suns himself with his nearest and dearest.

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My Comment: Vacationing on a super-yacht for three weeks off St. Barts .... sighhh .... now that's a vacation.

Designing Super Yachts

Superyachts: Floating Works Of Art

Life Of A Superyacht Chef

A superyacht chef's day will normally begin at 6am, preparing meals for around 12 guests and eight crew members on a vessel up to 60 meters long.

Life Of A Superyacht Chef: Dream Job Or Nautical Nightmare? -- CNN

( CNN) -- Delivering five-star meals to a restaurant of hungry customers is a daunting prospect for any chef.

Now imagine having to create the same top-class dishes in a floating galley just four meters wide, with no staff or a supermarket in sight.

Such is the challenge for the superyacht chef, expected to create sumptuous meals around-the-clock for an elite clientele accustomed to the very highest level of culinary expertise.

  It's a grueling vocation, catering to the unusual variety of whims of both guests and crew while also acting as the kitchen's cleaner, waiter and book keeper.

But as many superyacht chefs will tell you, it's also a rare dream job which can pay up to $13,000-a-month and enable the lucky recipient to travel the world aboard a luxury vessel.

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My Comment: There is no question about it .... you have to be good.

A Yacht Chef Shares Her Recipes

A Yacht Chef Shares Recipes For An Elegant New Year’s Party -- Miami Herald

To help us leave a stormy 2012 behind and enjoy smooth sailing into the New Year, we turn to yacht chef Marianne Gardner.

She has spent over two decades on boats traveling through the Caribbean and Mediterranean, around French Polynesia and New Zealand as well as crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. And now she’s dropped anchor in Fort Lauderdale just in time to share her ideas for a New Year’s Eve feast.

You’ll find her recipes collected in Menus and Memoirs of a Yacht Chef, a self-published cookbook. It was four years in the making and contains more than 100 recipes and many memories.

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My Comment: The few recipes that are provided looks very good to me.

Leonardo DiCaprio And Margot Robbie On The Same Yacht

Cruise time: Margot and her friends took the boat out for a cruise around Sydney harbour

It's The Love Boat: Margot Robbie Fuels Romance Rumours As She Boards The Same Super Yacht As Leonardo DiCaprio -- Daily Mail

Rumours of a budding romance first started when they began filming The Wolf Of Wall Street together.

And now Margot Robbie has added more fuel to the fire by boarding the same boat Leonardo DiCaprio was partying on just days before.

The Australian actress was spotted aboard the super yacht in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday with a group of friends.

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My Comment: If they were together at the same time on this yacht .... that will be another story. But they are not .... and that says evcerything that I need to know.

Top 10 World's Largest Yachts For 2012 (Video)

Battle Of The Mega Yachts

The tycoon was forced to moor his white luxury yacht Eclipse, top, just a stone's throw away from the huge blue ship owned by Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, bottom. And with the two yachts anchored side by side in front of the harbor Gustavia, the battle was on for which billionaire has the nicest boat with the most luxury, helicopters, and jet skis.

Battle Of The Mega Yachts: Roman Abramovich Takes On Qatari Royal Billionaire As They Moor Their Enormous Private Ships In Caribbean Island Of St Barts -- Daily Mail

* The Chelsea football club owner travelled to the island on his £1billion yacht Eclipse for his New Year's Eve party at his luxury 70-acre estate
* But fellow guests - such as Qatar's Prime Minister - had already got the best spot in their own super yachts

He's used to having the best of everything, so it's unlikely Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich enjoyed battling for space to anchor his super yacht off the coast of St Barts. The tycoon was forced to moor his white luxury yacht Eclipse just a stone's throw away from the huge blue ship owned by Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. And with the two yachts anchored side by side in front of the harbor Gustavia on the Caribbean island, the battle was on for which billionaire has the nicest boat with the most luxury, helicopters, and jet skis.

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My Comment: The above pic is something that is not seen very often. Still looking for a video .... when someone uploads it on YouTube or equivalent, I will be posting it here.

Helicopter Landing On The Megayacht 'The Eclipse'

My Comment: What surprised me about this landing was how quick it was done.

Leo DiCaprio And Jonah Hill Know How To Party On Board A Luxury Yacht

Sightseeing: The luxury yacht took Leo and Jonah passed some of Sydney's most famous landmarks like their world famous Opera House

Having Fun, Boys? Leo DiCaprio Treats A Shocked Jonah Hill To Wild Yacht Party Crammed With Topless And Bikini-Clad Beauties -- Daily Mail

We all know that Leonardo DiCaprio is this generation's Jack Nicholson when it comes to playing the field with young, attractive women. But on Saturday, the 38-year-old lothario decided to treat his Django Unchained co-star (and new BFF) Jonah Hill to a wild yacht party in Sydney, and the antics left Hill, 29, blushing. The older man negotiated the many scantily-clad women with ease and didn't bat an eyelid as some of the girls got a bit wild and started stripping their tops off.

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My Comment: If you want to party .... on board a luxury yacht is the place to be.

Cross The Ocean On The Modern $21 Million 'Streamline'

YACHT OF THE WEEK: Cross The Ocean On The Modern $21 Million 'Streamline' -- Business Insider

When you spend millions of dollars on a luxury yacht, you do not want to be confined to a single region. With the "Streamline," you won't be: Its 85,000-liter fuel tanks provide a range of more than 4,000 miles. That's more than enough to cross the Atlantic, or spend an entire vacation on the open water. The yacht, built in 2009, has a lap pool, an elevator, and enough room for 10 guests. There's a large master stateroom and guest accommodations that can be arranged to feature three, four, or five cabins.

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My Comment: I would rather swim in the ocean than have my own swimmong pool .... but aside this very small detail, she is a beaut.

A Tour Of The Superyacht Leander

From YouTube: LEANDER is arguably the most impressive and luxurious yacht available today for charter. She offers sumptuous accommodation for a maximum of twelve guests in a choice of ten cabins. She is run by a professional and experienced crew of 26, headed by a British Captain. In addition to a choice of spacious saloons and huge, well-appointed deck areas, a range of amenities are on offer including a fully-equipped gym, swimming pool with counter current and Jacuzzi jets, satellite television and a huge array of water sports equipment, including new tenders. The yacht is constantly maintained to the highest standards and her equipment is regularly updated. Communications on board are, of course, among the most sophisticated.

Editor: For more info on the 246' superyacht Leander, go here.

The Super Yachts Invade St. Barts For New Years

Luxury Yachts Make Waves In St. Barts As High Rollers Ring In The New Year With Lavish Parties -- Culture Map Houston

ST. BARTS, French West Indies — The countdown to 2013 began here several days ago when the gilded swans of the sea began gliding in, anchoring in the azure waters of Gustavia Bay. On the eve of New Year's Eve, the local yacht registry recorded 130 vessels, 17 of those in the super-yacht category (measuring 200 feet or more in length). And a handful of Texans were floating along with the best of them. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones anchored in aboard the 290-foot Nirvana (for sale for $300 million and change). His arrival later than most due to the Cowboys/Washington Redskins game Sunday night. The tariff for a week on that floating behemoth will set you back a cool 1 million euro.

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My Comment: 17 yachts larger than 200ft. .... now that's impressive.