10/10/2007 10:21:00 AM What being a computer genius can buy you Spectacular boat, which has being turning heads in St. George’s, is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen
Is it a cruise ship? A luxurious ferry? No, it’s a $200million private yacht, owned by Paul Allen, the seventh richest man in the world. The boat is pictured in St. George’s Harbour. Photo by James Whittaker.
If you checked out the harbour in St George's this week you could be forgiven for thinking there was a third cruise ship in town.
In fact the 400-foot yacht - complete with it's own helicopter and submarine - is a private vessel, owned by multi-billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Awe-struck bypassers in the Old Town have been snapping pictures of the yacht all week. But any hopes of getting onboard are swiftly stifled by a no-nonsense security guard manning the gangway, when it is in port.
The Octopus is understood to be here as part of an ongoing project at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences. Details of Mr Allen's involvement in the project were not forthcoming from BIOS yesterday, but his submarine is believed to be involved in an ongoing project to to investigate the deep reefs of Bermuda.
The boat - the fifth largest personal watercraft in the world - is a legend on yachting websites where brief details of its 'toys' are available.
As well as its two helicopters, seven boats and 10-man submarine it reportedly has a remote controlled vehicle for crawling on the ocean floor and is crewed by former navy seals.
It is said to be worth $200 million and to cost $20million-a-year to keep in the water.
Not that Mr Allen is struggling for cash. According to Forbes he is worth more than $20billion and is the third richest man in America and seventh in the world.
He also owns two other monster yachts, Tatoosh and Meduse.
