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Tatoosh: The secrets of Nobiskrug's 92m superyacht

When it comes to adventure, Tatoosh has done it all. Her captains and commissioning owner reveal her secrets to Sam Fortescue

If you don’t recognise Tatoosh from a distance, you probably don’t know yachting.” Captain Richard Hielckert doesn’t mince his words, although it’s a 20-year-old boat he’s talking about. From the 12-metre racing sailing boat she carries as a toy to her classically elegant silhouette and twin helicopters, 92 metre Tatoosh has always stood apart.

But to regard her as old would be a big mistake. Shell doors, a swimming pool, owner apartment, cinema, sauna – Tatoosh is bang up-to-date. “She is a timeless boat that has always been at the forefront,” he continues. “She stands out from the majority of boats that all look the same. There are lots of new boats, but they all look like wedding cakes, with maximum interior on minimum exterior. When those boats sit at anchor, you see them swinging and rolling while Tatoosh is still.”

After a recent massive refit, this iconic yacht is in better shape than she’s ever been in her life, featuring the latest audiovisual system Omniyon by YachtCloud. At the time of writing, she was also for sale, which explains why broker Burgess hooked me up with some of the key people aboard to find out more. It is a rare glimpse inside a boat that has been owned by two of the most successful figures in IT.

Tatoosh ’s story begins in the late 1990s, as her prospective owner’s fortunes rode high on the technology boom. Craig McCaw was in the vanguard of the mobile phone revolution in the US, and his companies sold for billions of dollars to some of the biggest names in telecoms – AT&T and Sprint.

His vision was for a yacht that would provide the ultimate home away from home for his family and a platform for a really ambitious cruising programme with lots of toys. “ Tatoosh should feel gracious like a home and also cosy,” says McCaw as he recounts the trials and tribulations of building her. “She should also feel more beachy than yachty. The philosophy was she should be built around tenders and helicopters.”

Renowned German designer Claus Kusch got the project off the ground. “He was the general contractor who chose how to build her,” recalls Gary Wright, build skipper and project manager for the yacht, and now head of Y.CO. “Claus really was the driving force behind the whole build.” This was in the years before he partnered with the Peters Werft yard and began building on his own account. He selected the booming German yard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) and work began at its smaller Rendsburg site, known as Nobiskrug.

At first Jon Bannenberg was involved, but he and Kusch did not see eye to eye. “This idea of creating curves and lines that are pretty was anathema to Kusch,” says McCaw. “We’d do everything three times until somehow it got right, but it was a continuous war with Jon.”

Helped by Bastiaan Sonneveld and Joost Beekman , Kusch drew the understated lines and exterior design of Tatoosh , as well as her naval architecture below the waterline. Kusch passed away in 2004, after the project was delivered, but he was adamant that the yacht should be built primarily around the requirements of those aboard. “The yacht’s architecture and form develop progressively and conceptually around the functional needs of the guests and crew,”  he said of his design.

What does that mean? Well, Terence Disdale was brought in after Bannenberg to develop a general arrangement that made the best use of the huge 3,229GT of internal volume. And the McCaw family was right at the centre of that plan. They had three young children and wanted their own private space. “After two weeks, the crew and the owner need a little space from each other, so I wanted a galley where I could make some dinner,” says McCaw. “We effectively sectioned it off. The kids could be below with  the parents and the next level could be the  sky lounge with the observation lounge.”

It was a two-storey apartment within the yacht. The owner’s cabin, two big en suites for the children and a galley lay downstairs, with a private lobby upstairs giving access to a huge observation lounge with its own pantry, a gym and the owner’s office. “Terry has a real gift for floor plans,” says McCaw. “While his role was not large, it was seminal.” On his watch, the space allocated to the pool grew, pushing the boat from her original 89 metres out to more than 92 metres. “We ended up stretching Tatoosh because the beach area and the pool got too short.”

The London-based designer is typically modest when it comes to describing his role in the project. “Walls, floors, ceilings, lighting, sockets,” he says, as if he were a glorified handyman. “I did a certain amount of detailing in the bathroom.” In reality, he set the tone for the look and feel of the interior, with its panelled white ceilings, expressive parquet floors and almost architectural use of dado rails and mitred wooden profiles.

“ Tatoosh is rich and refined – yet has an inviting, kick-your-shoes-off casualness that feels absolutely right on a yacht,” he adds. “Every single element of the structure and interior decoration must be considered: absolutely nothing was designed on a whim. The positioning of windows, for instance, is determined by what goes on within; the dining room windows are lined up with the centre of  the dining table.”

Many of the interior fittings were actually selected by American designer Thomas Achille , who had also worked on several of McCaw’s properties. Furnishing is an eclectic mix of vintage, curio and antique – in line with  McCaw’s fondness for buying at auction. You see  vivid, glossy rattan work and Chippendale armchairs; a real stone hearth (complete with poker and tongs) and elegant Georgian occasional tables; campaign-style chairs and lattice-fronted wardrobes.

“At the beginning, we started looking at catalogues to buy antique pieces,” Achille says. “But most of the furniture you see is reproduction. Craig is not one to gravitate towards super luxury glitzy stuff – he’s a very unassuming gentleman. But he is American and loves America. We decided we were going to give him an American home on the ship, and that’s what we did.”

Colours are mostly conservative, neutral – drawn from the natural materials used. Achille really liked to play with texture, though, so there were grass cloth hangings and chenille fabric, leathers and grained wood. There is also a lot of art, curated by McCaw.

On the walls, there are huge flags behind glass – keepsakes from previous adventures – Japanese prints and a host of eye-watering art. “The owners made several visits to auctions and art houses – they were big collectors,” says Wright. “We were all very lucky to find ourselves surrounded by very good reproductions of original pieces of art they had in their homes.  I had a wonderful van Gogh in my captain’s cabin. Luckily I knew it wasn’t real!”

There are other features that mark Tatoosh out, such as her dedicated wine storage and the five-metre by four-metre heated pool with contra-jets and rising floor on the main deck. Nobody had ever thought of putting a big swimming pool on the aft deck before, but Tatoosh built on Kusch’s earlier work, such as on Leander G .

Toys were another major focus for the design team. A whole deck has been christened “the boat deck” and with good reason. Davits that are elegantly worked into the exterior lines of the boat hold a Germán Frers-designed daysailer called Julia and Chase , a gorgeous custom Hinckley Talaria tender. The Frers racer is 13 metres of composite wizardry with a lifting bulb keel, aimed at getting out for a satisfying burn around the anchorage. Speed is also the essence of the Hinckley, which can manage over 30 knots with its twin 420hp diesels powering Hamilton jet drives. More importantly, it makes a handy overnighter for the owner.

“We used Chase for picnics and the like,” remembers McCaw. “It’s very healthy for both the owner and the guests to be able to have space, even if you are in relatively remote areas. Julia  is pretty complex and she’s quick. There’s something beautiful about getting away from all the machinery in sailing – the sweetness of how you can get in and join the coast.”

McCaw was also a keen pilot. The main helipad is high up aft on the bridge deck, and it includes a bunkering station drawing on tanks of 7,000 litres – enough to keep the aircraft flying for days. It features a so-called harpoon grid to make it easier to touch down in heavy weather. And there’s another touch-and-go helipad on the deck above, slightly forward.

“The double helideck was really about having friends to come and visit so you could move yours out of the way,” says McCaw. “It was much more of the Wild West back then with helicopters – you could use them much more widely. The helideck could also be used for tenders.”

It was all part of a philosophy of yachting that meant everything aboard got used. “The order of  the day was to have at least two helicopters  aboard,” remembers Wright. “A Twin Otter would follow us around, so I’d normally be setting out a mooring for the seaplane.”

A well-equipped dive centre rounds out the yacht’s capabilities. There’s an industrial model Bauer compressor and a fill station that can refill four tanks simultaneously; there’s even a nitrox refilling station for deeper dives. It’s all located around the beach club, where a shell door on the starboard quarter creates a dedicated dive lobby. There’s also a hot tub, sauna and an expansive  bar down here.

With great plans to circumnavigate at leisure, Tatoosh was fitted with some unusual security features. McCaw mentions bulletproof glass and Kevlar armour padding behind walls throughout the superstructure. “We didn’t embed rockets in the hull because we were afraid one might go  off, but we had full British armoury in case the worst should happen in the Straits of Malacca,” McCaw says with a wry smile.

There was also an eight-strong contingent of Gurkhas among the crew – a real novelty at the time in the mainly Anglo-Saxon world of yachting. “Every one of them was fabulous,” says McCaw. They could also strip down an M50 automatic weapon in seconds and put together a mean curry for the weekly Nepalese food night.

Tatoosh was finally delivered in summer 2000 as the world’s 12th-largest private yacht. She wasted no time getting on with the job of cruising. First it was Finland, Sweden, Denmark, then back out of the Baltic and down to the Mediterranean. In the autumn, she cruised out to the West Indies and on to Panama.

McCaw has a particularly fond memory of reaching St Petersburg. Foreign-flagged vessels weren’t allowed onto the city’s waterways, but they bribed a local official to allow the 11-metre tender through. “We managed to talk our way into taking the boat into the canals at  60 to 70 knots with a giant Russian flag up. Blasting through the canals – I will never forget it. It is the closest to James Bond I will ever be.”

But in the dying days of 2001, the tech bubble burst and the McCaws made the heart-wrenching decision to give up the yacht they had invested so much energy in building. They reached a deal with fellow technology billionaire Paul Allen of Microsoft, which saw the boat pass into his ownership, but gave them time aboard for four more years. “Paul saw no need to change anything – just one room,” says McCaw.  “The crew loved having someone on board who knew more about the boat than they did. There was no diminished magic for us.”

Just one of Paul Allen’s yachts, Tatoosh has nevertheless been exceptionally well looked after, with regular refits culminating last winter in her detailed 20-year survey at Kusch Yachts on the River Elbe in Germany. All her engineering has been overhauled and serviced, and the boat has been repainted above and below the waterline.

In her life to date, the boat has toured Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, the Far East and South East Asia. “Looking at the cruise folder, she’s been all over the world,” says Captain Hielckert. “We were preparing a trip up the Amazon, but unfortunately that never happened. We did visit Fernando de Noronha, a really special island off the Brazilian coast – not many people have been there.”

With robust German construction, Tatoosh is the match of anything the oceans can throw at her. She’s ridden quietly at anchor through 70-knot gusts and traversed big seas. “The hull is not ice-classed, but she can go more or less everywhere,” Hielckert says proudly. And, he adds, "she’s ready to go!”

First published in the September 2022 issue of BOAT International. Tatoosh is now under new ownership.

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's superyacht is on sale for $91 million. See inside the 303-foot boat, which has 2 helicopter pads, a beach club, and a private apartment.

• A 303-foot luxury superyacht owned by the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is up for sale.
• "Tatoosh" was designed to give its owners their own 2-story private apartment, alongside 10 cabins.
• See inside the luxury yacht, which is currently on sale for over $90 million.

A 303-foot luxury superyacht that formerly belonged to Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is up for sale.

Before his death from cancer in 2018, Allen amassed an estimated fortune of $20.3 billion, according to Forbes Billionaires Index. The yacht is the latest part of his estate, which included multiple properties and two sports teams, to be sold-off.

Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen owned 2 pro sports teams before he died in 2018. Rumors are swirling about their fate — and now Nike's founder could pay $2 billion to own one of them.

Paul Allen's estate just off-loaded a chunk of the late Microsoft cofounder's massive real estate portfolio, selling 10 properties across the US for a combined $168 million

The yacht, named 'Tatoosh' is on sale for 90 million euros (around $91.3 million), following an extensive 11-month refit, according to Fraser Yachts, which is handling the sale.

According to the listing by Fraser Yachts, the "instantly recognizable" Tatoosh can sleep 19 passengers, and has space for 31 crew. It was custom-built by Nobiskrug for the American cellphone mogul Craig McCaw, who sold the boat to Allen in 2001.

Source: Fraser Yachts , New York Times

"Tatoosh should feel gracious like a home and also cozy," McCaw told Boat International on September 8, about the process of designing the yacht.

Source: Boat International

The yacht has 10 individual staterooms, but McCaw also wanted to ensure that his family had their own private space while aboard, so decided to section off a separate owner's cabin, he told Boat International.

The apartment has two ensuite bedrooms, a lounge, its own pantry, a galley, and gym among other things, per Boat International.

"After two weeks, the crew and the owner need a little space from each other, so I wanted a galley where I could make some dinner," McCaw said.

However, the boat still has plenty of areas for socializing with guests, including a heated swimming pool on the main deck, as well as its own 'beach club' area, per the listing.

Guests can also enjoy a private cinema room, and an elevator with access to all five decks of the ship, per the listing.

The gym features weights, a treadmill, and other equipment.

There's also room for two helipads, as well as two tender boats called 'Chase' and 'Julia,' which can carry people to and from the yacht, according to Boat International.

The superyacht will be on display at the Monaco Yacht show between September 28 and October 30, per Fraser Yachts.

It's not the only yacht that belonged to Allen, who was a keen ocean explorer. Another boat, the 414-foot "Octopus," was sold to a mystery buyer in 2021, having been listed for $278 million.

Mystery buyer purchases $278 million superyacht once owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. It includes 13 guest suites, 2 submarines, and a pool that turns into a dance floor.

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Tycoon forced to sell superyacht

Telecoms billionaire and One World’s America’s Cup bid bankroller Craig McCaw is selling Tatoosh, his 305ft superyacht

Telecoms billionaire and One World’s America’s Cup bid bankroller Craig McCaw is selling Tatoosh, his 305ft superyacht.

In what could be seen as a gauge of the current state of the world economy, billionaire tycoon Craig McCaw, who made his first fortune in mobile phones and second in satellite internet services, has been forced to sell off his most prized luxury possessions, according to a report by Daniel Jeffreys in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper today.

The billionaire’s fortune has evaporated since the stock market crash last year. He is one of a number of entrepreneurs being dubbed the Mr 90 Percents – tycoons who have lost 90 percent or more of their value in the past 12 months.

Top on the list to go is McCaw’s superyacht Tatoosh, which was launched in 2000. At a cost of £67 million, the steel 92.4m superyacht was built by H D W Nobiskrug in Germany under the management of Klaus Kusch, head of the Hamburg-based Kusch Yacht Agentur.

Strengthened at a cost of £1 million to accommodate three helipads, Tatoosh has a swimming pool, a 13m speedboat tender and an interior incorporating four giant jacuzzis and £1 million-worth of gold leaf decoration. The yacht is moored off the west coast of Mexico.

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According to the Daily Mail McCaw had had Tatoosh built to be bigger and even more lavish than the superyacht owned by his neighbour, co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen.

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The first yacht to have a cinema, swimming pool, and two helipads – Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s second yacht, Tatoosh is on sale for $90 million. The billionaire conservationist’s vessel had once severely damaged thousands of sq.ft of protected coral reef.

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Doting fiancée Lauren Sanchez captured Jeff Bezos at his desk, a door repurposed as a table he’s used for 30 years, highlighting that the centibillionaire remains connected to his early Amazon days, a time when the company was worth far less than his Koru sailing yacht.

If chartering a $190 million superyacht for a holiday was not enough, passionate climate advocate Leonardo Di Caprio took multiple helicopter rides from the 318 feet long yacht to the shore and back just to have meals and party with his supermodel friends.

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Security personnel on Jeff Bezos’ controversial $500 million megayacht shined bright flashlights on photographers trying to get shots of the 417 feet long pleasure craft.

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This school dropout turned taxi driver turned billionaire owns a support vessel so massive it surpasses many superyachts. The 262-footer is in a league of its own, boasting a basketball court, helipad, an arsenal of tenders and toys, and much more.

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Inside Paul Allen’s Former Yacht on Sale for $90 Million

The estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is offering the sale of his 303-foot-long superyacht , Tatoosh , for a cool $90 million, according to Dirt . If you’re thinking those stats aren’t impressive enough for the billionaire and tech magnate , well, you’d be right. Tatoosh , which is currently the 60th largest yacht worldwide, was just Allen’s secondary vessel. His main yacht, Octopus , sold last year for $325 million and stretches 414 feet long, making it the 20th largest yacht in the world.

As for Tatoosh , the recently-listed vessel was custom-built by German shipyard Nobiskrug in 2000 for fellow American tech mogul Craig McCaw before being bought by Allen the following year for an estimated $100 million. The craft was put up for sale shortly after Allen’s death in 2018, but was taken off the market for an extensive refitting that was completed last year.

The dining room aboard the ship. 

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Inside the vessel, 11 staterooms can accommodate up to 19 guests with access to a lengthy list of lavish amenities that includes a heated swimming pool with a hydraulic-powered mosaic floor that can raise and lower, a parquet floor salon complete with a limestone fireplace and a bar, a movie theater adorned in red velvet, a beauty salon, a gym, two helicopter pads, a sunbathing and diving area decked out with a blue-tiled spa, bulletproof windows, a fleet of jet skis, multiple 43-foot tenders, and a crew of 31 to oversee it all. The owner’s quarters include a private deck, two dressing rooms, and an observation lounge with a private galley, all spanning across two of the ship’s five decks, which are all accessible via elevator.

The owner’s stateroom aboard the ship. 

To maintain and staff the superyacht, which will be one of the largest yachts on display during the Monaco Yacht Show later this month, potential new owners will have to be prepared to pay $9 to $10 million per year in addition to the hefty price tag. Tatoosh is being represented by the Monaco-based yachting company Fraser.

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The 25 Greatest Superyachts of the Past 100 Years

Yacht design and technology—from steam engines to hydrogen fuel cells—have changed dramatically over the last century. these 25 standout vessels have been at the forefront of that revolution., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

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A Century of Sea Change

Yachts have seen remarkable transformations in design and technology in the last 100 years. The lengths and shapes have changed decade by decade, from the mini-ocean liners of the 1920s to a more glamorous, fuller shape by the 1950s, eventually giving way to the layered wedding-cake construction that was so popular until about a decade ago. Now, just about anything goes, judging from the list below, with yachts boasting vertical bows being the most popular.

Technology also changed over the years, from steam engines to diesel to a growing list of hybrid diesel-electric powerplants. In the next five years, expect to see the first generation of superyachts with hydrogen- or methanol-powered fuel cells. What really hasn’t changed in the last century are owners’ desires to create superyachts that are unique, often clashing with the accepted design norms of the time.

Here are the 25 greatest superyachts from the last 100 years.

'Delphine' (257 Feet 9 Inches) 1923, U.S.A.

Delphine is the original 1920s oceangoing queen. American automobile magnate Horace Dodge commissioned the vessel, rumored to have once hosted former President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, and Michigan shipbuilding company Great Lakes Engineering Works built it in 1921. At 258 feet, Delphine remains the largest yacht ever built in the U.S. that is still in operation. She is also the largest active steam-driven yacht in existence. The two original 1,500 hp steam engines were re-equipped with two modern water-tube boilers during a 2003 refit, which provide 18 metric tons of steam per hour. Surviving a stint in the U.S. Navy during World War II, several fires, and multiple owners, Delphine is today fully restored to her 1920s glory, including original teak on the main deck and a revived Tiffany-designed interior.

'Talitha' (247 Feet) 1929, Germany

Talitha is one of the world’s first superyachts with an exceptional pedigree. F. Krupp built the vessel, which was originally penned by naval architects Cox & Stevens (leading designers of their day), in Kiel, Germany. First known as Reveler , Talitha was delivered in 1929 to Russell Algar, chairman of the Packard Car Company. A string of high-profile owners ensued, including John Paul Getty Jr. in the 1930s, son of one of the richest men in the world at the time. Getty commissioned an exterior and interior redesign by late superyacht designer Jon Bannenberg and, in 1993, a full reconstruction was completed at the Devonport shipyard in Plymouth, U.K. Regular refits since, including a 1999 newly installed wheelhouse, has made Talitha successful as a popular charter yacht.

' Malahne' (164 feet) 1937/2015, UK

Originally designed and built for the owner of renowned J-Class yacht Velsheda , classic motor yacht  Malahne enjoys a period interior designed by Scottish designer Guy Oliver (best known for styling London’s 10 Downing Street and Claridge’s). Original Art Deco features include Baccarat crystal, Willer porcelain, Georg Jensen silverware, and a lamp by 1930s designer Edgar Brandt. The yacht was once used as the production headquarters for Lawrence of Arabia and had luminaries such as Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra walking the teak decks. In 2015, it underwent an extensive restoration at British shipyard Pendennis, which focused on maintaining its old-world glamour, including the yacht’s 25-foot custom-built Cockwells varnished Brazilian mahogany high-speed tender.

'Savarona' (446 Feet 9 Inches) 1931, Germany

Launched in 1931, Savarona was built for an heiress, enjoyed by royalty, and starred on the big screen. Built by Blohm & Voss for Emily Roebling Cadwalader, granddaughter of Brooklyn Bridge engineer John Roebling, 446-foot Savarona was featured in the German science-fiction film Gold . The Turkish government bought the vessel in 1938 and leased to Turkish businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu in 1989, who spent $45 million refurbishing the yacht. The original steam turbine engines were replaced with modern Caterpillar diesels, but the original 282-foot gold-trimmed staircase remains. Today, Savarona is the official presidential yacht of the Republic of Turkey.

'Shemara' (212 Feet, 2 Inches) 1938, Great Britain

Within a year of being built in 1938, 212-foot Shemara was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and used throughout World War II as a training vessel for anti-submarine warfare. Following the end of its service, the superyacht returned to her owner Bernard Docker, who entertained high society aboard its decks. Later in life, Shemara endured long periods of neglect until current owner Charles Dunstone acquired her in 2010, starting the long road back to refurbishment. Alongside much of the original teak and steel exterior features, Shemara is now fitted with a Rolls-Royce diesel-electric system, including two electrically driven azimuthing pods and a bow thruster.

'Christina O' (325 Feet) 1943/1954

Possibly one of the most eminent superyachts of all time, 325-foot Christina O didn’t begin life in the spotlight. Built in 1943 by Canadian Vickers, the vessel served as a frigate in World War II until 1954 when Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis bought it as war surplus for a mere $34,000. He spent $4 million on the refurbishment and then entertained the world’s elite on board, from Maria Callas and Grace Kelly to Jack and Jackie Kennedy, prior to Onassis marrying Jackie. Named after Aristotle’s daughter, Christina O enjoys a bronze-edged swimming pool with a mosaic dance floor that rises at the push of a button. The stools in Ari’s Bar retain the original leather upholstery.

'V2V' (ex-Carinthia VI) (137 feet, 7 inches) 1973, Germany

The first major yacht designed by Jon Bannenberg and a breakthrough build for German shipyard Lürssen, Carinthia VI is a star of the decades, commissioned by supermarket magnate Helmut Horten as the sixth yacht in his Carinthia fleet. However, Carinthia V was in fact the original version but sadly hit an uncharted rock on her maiden cruise in the Mediterranean and sank. Horten ordered an almost identical replacement (this time with extra watertight bulkheads) and used Carinthia VI until his death in 1987. In 2016, the yacht suffered severe damage in a fire. Its new owner then bought the yacht, undergoing an extensive rebuild in Turkey to its original Bannenberg lines that was completed in 2023 when the yacht was renamed V2V.

'La Sultana' (214 Feet 56 Inches) 1962, Bulgaria

A Bulgarian passenger ferry turned Soviet spy vessel, 214.5-foot La Sultana has a checkered past. Built in 1962 for operations in the Black Sea, it was absorbed into the Russian fleet during the Cold War and sent to the North Atlantic for unofficial reconnaissance on the United States and United Kingdom. In 2015, La Sultana  completed a seven-year refit, which saw the addition of a raised bow, seven guest cabins across six decks, and a diesel engine installed to drive the original propeller. Several spying instruments were also discovered, including a radioactivity detector and thick aluminum insulation across the entire boat. The original push button steering controls are still in operation.

'Highlander' (164 Feet) 1986, Netherlands

American media mogul Malcolm Forbes commissioned the 164-foot Highlander , built by Feadship to a Jon Bannenberg design with De Voogt naval architecture, in 1986. The yacht’s historic guest list reads like a who’s who of Hollywood stars, from Elizabeth Taylor to Robert De Niro. Two bathrooms in the master suite are offset by six guest cabins. Those lucky enough to charter this piece of yachting history also have use of Forbes’s original cigarette boat, now re-painted in jet black with a bold red stripe.

'Tatoosh' (303 feet) 2000, Germany

Built by Nobiskrug for cellular pioneer Craig McCaw, the 303-foot Tatoosh was more famously owned by the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, who bought the yacht off McCaw in 2001. Penned by German designer Claus Kusch—with input over the years from Jon Bannenberg, Terence Disdale, Martin Francis, and Stefano Pastrovich— Tatoosh is arguably one of the foremost explorer yachts of the modern age. The vessel was conceived to be a world cruiser with all the toys and entertainment that a yacht could carry. Alongside two helicopter landing pads, it has 11 staterooms for 19 guests, a heated swimming pool with a lifting floor, a cinema, and a dive center with a nitrox refilling station for deeper dives.

'Al Salamah' (456 Feet 10 Inches) 1999, Germany

At the time of its construction in 1999, 456-foot Al Salamah was the third largest yacht in the world. The build began at German yard HDW in Kiel but was completed by Lürssen in Bremen, the only yacht builder at the time capable of meeting the owner’s demanding timeline. Al Salamah was commissioned by the late Saudi Arabian crown prince Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Estimated to be worth in the region of $200 million and accommodating 36 guests, the ample amenities include a cinema, a fully equipped onboard hospital, two full-time beauticians, a business center, and a spa.

'H' (ex-NEOM) (311 feet) 2000, Netherlands

Delivered in 2000, the 311-foot  H   remained the largest Oceanco yet built and the largest yacht built in Holland until the delivery of Kaos (ex- Jubilee ) in 2017. Originally named Al Mirqab , the vessel was a highly private yacht under the ownership of the Qatar royal family before ex-politician and co-owner of Formula One Force India team Vijay Vittal Mallya took ownership in 2006. The Maltese government seized the lavishly outfitted yacht, which includes a helipad large enough for a twin-engine helicopter, Elton John’s baby grand piano, a full medical suite, and triple engines each delivering 10,000 hp, in 2017 over unpaid maritime bills. NEOM was auctioned off to her current owner in 2018.

'Rising Sun' (453 Feet) 2004, Germany

Built for Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison in 2004 and currently owned by business mogul David Geffen, Lürssen’s Rising Sun is another Jon Bannenberg success story, completed two years after the designer’s death. Even with her 453-foot length and 7,841-gross tonnes volume, Rising Sun achieves an impressive top speed of 28 knots. The owners were impressed enough with the speed to build a suspended, tube-like walkway so visitors can see the four MTU 20V 8000 M90 diesel engines providing the power. A bank of full-height curved windows run along the entire length of the superstructure, flooding the interior with natural light and giving the yacht a striking exterior profile.

'Motor Yacht A' (390 feet, 4 inches) 2008, Germany

Few yachts divide opinion like M/Y A . Designed by Philippe Starck, engineered by naval architect Martin Francis, and built by Blohm + Voss, the yacht is rumored to have cost in the region of $300 million to bring to life. Characterized by its head-turning reverse bow and vertical superstructure, the vessel is a private floating fortress where guests’ access to the water is restricted to the stern. It boasts a cathedral-like tender garage and three swimming pools; it’s also the predecessor to the even more controversial S/Y A , which emerged nine years later and briefly held the place of world’s largest sailing yacht before being displaced by Koru.

'Dubai' (531 Feet 5 Inches) 2006, Germany

Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei first commissioned Dubai in 1995 to be built in collaboration by German shipyards Blohm + Voss and Lürssen. But the superyacht was not completed until 2001 by Platinum Yachts when current owner, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, took over the project. British studio Winch Design crafted the exterior, and the vessel is reported to have cost in the region of $400 million to build. Dubai  was the largest yacht in the world until 2010, when she was replaced by Roman Abramovich’s 533-foot Eclipse . Dubai ’s amenities, spread across eight decks, include a helipad, two 33-foot chase boats, a squash court, and 20 Jet Skis.

'Savannah' (273 feet, 11 inches) 2015, Netherlands

Savannah is renowned for being the first hybrid yacht on water, with fuel savings of up to 30 percent. It blends a single diesel engine with three gensets, batteries, a propeller, and an azimuting pioneering electro-mechanical propulsion platform. Built by Feadship, the yacht’s 41-foot beam was such a tight fit for the Dutch canals during delivery that the builder wrapped her in protective film and used plywood on the sides to serve as fenders. With its interior and exterior designed by Cristina Gherardi Benardeau, the yacht was also ahead of its time, with a corridor of double-height video walls, a floating superstructure, and an underwater Nemo lounge.

'Maltese Falcon' (289 Feet) 2006, Turkey

The legendary Maltese Falcon broke the mold of yacht design when launched in 2006. Perini Navi’s 289-foot, three-masted schooner was the result of its adventurous owner, the late Tom Perkins, and naval architect Gerard Dykstra’s radical design idea. The show-stopping Dynarig concept, now coined the Falcon Rig, catapulted Maltese Falcon to becoming the world’s most instantly recognized yacht, not to mention one of the most complex and largest sailing vessels ever built. The contemporary, computer-controlled sail system is based on freestanding carbon masts and yard-arms into which the sails furl. This system allows for easy sailing in all sea conditions. Famous charterers include Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman, and Google cofounder Larry Page.

'Eclipse' (533 Feet) 2009, Germany

Aside from stealing the title of world’s largest yacht from 531-foot Dubai by a mere 1.5 feet, Eclipse is an exercise in amenities. Delivered to her owner Roman Abramovich in 2009, the vessel features a 52-foot swimming pool within an extensive beach club, two helipads, and a helicopter hangar under the foredeck. The 533-foot yacht is powered by a diesel-electric system driving azimuthing pods, one of the first of its kind. Eclipse retained the title of world’s largest yacht until the arrival of 590.5-foot Azzam in 2013. Designed inside and out by Terence Disdale, Eclipse took five years to build and is reported to have cost in the region of $590 million.

'Chopi Chopi' (262 Feet) 2013, Italy

Tasked with an experienced owner’s brief for a private yacht on which to spend long family holidays, CRN delivered with  Chopi Chopi . The largest yacht built by CRN at the time of her 2013 launch, the 262-foot Chopi Chopi remains the Italian yard’s flagship. A 656-square-foot owner’s suite with private terrace is complemented by a helipad capable of landing a three-ton helicopter. The interior ceiling heights are in excess of seven feet. But the focus of the design is on comfortable outdoor living, realized by a large beach club with an adjoining sauna, hammam, and spa with a treatment room.

'Azzam' (590 Feet) 2013, Germany

At a whopping 590-foot, Azzam has held the title of world’s largest yacht since her launch in 2013. Azzam was built by German yard Lürssen in a record three years for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the current President of the United Arab Emirates. Alongside a 95-foot main saloon, Azzam carries a submarine and its own missile defense system. Two gas turbines and two diesel engines propel the yacht through the water more than 32 knots.

'Black Pearl' (350 Feet) 2018, Netherlands

Delivered by Oceanco in 2018, the 350-foot Black Pearl is only the second yacht in the world to be fitted with Dykstra’s DynaRig carbon masts and sailing system. Its eye-catching black sails span 9,514 square feet and can be set in a record seven minutes with the push of a button. The hybrid propulsion system combines wind power with two electric propulsion motors, and its controllable pitch propellers generate enough energy to support the yacht’s hotel load. A waste heat-recovery system is just one of the onboard features that helps to realize the owner’s vision of a “zero-impact” yacht.

'Excellence' (262 Feet) 2019, Germany

Built for an experienced serial owner, American automobile magnate Herb Chambers, the Winch-designed 262-foot Excellence was delivered in 2019. The vessel takes its design inspiration from Motor Yacht A , which Chambers at first didn’t care for but then began to love. The piercing reverse bow (that mimics the beak of an American eagle) and triple-height glass-fronted atrium give it curb appeal but has also led to the yacht being likened to a spaceship. Driven by the desire to have a connection to the outdoors, the design rests upon a symbiotic relation between the indoors and out and was ultimately successful, partially due to the use hundreds of square feet of curved, mirrored glass panels.

'Koru' (417 feet) 2023, Netherlands

Oceanco’s 417-foot Koru , commissioned by Jeff Bezos, is a three-masted, black-hulled schooner with a bowsprit, classic lines, and white superstructure. Reportedly costing $450 million to build and accompanied by a 246-foot custom Damen support yacht  Wingman , the new vessel is the world’s largest sailing yacht (knocking S/Y A off the top spot). Koru also holds the title of the largest superyacht ever built in the Netherlands and the tallest sailing yacht in the world, with masts that measure over 230 feet.

'Obsidian' (417 feet) 2023, Netherlands

Feadship’s 2023 delivery Obsidian has the appearance of a spaceship. But the boat’s technically advanced propulsion package, described as having a 90 percent reduction in total CO2 emissions, is what places it on this list, carrying the Dutch builder one step closer to its goal of achieving a zero-emission superyacht by 2030. The hybrid diesel-electric system is designed into a single-floor engine room creating additional interior space for owners, guests, and crew. With no drive shafts or rudders, the steering is done through a pair of electric Veth contrarotating thrusters. The diesel generators will also run on HVO, a second-generation biodiesel that manufacturers describe as a net-zero CO2 fuel. A low profile, horizontal styling features, and clean exterior shapes are a preamble for the yacht’s interior, which includes an underwater observation area—known as the Aqua Lounge.

'Luminance' (417 feet) 2023, Germany

Delivered in late 2023, Lürssen’s eighth largest build, Luminance , ranks as the 12th largest yacht in the world and is the 30th yacht built by the German shipyard with an exterior design by Espen Øino. The six-deck behemoth is one of the most significant yachts to be launched this year, with an internal volume of 9,000 GT, a beam of 66 feet, and an interior by Francois Zuretti. The gigayacht features two helipads, two Jacuzzis, a large swimming pool, and a distinctive stretched bow.

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Power To Your Voice

A Closer Look at Some of Santa Clara’s Well-Paid New Hires

A closer look at some members of City Manager Deanna Santana’s alumni club tells a story that’s hard to dismiss as being simply the results a high cost-of-living area — most of these employees were already living in the Bay Area or comparably expensive Manhattan Beach.

Chief Electric Utility Officer Manuel Pineda has the distinction of being the highest paid City employee next to Santana herself. He worked with Santana in San José and Sunnyvale and was hired as Assistant City Manager in 2017 at the top of the pay scale ($310,000).

He was then promoted to the top job at Silicon Valley Power, with a salary again close to the top of the pay scale, $363,000. Previous SVP CEO John Roukema earned $324,000. In two years Pineda received a total raise of $134,000 (59%) over his Sunnyvale salary of $228,000.

Fire Chief Ruben Torres worked with Santana in San José and was hired in 2019 at close to the top of the pay scale, 320,000. His previous salary in Pleasanton was $219,000. The previous fire chief Bill Kelly earned $279,000. Torres’ total raise of 46% is $101,000.*

Assistant City Manager Cynthia Bojorquez worked with Santana in Sunnyvale. She was hired into a newly created Assistant City Manager position in June of 2019 at a top-of-the-scale salary of $335,000. Her Sunnyvale salary was $236,000, making her raise almost $100,000.

Assistant City Manager Nadine Nader Kayali worked with Santana in San José and with Danaj in Fremont and Manhattan Beach. Her previous salary was $224,000. She was hired in 2018 at a salary of $310,000, at the top of the pay scale, adding up to an $86,000 raise.

Another new employee getting an $86,000 raise is Public Works Director Craig Mobeck, who worked with Santana in San José and Sunnyvale. He too was hired at a salary of $264,000. Mobeck’s previous salary was $178,000.

Former Chief Operating Officer Walter Rossmann worked with Santana in San José and Sunnyvale. His previous Sunnyvale salary was $240,000. When he was hired into a newly created job, Rossmann got a $75,000 raise to $315,000. Rossmann has since left the City to become Milpitas Finance Director at a salary of $165,000.

Finance Director Kenn Lee worked with Santana in San José and Sunnyvale. He was first hired as Assistant Finance Director in 2017 at a salary of $224,000, at the top of the pay scale. Lee was recently promoted to the top finance spot at a salary of  $268,000. His previous Sunnyvale salary was $171,000 — making his total increase 57%,  $97,000.

Recently retired Human Resources Teresia Zadroga-Haase worked with Danaj and Nader Kayali in Manhattan Beach. She was hired last year at a salary of $262,000, a 33% increase over her Manhattan Beach salary of $197,000.

New Human Resources Director Aracely Azevedo worked with Santana in San José and was hired as Santa Clara’s Assistant HR Director in August 2018, with a salary of $200,000, and increase of $59,000 from her $141,000 San José salary. She was promoted to HR Director in October, but remains at the same salary currently.

The only promoted City employee coming close to these levels of increases is Kathleen Hughes, a 20+ year veteran of Silicon Valley Power, who received a $63,000 raise to $197,000.

* Torres is also collecting a City of San José pension of $196,265.

Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to a previous article. Read the original here .

Over Half New Management Hires Used to Work With Deanna Santana — and They're Getting Big Paychecks

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As a resident.of San Jose, this is shocking and disgusting when we have some many crisis and people are living on the streets. Please, what could we do to correct this situation??

Sounds like Santana has a posse being well taken care of. This is a dangerous person to have in charge…must be closely watched.

The City manager is graciously giving up her housing allowance and getting a 11.5% raise. WTF is going on here! She will be making a base pay of $448,491.84. She will do this but wont budge past 3% on the employees who have to actually work.

https://santaclara.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4314989&GUID=B24F261D-9292-420B-92AC-2D0DA6D12F6C

This is RIDICULOUS!!! How do they get away with this?? Do any of these city workers actually live in Santa Clara?? How do they sleep at night…..?? When you add the benefits on top of salaries….they’re really making a good profit off the city. I think they should be taking money from their overpaid pockets and put it towards more police patrol, given the amount of home robbery’s and car break-in’s in the area. Another case of government corruption if you ask me…

Matt is spot on:

“Lastly, it is not the higher incomes or larger benefit packages that should alarm the residents of Santa Clara. It is the fact that a disproportionate number of the City’s recent recipients of higher incomes and larger benefit packages are former associates of the current City Manager. I say this because I find it hard to believe that in a region with roughly 10 million people, the current City Manager already knew the best of the best and they were all poised to make the move to the City of Santa Clara.”

Using Transparentcalifornia.com and creating a spreadsheet we can see that 138 Managers made 32% of the base pay for the entire City leaving the other 68% to almost 1,000 employees. (I have left out Police and Fire employees because I cannot put a price on saving a life.) When you look at 138 people making over $25 million annually in 2018, those numbers rose due to raises and such in 2019, you have to wonder what their ACTUAL worth is. They manage people, people who actually work tirelessly for, as stated by the City Manager, crap benefits and terrible pay compared to similar agencies.

When people speak of inequality they usually cant put a face to it. Luckily for us all of these paychecks are visible to the public so we can see what is going on and do not have to listen to lies. The city tells the employees it is constantly broke and cant help them with benefits, then turns and spends ridiculous amounts of money on the people who say we have to save money. Due to CalPERS these people will continue to drain massive checks from the City for years to come.

No wonder for the first time in 10 years more people quit than retired.

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