Jeff Bezos’ $500 million superyacht is in the news because it will entail the dismantling of a historic bridge. Here’s how the Amazon founder’s boat stacks up against Steve Jobs’ yacht.
In February, it was rumored that Bezos’ superyacht was too large to fit beneath the historic Koningshaven Bridge in Rotterdam, which was completed in 1879, attacked by the Nazis during World War II, and rebuilt after the war.
The news that the Koningshaven Bridge would have to be partially dismantled in order to enable the Bezos-owned vessel to sail beneath it angered locals. The bridge was renovated in 2017, according to Dutch News.nl, and local officials guaranteed at the time that it would not be disassembled again.
However, the Bezos yacht isn’t the only vessel that attracts media attention for a tech millionaire. Here’s how it compares to the motor yacht Venus, which was built for late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ yacht, named Y721, is 127 meters long. The boat will be the world’s largest sailing superyacht when it launches in 2022. Venus, the yacht designed for Jobs, is smaller at 78.2 meters. The construction of Venus was cloaked in secret for the most part.
Construction
The Y721 is constructed of both aluminum and steel. Oceanco, a privately owned custom yacht builder in the Netherlands, is building it. The yacht was purportedly commissioned by Bezos in 2018, and it was first seen by the public in 2021.
The yacht is a sailing ship with three large masts that provide propulsion. It’s unclear whether it has a diesel backup for propulsion, but it almost certainly does for electric power. Oceanco based the ship on prior sailing boat designs that it claims are both powerful and environmentally friendly.
Venus is made of lightweight aluminum and has plenty of glass windows throughout the length of its hull. The ship, which was designed by Philippe Starck and Jobs and built by Headship, debuted in 2012, a year after Jobs passed away. As a result, the late Apple cofounder never got the opportunity to board the ship.
On the other side, the Jobs family yacht is a motor-powered yacht. It has a maximum speed of 22 knots and is powered by two MTU 16V 4000 M73 Diesel engines.
Cost and Design
Y721 costs 430 million euros (about $485 million). Venus cost 105 million euros (about $118 million at the time) to build for Jobs. Venus is worth around $128 million in today’s money.
The black hull and white superstructure of Y721 make for a distinctive design. According to the boating community, its overall design aesthetic might be defined as “classic.”
Amazon Unbound, a book on Bezos and Amazon, published in 2021, contained information about Y721 at the time. The superyacht has “several decks” and “three enormous masts,” according to the book, and is “one of the greatest sailing yachts in existence.” Along with the ship, a secondary support vessel is being built.
Venus, on the other hand, is more technologically advanced. It has a modern white design, aluminum and glass construction, and a number of intriguing elements that you’d expect from a ship co-designed by Jobs.
Venus has a number of unique features that set it apart from other Apple products. Antennas and receivers are hidden behind a false top deck, which is surrounded by large glass windows. However, the inside design has been kept a closely guarded secret.
Current location
Y721 is currently being constructed at the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam, the Netherlands.
The city is around 20 kilometers from Rotterdam, and the Koningshaven Bridge is the only way out to sea. Y721 hasn’t been in open waters because it hasn’t launched, and it’s unclear why the shipyard built it in a yard that required the bridge to be disassembled, given that the mast height and draft were known before construction.
Venus was constructed at Feadship’s Koninklijke De Vries shipyards in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. It has sailed across the world since its launch in 2012 and may be seen in various port cities on occasion. The boat is currently held by Jobs’ wife, Laurene Powell Jobs because he died before the project was completed.
Source: appleinsider.com/boatinternational.com
