Shiver me timbers!
The boat in the background is Paul Allen's Octopus:
Posted on 07/29/2005 8:26:58 AM PDT by spetznaz
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Imagine yourself cruising the high seas in a lavish, super-secret ocean-faring vessel complete with a remote controlled undersea rover, a 12-man submersible and a personal crew of 60, including several former Navy Seals and a recording studio.
No, you're not 007's nemesis in some 1970s James Bond flick. You're aboard Microsoft (Research) co-founder Paul Allen's $200 million private yacht.
Details about the 416-foot boat, named Octopus, are hard to come by. Spokespeople for all the boat owners in this story declined to comment. One even asked if this was an investigation into executive compensation. Of course it isn't -- it's simply an unabashed celebration of maritime largesse.
But according to various reports, Allen's Octopus is what's called an expedition boat, its high bow allowing for better handling in rough seas and icy waters and equipped for travel to remote places. It has two helicopter pads (where else would guests land their chopper?), one on the bow and one astern. A garage near the rear deck houses a four-wheel drive vehicle, which can be transported to shore via a specialized landing craft.
The submersible -- yes that's right, submersible -- which is said to be able to stay under water for up to two weeks, launches through a hatch in the bottom of the hull. The former Navy Seals are presumably there to fend off pirates, or just in case you run into a real-life Dr. No in some forlorn corner of the South China Sea.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Shiver me timbers!
The boat in the background is Paul Allen's Octopus:
Waterworld redux ping.
Paul Allen has fun.
I wonder if Bill will ever regret the amount of time at teh office he puts in?
We should just give the plans for these yachts to the Chinese, so they can make $10,000 versions we can all enjoy. Sure, they'll be a little chintzier, but who wouldn't want a $40 submersible and a $80 helicopter on his bigass yacht!
You want to see SUPER yachts. Go to Monaco ni the summer time. Their tender boats are bigger then 95% of the yachts we have in our harbor.
It's Paul Allen's money and he can spend it as he sees fit. If I had a couple hundred extra mil laying around I'd do it too, and be off to the South Seas pronto!
If only I'd been born a few years earlier and offered to share a soda with Bill...
I saw one of these last week in the Virgin Islands. It was about the same size as the town I grew up in.
The people who know how to live (billionaire style) are Larry Ellison, Sir Richard Branson, and HongKong Billionaire magnate Li Ka-shing. Whether it is flitting around in a personal Mig-29 Fulcrum, owning hideaways in exotic locales, or living in a state of opulence that wopuld make Croesus quiver or (especially in Ka-Shing's case, or several of the newly-minted Russian billionaires) having not just wealth but real tangible power, any of these men could make Ian Flemming rewrite several of his Bond characters (were he alive that is). And hey, it would be great having a Yacht that can look down on many ships.
Hey, I never said he couldn't. In fact if I were him I'd probably get a bigger boat (just in case I run afoul of Moby Dick and need to ram him in the noggin'). I never criticized him in any way manner or form.
Some made here in Wisconsin
http://www.palmerjohnson.com/
You're welcome.
Wouldn't it be loverly, - to own one of these babies.
Sigh.
Back to work. Bigger sigh.
ping
WoW.
What is the range on that baby?
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