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What am I missing?? Is it the crisis???

3K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  SailNet Archive 
#1 · (Edited)
What the hell...

Look what's for sale now....first the Maltese Falcon, then Mirabella...

HERE

Are these guys all losing their shirts???? aren't they satisfied with they have?? Want more?? what the hell....so much famine in the world....

what am I missing??
 
#2 ·
Sorry G-. I jsut got tired of having to buy all those red jackets for the crew. How many red jackets can a guy be expected to buy every year? It is time to down size to my other boat. I do like red you you know.
 
#3 ·
There was an enormous S/Y in the harbor in St Thomas called the Mirabella a few weeks ago. I don't recall it having a white hull however. It looks like the one for sale is the Mirabella V. I need to take my camera over to Crown Bay and take some photos to post here of some of the larger S/Y.
 
#4 ·
I cant seem to locate a picture of that pretty twin wheel 3.000.000 blue job you would buy...:p

But I know what you mean...
 
#6 ·
At a guess, I'd hazard these guys were never really sailors at heart. The boats they commissioned were monuments to their own egos, something complicated and tangible to spend money on, markers in the pissing contests the rich have always engaged in. Palaces and pyramids. Perhaps at a deeper and more charitable level, they see a sailboat as objects of liberation and calm, something to might balance the frenetic,cut-throat, greed-driven pace of their business lives. "Just get me out of this boardroom and onto a sailboat, kicked back listening to Jimmy Buffet and drinking milk outta coconuts."

Of course they get it all wrong, falling straight back into their Type A habits. Gonna go for a sail? Then by God build me the biggest, gaudiest, most high-tech and expensive mega-sailboat ever! I want swimming pools. Tennis courts. A minisub. Two. A crew of hundreds.

Then it turns out to be expensive to own, not very much fun, hardly relaxing at all. The very rich have short attention spans and are never satisfied. So it's on to the next monument. What about the giant sailboat, sir? "Sell it. I'm on to the next pissing contest." Not sure they ever really understand, It's Not About the Boat.

There are some big, splendid, expensive sailboats represented on this forum. But the difference between their owners and, say Tom Perkins? I bet if all they could afford was a 25' Catalina circa 1985 ... they would still sail the hell out of it. Not to impress anyone, not to salve something missing in their life, but out of sheer love for the wind and water. They are sailors. Joe Vittoria's just a guy who made a bucket of money renting out cars and wants everyone to know it.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Bob,

1/2 the analogy is 100% on point. The other half is, when you have that kind of money - those monstrosities are tax right-off(s). Most of those mega yachts are owned by businesses and not the actual individual (or in some kind of business partnership). They are usually chartered, or sailed around as means for conducting business, etc...

The good points on the process is that it really pushes the R&D aspects of design.

However, having to personally know a mega yacht owner ... its a toy and what else do you do with the crapola of money one makes, one has to spend it somewhere. They use it for a expected adventure and off they go (but the tax right off is a huge incentive in doing so)... they know they sell at a loss but its part of the rites of passage of being able to say you can do it, 2 years later - dump it on the market... most spend more on the crew to upkeep and staff the yacht than they almost do the payments of such....
 
#11 ·
They could buy mosquito nets for people dying of malaria. They could provide free HIV medication for anyone who needs it. They could quietly underwrite the arts, support job-skills training for the people their ruthless outsourcing put out of work, endow scholarships for the next generation of citizens. All of the above are tax write-offs as well. As for using a 415 foot yacht for business meetings -- see "rich idiots trying to cow and impress other rich idiots" comment. Real business can be conducted in a corner deli, in a laundromat.

I ain't a fan of Bill Gates, but he and Melinda have done genuine good with their Foundation. On his side, Gates' compadre Paul Allen built the Octopus -- perhaps because his Tatoosh (301 ft) and Meduse (200 ft) just weren't, well, yachty enuf.



Story for you, regards a very high-ranking software honcho. He and trophy wife were building a trophy home (their fourth such mansionette) in Montana. A mere 10,000 sqft, many millions of dollars. They wanted it to feel 'lodgey' -- including interior log facing with the bark left on.

Guy I knew went up there to work as a finish carpenter. Said the owners flew in on one of their jets (had two) to check progress. Looked at the bark in the great room, said "It's a bit too rustic. Take the bark off." So they did. Scraped and varnished the logs. But understanding who they were dealing with, the builders peeled the bark off in order, numbering and stacking each piece.

Owners flew in a couple weeks later, said "It's funny, it looked better with the bark on." So the carpenters glued each piece of bark back in place. "Sixty dollars an hour," is what they chanted to themselves. "They're a**holes, but this bark is putting my kid thru college. Sixty dollars an hour."

It was never about tree bark, or aesthetics. The couple will probably spend one month a year in this lodge. It's about having so much money you can do anything you want on a caprice. Also reminding everyone in the vicinity who holds the aces. For some people, that's a reasonable definition of freedom or happiness. Other people find those qualities in a 10x10 ft cabin they built by hand, or in a gaff-rigged catboat they bought with lawn-mowing money.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Bob,

I enjoyed your commentary, and agree with many of your observations. One guy that comes to mind as an exception is Larry Ellison, who -- whether you personally like the guy or not -- has real sailing credentials.

One other point is that some of these guys aren't as "liquid" (forgive the pun) as you might think. Much of their net worth is derived and calculated based on stock that they own, even future options. If their stock tumbles in value (see e.g. Bear Stearns) so do their personal fortunes. I wouldn't be surprised if many megayachts were not purchased with cash but instead were collateralized by shares rather than the vessel itself -- which could lead to margin calls if the stock tumbles. I guess this is what Giu was implying in his thread title.

Giu,

The stern of Artemis is growing on me. Do you have any other photos showing the boat in profile, etc ?

P.S. Here are some more reasonable options:

A more manageable size, but built in 1949!? -- 1949 MEGA SAILING YACHT S/711039 Boat For Sale

At least this one is brand new -- 2008 Bloemsma Classic Schooner Boat For Sale
 
#15 ·
Okay, thanks. I didn't realize the links were the same boats as Artemis. I like the paint scheme on Artemis best.

I don't think I'd want to own one, but I'd really like to sail on a boat like that someday, even just around the buoys once. That would be a treat.:)
 
#17 ·
Gui-

These guys bought their boats to impress their peers...not really to sail them.
 
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