This monster arrived in our small harbour today

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

A product of many years of Communism where everyone is equal. I can only assume that every Russian has a big boat

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

We get quite a few of similar "super-yachts" coming into Cairns here, owned by guys like Rupert Murdoch, Microsoft founder Paul Allen etc. Pricetags of $150 million and upwards are not uncommon. They support a small but growing local industry catering to them, doing maint/repairs, upgrades, crewing etc. Some very expensive designer interior decorating goes into them too. And they bring some very cashed up VIPs to the area who then splash their cash about on local luxury tours etc It's quite a lucrative business apparently.

No more sickening than one of us driving a $20,000 car while children die of malnutrition worldwide. To the starving child, $20,000 is the same as $150 million. I'm sure they view us just the same as Mr Murdoch or the Russian.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Of late I look aghast at charity organisations, In Kenya I participated in a drop of bags of maize to an area and a village completely cut off by floods. Triple bagged the maize was dropped and then a few months later I traveled through the area and was amazed to see bags of maize lying in grass sprouting through the sack. We went to the village and asked why they had not picked up the maize and the reply was, 'You did not send a lorry to bring it to us'

A while later I met the Swiss company who supplied filtered water kits and swimming pool size storage, they lived in luxury on the top floor penthouse apartments in the best hotels. That is not charity. Parties every night.

In contrast I also visited the El Molo who live on the edge of Lake Rudolph, they were very pleased to receive from me a pile of 1/2" steel bars to make harpoons for catching Nile Perch, a staple of their diet. I call that a useful charity.

Women with children let the dogs lick clean the babies bottom, also they drink water from wheel ruts in the tracks.

I think the principle of Oligark's is to get out of Russia with as much loot as they can, they feel safer away from their mother country, today sees the fact that there are more Billionares in the UK than anywhere else nearly all Russian. Bill gates is giving his money to Malaria research and other diseases.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

Our harbour was `done up` , to attract tourists but we the council tax payers dont even have a public toilet in the town ,whilst the yachters! have a specially built toilet and washroom facility on the harbour side.

I being old fashined prefered the old working harbour along with all the old mining .rail and large tower silos that used to be there holding phospate minerals from Africa. I remember as a kid sorting through the pils of dust looking for fossil sharks teeth etc..

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I remember my sister telling of when they met up with ?? Murdock's yatch in Fiji when she and her hubby were cruising in the area in 2006.

One of my nephews, a cabinet maker was fitting out luxury yatchs in Brisbane for a number of years.

Ian S C

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Robert Maxwell had a yacht…

Neil

[fivethou hammerParticipant @fivethouhammer12006]

Nice boat. I bet his lathe is not a Warco……..

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 09/05/2017 13:30:34:

Robert Maxwell had a yacht…

Neil

I bet he didn't make his handrails on a Warco

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

Posted by fivethou hammer on 09/05/2017 13:55:26:

Nice boat. I bet his lathe is not a Warco……..

And I bet his boat anchor isn't a Super Adept

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

Will He buy a magazine subscription while He is here?

[Antony PowellParticipant @antonypowell28169]

proberbly already got a digital subscription so he can view it on his 120 inch TV

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Here is Folie a Deux the 16m power cat built by my brother in law, it has a pair of 150hp Volvo diesels, and a cruising speed of 9kts. My sister and brother in law were cruising up in the islands in 2005.

It now lives in Australia, northern NSW I think.

Ian S C

[thaiguzziParticipant @thaiguzzi]

Posted by fivethou hammer on 09/05/2017 13:55:26:

Nice boat. I bet his lathe is not a Warco……..

Nope, he's got a restored Monarch 10EE. Obvious, innit…

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

There are always people who know how to spend other peoples money and I often wonder how much they gave to help others!

Brian

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

For my brother in law's boat, the lathe and mill were mine, I suppose I was a subcontractor. Of the visible parts, drilling the holes in the stainless steel stanchion for the hand rails, among many other bits and pieces.

Ian S C

[Cyril BonnettParticipant @cyrilbonnett24790]

This one popped up in our small harbour

Edited By Cyril Bonnett on 19/05/2017 22:02:21

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

Posted by David Standing 1 on 09/05/2017 09:54:37:

Posted by Robbo on 08/05/2017 21:25:26:

It makes me feel physically sick to see this and know that children around the World are dying of malnutrition.

It is cruel, but it is nature's way of finding a balance.

Though he could just spend the money himself to feed them.. it's not like he couldn't if he did want to.

People can have a fairer society, but unfortunately they're going to have to find the will to choose it, the communists tried to force it on people and it led to disaster, and eventually corruption.

Personally I don't believe in enormous amounts of (though some justified) government intervention.

Michael W

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

This was my only venture into boat ownership, after three years afloat. Another two years in the garden and we sold it to a Geordie.

My stepson has got a Dawncraft in rather better fettle.

My other stepson used to have (indeed live on) a narrowboat. He loves boats, sailed two up from Grenada to the UK, used to work at a marina and has now joined a company that services bigger boats – he will be working on HMS Queen Elizabeth when it's commissioned later in the year!

Neil

[Marcus BowmanParticipant @marcusbowman28936]

I console myself with the thought that the annual running cost of a large Paul-Allen-style boat is approximately 10% of its running cost. Paul Allen owns TWO of the world's 100 largest super yachts. Octopus cost $200M and Tatoosh cost $160M, so the annual bill just for his water-borne transport is, er…, enough to keep the economy of a small country afloat.

I have to say that, like Neil, I do rather like those big boats.

That's clearly an aspirational statement, because all my yachts are currently models under 1metre. I need to think bigger.

Marcus

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