Octopus yacht

Octopus Yacht Attempts the Northwest Passage

In California yacht watchers have been checking out the A yacht but far north a different yacht has been turning heads. CBC news says that the Octopus, Paul Allen's megayacht, has shown up in the High Arctic hamlet of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, on its way through the Northwest Passage. The 413-foot yacht has filed plans to attempt the Northwest Passage with the Canadian Coast Guard. The yacht has a 59-foot tender and a remotely-operated submarine as well as a twin helicopter hangar and two helipads. Even for a yacht this well outfitted, the Northwest Passage can be dangerous. Many vessels have run aground in the Arctic waterway. Luckily the ship has a strengthened hull for navigating the Arctic waters. It's not known if owner Paul Allen is on board, he's had his hands full lately with a patent infringement lawsuit that has him taking on Apple, Google and Facebook.

Tags: northwest passage, octopus yacht, paul allen

The Classicist: The World's Greatest Luxury Yachts

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Books, The Classicist

In the rarefied world of mega yachts, the ultimate achievement is to have one designed by a certain Norwegian genius named Espen Oeino. The world's top star in naval architecture, Oeino's megabucks creations "combine the precision of fine machinery with indulgent finishes and the high-end amenities of a palace." When German luxury publisher teNeues opted to focus a volume in its amazing Luxury Toys series to the world's greatest yachts, it was quickly decided to dedicated the entire book to Oeino.

Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts showcases 20 of the Monaco-based Oeino's stellar creations accompanied by text from top yachting author Nick Jeffery, the most respected authority on luxury watercraft. Among the megayachts featured is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's 413-ft. Octopus, the 8th largest yacht in the world and the second largest superyacht that is not owned by a head of state. The nine deck ship cost $200 million to build and has an annual operating budget estimated at $20 million.

Designed for self-sufficient long range cruising, the Octopus contains a wet dock for a 59-ft. tender and an equally large remotely-operated submarine that can descend to 2500 meters, a twin helicopter hangar and two helipads, countless giant antennae and a telescopic sonar, a cinema and music studio. Another Oeino creation featured in the book is the military-looking 233-ft. SKAT, pictured above, built by Lürssen of Bremen, Germany for Charles Simonyi, a former Microsoft software engineer and pioneering space tourist. The yacht features an elevator serving all four decks, a gymnasium, matching helicopter, and motorcycles with a special lift.

Gallery: Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts