You can now live life like Paul Allen on Microsoft cofounder's luxury yacht for '£1m a week'

The Microsoft founder who isn't Bill Gates, Paul Allen, died in 2018 of complications from cancer. Since then, his greatest excesses – like a MiG-29 fighter jet – have been up for grabs. The latest statement of multibillionaire indulgence to be sold is Allen's "explorer class" superyacht – Octopus – which has gone to an …

[Jellied Eel]

Lend-Lease gorn mad?

He used it to survey the wrecks of the USS Lexington off the Australian coast and USS Hood in the Straits of Denmark, the latter sunk by the German battleship Bismarck during the Second World War.

The Royal Navy may disagree with that designation. But it was fun watching Octopus arrive in London during the Olympics as it barely fit through the dock gates. Also used to think it was a pretty fugly ship, until I was chatting with some of the crew who explained it was a 'proper' explorer yacht, complete with all sorts of fun oceanographic survey toys.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Lend-Lease gorn mad?

But the 2nd World war was solely John WayneTom Hanks vs the Germans wasn't it ?

[Francis Boyle]

Re: Lend-Lease gorn mad?

Not to mention it's the Denmark Strait (between Iceland and Greenland) not the Straits of Denmark which presumably are between Denmark and Sweden/Germany. Yes the Denmark Strait is somewhat inappropriately named but since it's right next to Greenland that's par for the course. Probably named by the same real estate sales-Viking.

[Anonymous Coward]

whatever it is you nerds get inordinately heated about

I get inordinately heated about twats spending millions to celebrate their birthday.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: whatever it is you nerds get inordinately heated about

Think of it as siphoning money between millions of low paid consumers and 1000s of low paid service workers.

The celebrity is just a pipe.

[Imhotep]

Re: whatever it is you nerds get inordinately heated about

Not to mention all the people employed in building it.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: whatever it is you nerds get inordinately heated about

The good old Keynesianism...

[NoneSuch]

Feel Free To Contradict me...

But I thought I read he had two identical Octopus yachts. One in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific to avoid unseemly transits.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Feel Free To Contradict me...

>he had two identical Octopus yachts. One in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific to avoid unseemly transits.

With Unix he could have just had a symlink

[NoneSuch]

Re: whatever it is you nerds get inordinately heated about

Yes, a makeup saleswoman who does not need a drop of it.

Oh and Linux Mint is the obvious fave distro... (Running like the wind cackling like a mad person!)

[Snake]

Re: whatever it is you nerds get inordinately heated about

I'm waiting for the inevitable request tweets from "influencers" looking for free travel in exchange for "great exposure!"

[Lucy in the Sky (with Diamonds)]

Thinking Big...

Yet again, people are not thinking big. I am more along the lines of renting the USS Nimitz Carrier Group (CSG-11 to its friends and family), so I can engage in my favourite hobby of regime change in nearby island nations.

If I pick the right islands, and the crew performs to SLAs in a timely fashion, the rental will pay for itself, so to speak.

Rise, Lex Luthor, Ruler of Australia…

I did always like seaside real estate...

[Brewster's Angle Grinder]

Think big: think Kiwi.

Wrong island nation. Given rampant climate change, head a bit further south into more temperate climbs,

[Anonymous Coward]

But does it run Windows for warships !?

[Paul Herber]

"It turns out if you go 1,000 ft down in the ocean, it's really dark, and the animals are really strange. But if you put on some Pink Floyd, it's fantastic."

Sounds like one of Neil's lines from The Young Ones.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

anonymous Scandinavian buyer for a cool £200m

Had the British Government bought it, it could have saved the public purse at least £50milion on Boris' latest vanity project. It can still save at least £250 million by scrapping the daft idea

https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/29/inflation_starts_to_bite_price/

[czechitout]

Or we (I am using the royal we here) could book 250 weeks on this bad boy. How much time does the Govt spend schmoozing Saudi arms dealers anyway?

[Anonymous Coward]

Tips

So it's just a charter yacht now. Don' forget: Tips not included.

[elsergiovolador]

Scale

This shows you a scale how the workers are shafted. They could easily pay more to the staff, but they chose greed.

I am of an opinion that companies, where workers cannot get ends meet and the owners casually go to space, should be closed.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Scale

Well, the crew are handsomely paid. And tax was optional up until a few years ago.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Scale

>They could easily pay more to the staff, but they chose greed

Yes this was built on the backs of 1000s of starving developers in Redmond

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Scale

Just because you can be comparatively paid more than others it does not mean you cannot be exploited.

Is there like a threshold above which you cannot be a victim?

[Pascal Monett]

Ask Bezos

[elsergiovolador]

Well, it's quite fascinating how people defend those big corporations knowing they are being underpaid. Textbook cognitive dissonance.

[Will Godfrey]

I can't think of a holiday venue I'd want less.

... and that's not sour grapes. I really can't imagine spending time being waited on hand and foot, while unable to just step out of the door and go for a walk - countryside preferable.

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: I can't think of a holiday venue I'd want less.

When I was working in Brazil the client took me to a restaurant. On arrival there were two stunning young ladies whose only job was to open the front doors for customers. The service and the meal were excellent and the prices similar to a good restaurant back home. The entire time I felt uncomfortable about the huge gap in wealth between me and the majority of the locals that I met (and I never when anywhere near the really poor parts of the city). It must take a really special kind of character to remain a billionaire.

[werdsmith]

Re: I can't think of a holiday venue I'd want less.

You don’t have to travel far. I’ve done work jollies where we were put up for a couple of nights in 5 star hotels in Park Lane. Having people fawning all over the place trying to do stuff and show you around the place is really very uncomfortable for me. I don’t need or want servants. I’d choose Premier Inn over The Dorchester if they were the same price.

[Pascal Monett]

Re: It must take a really special kind of character to remain a billionaire

Oh I'm sure the money helps.

[Kane]

Re: I can't think of a holiday venue I'd want less.

"It must take a really special kind of character to remain a billionaire."

I would imagine those same qualities in order to become one in the first place.

[Pascal Monett]

Re: I can't think of a holiday venue I'd want less.

For a holiday, I completely agree with you, I'd go anywhere but on a boat.

But for a nice evening out with the missus, good meal, pleasant view ? I could do with that every now and then.

Except for the bill, obviously. I'd have a bit of trouble tipping . . .

[Kane]

Re: I can't think of a holiday venue I'd want less.

"Except for the bill, obviously. I'd have a bit of trouble tipping . . ."

Oh, that bit's easy. You just push them over the side. Robert Maxwell style.

[AMBxx]

Re: I can't think of a holiday venue I'd want less.

I stayed in a top hotel in Switzerland. The waitress would follow you to the salad bar, wait for you to have picked your salad, then carry your plate back to your table while you followed. Just felt creepy and fawning. Not for me.

That said, if that's your thing, then go for it.

[Winkypop]

Start up and shut down sounds?

Captain Clippy at your service!

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Start up and shut down sounds?

Crash, screech!

Clippy: We have hit an iceberg. Let me send an SOS

[Dinanziame]

The issue with sleeping in crew quarters is that a lot of the crew is probably not optional; you need people to do the work as well...

[batfink]

And I'd guess that the crew may object to having hairy x0-year-old nerds like me crawling into their bunks with them...

[John Brown (no body)]

"And I'd guess that the crew may object to having hairy x0-year-old nerds like me crawling into their bunks with them..."

On the other hand, you know what they say about sailors. It might be the hairy nerds in for a shock!

[Pascal Monett]

Indeed, my thought as well.

Unless, of course, the people sleeping in the crew quarters understood that they were the crew.

I don't think that would work very well.

[Aladdin Sane]

£1m a week

Cheaper than Cornwall this summer.

[Dom 3]

Really available?

AIUI the first thing you do with a superyacht is list it as available for charter, as there's a huge tax advantage. And then any enquiries are deflected with "sorry, not available that week".

[Anonymous Coward]

I just want to know how to pronounce the designer's name - Espen Øino

Espen Zero-ino?