The London Games draws Olympian sized yachts to its waterfront
0The 40 metre aging sailing yacht, “The Flying Dutchman,” is one of a number of huge yachts chartered solely for the Olympics by Dutch businessman, Xander Tiedemann, who as well as his charter arrangement is also staging live concerts, a large-screen television and removable hot tubs on the wharf near to the ships.
The Flying Dutchman is not alone in the Thames’ tea coloured waters as twenty tall ships and the more modern super-yachts, with million dollar price tags, have moored alongside the river Thames in London to act as floating hotels for the Olympic Games. Apart from the June boat extravaganza for the queen’s Diamond Jubilee, London has never viewed so much high value floating capital, commentators have said.
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Tim Thomas, editor of Boat International, a yachting magazine covering luxury yachts which, has its base in London said that sometimes boats come up the river, but it’s not a common sight to see any super-yachts.
Most of these super-yachts cruise the Mediterranean, particularly the waters between St. Tropez and Monaco. Dismal, rain sodden London, which is situated far inland from any coast does not feature in cruising itineraries. However, the Olympic summer has meant that super-yachts are queuing up for prime London waterfront space.
The largest of the ships named “Octopus” ranks as the tenth biggest yacht globally, a giant so enormous it shadows a local apartment block. The 130m “Octopus” houses a garage, a helipad and enough storage area for a mini-sub.
Additionally, “Ilona”, which is moored up to Wood Wharf, owns a swimming pool as well as a helipad, and “Seanna” has its own movie hall, gym and spa.
There are at least six giant yachts moored in an area that was only six months a building site and there is no need for the guests to use the grubby, congested underground rail system to get into Central London as there are a team of speed boats at hand to do that job.
The owners of these shows of conspicuous wealth do not freely advertise their presence or announce who they are. It appears that discretion is the order of the day for most. However, the “Dannebrog” is definitely not discreet. Gilded and carved crowns decorate her stem and stern, and positioned at the base of the gang plank is a sailor in a traditional white and blue sailor’s outfit who is standing on guard. The yacht was constructed in 1931 and has 57 crew and it is owned by the Danish royal family.
Usually, the “Dannebrog” spends long summer days sailing along the Danish coast, but this August the Queen and Prince are holidaying on the Thames watching the Olympic Games. No one knows if any of the other yachts have their owners on board, as many of them charter their yachts outs for tax purposes, but often for cash at around $125,000 a week.
London is still a city with its quota of the world’s rich and famous and local residents are quite used to seeing displays of lavish consumption, but super-yachts they are not certainly accustomed to and they have not been a feature of any recent Olympic Games draw card. Britons and thousands of overseas visitors appear to be looking in awe at these glistening, floating pillars of wealth.
