If you’re thinking about moving up to a new boat (and who isn’t?), take a look at Paul Allen’s Octopus. It’s 414-feet long, so it might not work for the Great Loop, and it probably won’t fit on the dock behind your house. If you’re worried about the price, it’s roughly $325 million (that’s the same as five G650 Gulfstream jets, for point of reference), and it costs about $17 million a year to run. But it arguably is one of the most innovative – and interesting – yachts in the world.
Octopus was built by Lurssen in 2003, and it was the largest yacht in the world at the time. Since then, it has served as an expedition yacht, as well as one of the most fabulous entertaining centers in the world. With a steel hull meant to withstand ice, it has cruised both the Arctic and Antarctic, and has been used for underwater explorations in many oceans around the world. It has a range of 12,500 nm and a top speed of 19 knots. Allen himself once described Octopus as “less a Bentley than a Range Rover.”
Allen, one of the co-founders of Microsoft, died last October, and Octopus is now part of a massive estate sale. It was just the largest of the many yachts he owned, including Tatoosh, at 301 feet, and Medusa, at 198 feet. (Allen also owned the largest airplane in the world, as well as the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers.)
If you buy Octopus, you don’t have to worry about leaving any friends back at the dock. It holds 26 guests in 13 cabins. You also don’t have to worry about doing any work yourself; it has a crew of 63.
Getting to the yacht isn’t a problem either. It has two landing pads for helicopters. The stern also has a hanger that can hold two helicopters at the same time, which is unique in the mega-yachting world. The rear landing pad also doubles as a basketball court.
Inside, a large swimming pool converts to a dancefloor, and there are multiple bars, Jacuzzis, dining areas plus a theater, spa, gym, dive center with a hyperbaric chambe and a glass-bottomed underwater observation lounge. The recording studio is world-class (Mick Jagger recorded there.)
If you want to take a look at Octopus, it will be on display at the Monaco Yacht Show, starting Sept. 25, but you’ll need an appointment to get on board. Fraser and Burgess is handling the sale. Read more:
