One of the largest luxury sailboats in the world spent the weekend in Auke Bay.
The 295-foot, three-mast Athena has 2,500 square feet of sailing power. It was one of several large yachts that dominated the Statter Harbor breakwater over the weekend.
The schooner is reportedly owned by James H. Clark, a founder of Netscape and Silicon Graphics. He helped design the ship, built by Royal Huisman Shipyard in the Netherlands.
The British-flagged Vibrant Curiosity anchored outside the breakwater. The 280-foot super-yacht was built by Oceanco Shipyard, also in the Netherlands. It has a swimming pool on the deck, sleeps 18 passengers and a crew of 26. Its MTU diesel engines cruise up to 20 knots and can go 5,500 miles on one fill up at an average speed of 14 knots.
The Vibrant Curiosity was in Seattle’s Lake Union in mid-June, where KING-TV reported it was being readied for a cruise to Alaska.
German billionaire Reinhold Wuerth reportedly purchased the Vibrant Curiosity for $100 million.
The Lady Christine was the yacht with the helicopter seen in Auke Bay.
The 223-foot motor yacht also was designed and built in the Netherlands, and launched in 2010.
According to Charterworld.com, it’s owned by Scottish businessman Lord Irvine and Lady Christine Laidlaw, who have built a number of sailing and motor yachts. He apparently has some international racing triumphs and has been described as a “Monaco tax exile.”
The Cayman Islands-flagged 147-foot Cracker Bay used to be called the Campbell Bay. It’s most recent claim to fame came during the last presidential race, when GOP candidate Mitt Romney used it for an exclusive event to thank supporters who’d contributed at least $1 million to his campaign, according to ABC News and Mother Jones. It’s owned by Gary Morse, developer of the Villages retirement community in Florida.
