Amazon founder, space enthusiast, and the third wealthiest man in the world Jeff Bezos has a parking problem with his mega-yacht.
At a Florida marina this week it became apparent that the $500m ship was too big to be moored with the other private yachts at Port Everglades.
At an impressive 417ft in length, “Koru” — the Maori word meaning new life or regeneration — had to be moored alongside oil tankers, container ships and the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship.
Port Everglades is a major gateway for Caribbean cruises and international trade, but the yacht section cannot accommodate vessels larger than 400ft.
At just over that length (almost twice the length of an Airbus A380 or equivalent to four blue whales) other accommodations had to be made.
A spokesperson for the port told The Times that it was in an area for energy ships and that when such large yachts come into port, they are docked wherever there is space.
Koru came into port last week from Gibraltar and with three masts is the second-largest sailing vessel in the world after Sailing Yacht A, owned by Russian fertiliser billionaire Andrey Melnichenko and designed by Philippe Starck.
Jeff Bezos’s yacht named Koru is seen docked at Port Everglades
(Getty Images)
While it is pipped in length, it is nevertheless the tallest sailing yacht in the world with its masts reaching 230ft into the air.
Despite its enormous size — or perhaps because of it — Koru has a support vessel, the Arbeona, on which Bezos keeps his helicopter, jet skis, and luxury cars. That 246ft boat is docked four miles away at Dania Beach.
It costs an estimated $25m per year to staff and operate Koru, which has three decks and a pool. The Amazon founder proposed to fiancée Lauren Sanchez onboard over the summer after five years of dating.
Jeff Bezos takes a photo of Lauren Sanchez on his yacht in Portofino, Italy
(GC Images/Getty)
During an interview with Vogue, Sanchez was asked about her apparent resemblance to the figurehead of the yacht — depicting a woman carved in the style of a Roman goddess with long hair and a flowing gown — after press suggested that it was a carving of her. However, according to Sanchez, that speculation is not true.
“I’m very flattered, but it’s not,” she said, before adding that the figurehead was one of Bezos’ favourite mythological figures, Freyja, the goddess associated with love, sex, war and gold.
She also poked fun at what the statue would look like “if it was” her, as she jokingly made the gesture of having larger breasts.
Bezos and Sanchez recently announced they are relocating from Seattle to Miami to be nearer his mother and adoptive father who are both in their late 70s.
The billionaire has bought two neighbouring properties on Indian Creek Island alongside Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Tom Brady, and Norman Braman, who owns the Philadelphia Eagles.
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