Spare a thought for the really rich mega-yachtsman, with all the toys the Marketeers provide him with: swimming pool, jacuzzi, dance floor, aquarium, grand piano, satellite TV and high-speed Internet, music studio, cinema, library, casino, gymnasium, hospital, big-game fishing cockpit, diving gear, golf range, clay-pigeon shoot, underwater lighting, parascending, water-skis, night-vision gear, armoured Hummer or at least a beach buggy, motorcycles, various tenders, jet-skis, hot-air balloon, helicopters (his 'n hers), seaplane, mini-submarine, sailing boat, beaching craft, etc. His latest giga-yacht is already so much larger than his previous ones, and still space is short; just like the man whose wife continues to buy art so he needs a villa with masses more walls to hang all the pictures. Bigger yachts have much more trouble finding space in harbour, so many have to anchor off - not so popular with crews. And however big the yacht, it is generally still restricted to only 12 passengers.

The solution is a basic baggage yacht, to follow the owner's superb flagship around and carry all the spare gear, the string of polo ponies, the ten-pin bowling alley (not so easy to bowl at sea as in the excellent 30-lane Nice-Acropolis AMF ten-pin), the bodyguards and the spare concubines. A real market has developed for such craft, a pioneer being the Middle-Eastern owner of Nice-based Golden Odyssey, who for many years has kept his seaplane etc onboard the more basic Golden Shadow. And Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen is now reported to need a “shadow yacht” for his huge (413-ft) Octopus, often seen off his Cap Ferrat villa; maybe the old (1928) honeymoon yacht of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace: M.Y. Deo Juvante II (now Zein), which is currently for sale in Florida. It would be nice to see her back here, even for baggage.
Either convert an old workhorse for this role (consult John Hughes & Associates in London) or contact Shadow Marine in Fort Lauderdale FL for a new-build to your own specifications.

 John Hughes Yachts    +44 207 691 7477 / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Shadow Marine    +1 954 779 7099 / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

From Riviera Reporter N° 115 -  June/July 2006

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