Posted on 07/02/2020 1:01:34 PM PDT by 2Dreamin
Are you tormented by the question, ''Is this the summer I should have bought myself a 200-foot oceangoing motor yacht?''
I ask myself this question every time I sail out of the Belle Haven Marina here on the placid Potomac in my 19-foot rental Flying Scot and snag the centerboard in the muck of the ever-lengthening sand bar south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
But my answer, which is also invariably the answer of my bank, is always a resounding ''No!''
These enormous, opulent tubs are certainly impressive (a 200-foot coal barge, I might add, is also impressive, especially when bearing down on you from the stern quarter), but they`re so damned boring, or as my friend Margaret the Smith Girl would say, simply too, too unamusing.
What you essentially do on them is sit around and drink-an inactivity that can be indulged in far more interestingly in any corner tavern on the Northwest Side of Chicago, without all that queasy bobbing up and down
(depending on how many shots-and-a-beer you`ve had to drink).
Arms mogul Adnan Khashoggi tried to make life more interesting aboard his 292-foot motor yacht Nabila by installing a sun deck acrawl with naked nymphets. But to frolic with the nymphets, you had to buy thousands of cases of AK-47s and white phosphorous grenades from him. I, for one, have all I need.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Nice read. It brought back memories of Mike Royko and happier days.
I miss the 80’s.
Thanks.
Sounds like something that could have been written by Taki!
Bookmark
Go to youtube and look up megayacht or superyacht. Lots of tour videos of 300’ behemoths that makes Khashoggi look like a piker.
These barges are so huge they defeat the purpose; boarding one is like walking into a corporate office building. There’s no sense of being on a boat.
They cost millions & are designed solely to impress one’s mega-rich associates.
Had I the desire or the money, I’d want a boat that required no paid crew. Maybe about 40 ft max. HVAC, TV, indoor plumbing, internet and....... wait a second, that’s what I have in my house!
Believe I’ll stay home.
;^)
“wait a second, that’s what I have in my house!”
Yeah, but if the zombie apocalypse happens, I’d rather have the boat.
Forgot the ping.
Carry on.
Basically a moveable party palace.
It actually makes some sense to me. Some of the most desirable places to party are on the coast and if you can move a party palace designed to your specifications to a destination you can fly to, then how great is that.
It's no longer about boating. It's about having your own hotel that you can move about at will like a chess piece.
“ It seems like these boats get moved around from harbor to harbor mostly with just the crew.”
I was involved with some work done on Paul Allen’s super yacht Octopus. That is exactly what the crew told us; Allen never sailed on the boat, he would meet it and stay on it. That boat would amaze you with the features. The crew told us it cost over $50,000 a month to operate, not including fuel. Very, very secretive. You can’t find interior pictures anywhere.
I have. cousin who was on a construction crew that Gates has permanently employed working on his house. While the pay was good, he eventually quit because even if the pay is good, it ran against the grain to be spending too much of his life pampering a rich guy’s nonsensical whims.
That’s the difference between an employee and a slave.
I’ve never understood “boat” people. And I like to drink.
Crew videos are more interesting than the tours. Recruiting & hiring, how the galley is staffed, the engine room (my favorite).
One captain broke down operating costs; fuel, maintenance, dockage, customs police of the Caribbean, can you bring guns aboard (answer: no, your ship is searched at every port of call).
Another captain answered the obvious question about all those pretty women on megayachts. They’re escorts, and that cost is factored in, too.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: “The rich are very different from you and me.”
Ernest Hemingway: “Yes, they have more money.”
Come to think of it, I’d much rather have an adventure boat like his 38’ sport fisherman.
If bad actors know I have a very expensive boat and no guns to protect it, then that seems to be a very bad situation.
I understand that occasionally people out on pleasure trips to remote places go missing. I'm sure those people would have liked to have had some guns.
Are boaters just expected to put out a distress call and wait for the Coast Guard?
BTW, how difficult would it be to conceal guns in some sort of metal box deep within the engine compartment that would be near impossible for inspectors to ferret out?
Cynical of me, but those third world Caribbean customs police see “rich white man shakedown” whenever a megayacht enters their territorial waters.
Palms are waiting to be greased. Finding guns means third world jail.
“This is our country, white man!”
Laney had a few arresting assets in her grab bag.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.