Superyachting
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Wed 8 Feb 2012 12:32
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St Maarten is able to attract large numbers
of superyachts because of its large protected lagoon. The wealth tied up
here, on an otherwise quite poor island, is astonishing and constitutes a
big slice of the economy. A 'superyacht' is a vessel over 30m long. Last
year there were only 173 new ones launched worldwide (cf the peak of 260 in
2008). But never mind, their combined length rose from 20km in 2010 to 23km
in 2011. The super-duper rich appear to be doing OK.
The world's biggest private yacht, Roman
Abramovich's 164m 'Eclipse', was launched in 2010 at a cost of $660m.
It has such essentials as a hair salon, mini-submarine and not one but two
helipads - presumably to avoid congestion on deck as guests arrive and
depart. You can charter 'Eclipse' if you want, for $2m per week (including
75 crew).
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