When it comes to Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, and his 127-meter giga yacht, currently known as the Oceanco Hull Y721, the hype that creates the news is absolute. The news that has made “the bang” in recent days is that the third richest man on the planet according to Forbes, will have the historic iron bridge Koningshavenburg De Hefdi, a symbol of Rotterdam, dismantled and reassembled at his own expense. his sailing yacht from the shipyard to the sea.
Once launched, Oceanco Hull Y721 will be the second largest private ship in the world after “A”. Designed by Doelker + Voges, Sailing Yacht A, this is its full name, was designed, based on an original idea by Jacques Garcia, by the archistar Philippe Stark for Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko. He is a Russian industrialist who in the Forbes 2021 ranking slipped out of the top 100 in the list of the richest, with an estimated net worth of 25.4 billion. Built at the Nobiskrug shipyard, in Germany, launched in 2015, Sailing Yacht A was equipped with a very modern rig, designed by Dykstra Naval Architects: it is equipped with 3 huge masts, including the master that reaches a height of 91 meters , able to explain a sail area that exceeds that of a football field. It seems to have cost 425 million euros.
Sailing Yacht A, photo Nobiskrug
So the first images of the new Oceanco Hull Y721 are back in these days among the trends and topics of the web. On the other hand, it is one of the few things to write about this combination of estimated records, since no one knows exactly, per million dollars, how much the assets of the American magnate are or how much his boat will cost him, around the which a cordon of confidentiality was drawn at the moment impenetrable. Some hypothesize around 250 million euros but not knowing the set-up it is impossible to arrive at a more certain estimate.
Black Pearl, photo by Oceanco
Oceanco Hull Y721, from what can be seen from the photos, is a three-masted schooner, probably with a steel hull and aluminum superstructures, a schooner of which, in fact, nothing or almost nothing is known, not even the rig, or what configuration the sail plan. Some hypothesize it will be very modern, the same as the current second largest sailing yacht ever built, Oceanco Hull Y712 – it was launched in 2016 for Oleg Burlakov, a Russian entrepreneur active in the banking, cement and natural gas sectors, who recently passed away from Covid. -19 – which then took the name of Black Pearl. Oceanco Hull Y721 will take away the scepter of the largest pleasure ship propelled by square sails, as well as that of the flagship of the Oceanco shipyard and of the largest yacht ever built in the Netherlands. Black Pearl, 106.7 meters long,
Maltese Falcon, Perini Navi
Also designed by Dykstra Naval Architects, the Black Pearl rig has three 70-meter (230 ft) DynaRig carbon masts, rotating to facilitate the use of its 2,900 square meters of sails at any pace. This sail plan is also known as Falcon Rig because it was brought to its debut in 2006 by one of the most iconic boats in history, Perini Navi’s Maltese Falcon, sixth in the ranking of top sailing yachts. The fully power-assisted and automated sail and mast management system on Black Pearl is capable of unfolding all 2,900 square meters of sails in just 7 minutes. If Oceanco Hull Y721 were to use the same type of rig, growing in size and tonnage, estimated at around 3,500-4,000 GT, everything would be destined to grow.
EOS Lurssen, photo Lurssen
Others, however, imagine that the Oceanco Hull Y721 rig will be classic, complete with bowsprit, like that of EOS, the 93-meter Lurssen, fourth in the world by length, which belongs to Barry Diller, tycoon owner of Fox Broadcasting Company and CEO of IAC / InterActiveCorp, a media complex that holds, among other things, web giants related to travel and leisure, such as Expedia and TripAdvisor. Designed by Bill Langan, while François Catroux signs its interiors, EOS was also launched in 2006, becoming the family boat of the American tycoon, hitherto never chartered. A practice, that of chartering, instead often used by the owners of pleasure boats, to offset the annual management costs that for yachts like EOS, are pharaonic, is estimated at around 15 million a year.
Athena Royal Huisman, photo Royal Huisman
Another mega yacht that may have inspired Bezos in choosing his ideal boat is Athena, launched in 2004, built by the Dutch of Royal Huisman, in fifth place among the largest sailing ships. This project is also a reinterpretation of the classic schooner by Pieter Beeldsnijder Design and Dykstra Naval Architects. She is 90 meters long, has three masts as high as 20-storey buildings and a total of 2,500 square meters of sails with power-assisted and automated management. The classic style of the exteriors remains very faithful even inside the boat: a triumph of solid wood, an ode to the boiserie and mahogany furniture, which really leaves the scent of the boat of yesteryear in each of the six cabins available, all with en-suite bathrooms.
Other information estimated for Oceanco Hull Y721, Bezos’ yacht, concerns the crew, which should be around 40, and guests: up to 18 could be accommodated for the night, including the owner’s suite.
DAMEN Yacht Support YS 7512, layout not final
International media have also reported that, in addition to Oceanco Hull Y721, the owner of Amazon has at the same time ordered, also in the Netherlands, from Damen, what is technically defined as a shadow boat or a custom-built shadow ship to contain all the toys and tenders. of the main yacht, including a large helicopter. The ship should be able to accommodate a total of 45 people including staff, crew and guests, and is intended to support the mother ship Oceanco Hull Y721 during long cruises away from ports. It would be the Hull 7512 project, currently under construction, which with its 75 meters in length and 1,900 GT in tonnage will become the largest ship in the Damen Yacht Support range.
