‘Tis the season my friends! We just had our first megayacht visit St. John marking the beginning of season for some.
So I happened to be out and about on a News of St. John Island Tour yesterday afternoon when I past Round Bay out on the East End. The bay was quiet and still with not a boat in site. We cruised to the end of the island, took a few pics at Privateer Bay, and then we headed back toward Round Bay.
To my surprise, a huge megayacht had arrived in the bay in just that short time! It was quite large and very pretty, you know if you’re into yachts that cost $275 million. Pocket change for many of you, I’m sure – haha.
Wanting to know more, I opened up my Marine Traffic app on my phone and learned that the yacht was named Ulysses. (Want to know more about this app and how to get info on the boats you’re seeing in the water? Click here to read a story we wrote about this back in 2014.)
So Ulysses, I quickly learned, is 380 feet long. It can accommodate 30 guests and has 48 crew members. The yacht was completed last year for New Zealand’s wealthiest resident, billionaire businessman Graeme Hart. However Hart didn’t keep the yacht long, according to superyachtfan.com. Earlier this year, he sold the yacht to Russia’s most influential tech investor, billionaire Yuri Milner. Milner was an early backer of Facebook and Twitter.
This isn’t the first time we had a Russian megayacht visit St. John. Back in April, the world’s 9th largest yacht spent some time in the waters around the island. It was extremely impressive to see in person. Click here to read all about that. And then back in January 2015, we had a Russian billionaire and his 370-foot megayacht visit. It even had a 72-foot sailboat on it plus a 68-foot powerboat, two helicopter pads and a Landrover, so he can explore the places he visits. Click here to read all about that.
I love seeing all of the mega yachts visit St. John during season, which clearly just started. 🙂 These people have the money to visit any place in the world, and they choose to come here. That’s pretty cool in my book.
That’s all we have for you all today. If we have any other cool boats visit us, and I’m sure we will, I will definitely tell you all about it! In the meantime, have a great day everyone!
Jenn…these articles are so interesting! You go in such detail, too, to educate those of us that Love the Island but can’t relate to the ‘mega wealth’ ~ we All Love to Dream though, don’t we? Thank you for keeping us “in the know”!!
I know you had mentioned before about another ferry that leaves from St. Thomas…I forgot who it was could you give me the name of the company again please…thanks.
30 passengers and 48 crew. Wow. You would have a bushwhacker in your hands 24/7!!!
Thank you for sharing. Love learning about yachts.
In my opinion the most impressive yacht sailing the Caribbean (BVIs) in the winter and the Mediterranean in the summer is the Sea Cloud. https://www.seacloud.com/en/yachts/sea-cloud/ It’s a 360 ft wooden windjammer, built by Marjorie Merriweather Post and EF Hutton in the early 1930’s. The only thing electronic on the yacht is the door to the wine cellar in case there’s a fire. Of course, modern amenities have been added, i.e. AC.
All the sails are unfurled manually which takes about 45 minutes. It’s a site and sound you will never forget. The history of the yacht is impressive as well. If interested, look it up. Too just interesting facts to outline.
Polluter.
Mary Clementine I agree! Waste of money and resources.