It was interesting being in Cannes the other day and witnessing the literally millions of dollars floating around on the water. The first 'ship' that piqued my interest was this baby - the 'Radiant'. It was apparently commissioned by Russian media tycoon Boris Berezovksy who wanted a rival to 'Pelorus' owned by his arch enemy Roman Abramavich. It is 360' long - the naval ship is only 605' - and as well as the standard features for a yacht of this size - helipad, gymnasium, cinema, spa - she has one of the highest security specifications ever conceived. Berezovsky ordered a personal “escape launch” – a speedboat with turbo-charged twin diesel engines capable of exceeding 75 knots. She is also equipped with an arsenal of sonic guns that fire low-frequency sound waves that can burst the eardrums of approaching assailants, and a military water cannon capable of sinking an approaching boat at more than 100 yards. Paranoid much?!!
Meanwhile back in lil ol' Villefranche, the Disney cruise liner had just pulled in. It's so big it completely dwarfed another cruise ship moored behind it which you can't even see in this photo. I included the marina in the foreground so you can see the size of the goddamned thing. And yes, those are mouse ears on the funnels.
Other smallish offerings on display included the 'Shubra II' at a mere 195' long with a crew of 18 and sleeping 14 (gotta love that there're more crew than guests). The fuel capacity is a mind-blowing 159,000 litres - it would probably cost NZ's annual GDP just to fill 'er up.
And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, this monstrosity arrived late this afternoon. Yes, it really is metallic purple with tinted windows and is called '007' - spelled out in words as well just in case you didn't get it the first time. Classy.
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