posted
It's real, and as a co-founder of Microsoft, it's probably his little yacht!
-------------------- See, if I tell you about it, it won't be a mystery. It'll just be a fact, an ugly, moist fact, squatting on your brain like an octopus. And you don't want an octopus squatting on your brain, do you, son? -- Stan Smith, American Dad Posts: 980 | From: Virginia | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
By the way, it would be good to use more descriptive thread titles in the future. "Is this REAL???" is actually the subject of pretty much every other thread in the Photo & Video Gallery. They could all have that title. It would be helpful to let us know in the title what the "is this real" question is about.
(No snark is intended by the above.)
-------------------- "For the U.S. to get involved militarily in determining the outcome of the struggle over who's going to govern Iraq strikes me as a classic definition of a quagmire." ~Dick Cheney. Posts: 747 | From: Kansas | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by TallGeekyGirl: It's real, and as a co-founder of Microsoft, it's probably his little yacht!
No, Tatoosh is his little yacht. I saw Tatoosh "parked" off the coast of Grand Cayman when I was there in February and it was massive!!!! This sucker must be the size of a small cruise ship.
Posts: 624 | From: Kansas | Registered: Aug 2003
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-------------------- "Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you." - C. G. Jung Posts: 243 | From: Marina del Rey, CA | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Not only is it real (as all those before me have pointed out), but my dad's business built the interior (furniture, cabinetry, etc.) of the submarine that it carries... Don't quote me on this, but they may have done some work for the boat itself. I really feel like they came up with one of the spiral staircases inside, though I could be confused.
(If you didn't guess, the business builds custom interiors for very high-end "superyachts." In Allen's case, they had only minor involvement; typically they do most or all of the custom work in such a boat.)
Posts: 70 | From: Seattle (and sometimes Tacoma), WA | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
That beast looks more like a naval vessel than a civilian. Slap some guns onto it and paint it grey and it's almost a destroyer. Perhaps Paul Allen should be worried?
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Griffin 2020: Octopus (Allen's largest yacht, and the largest private yacht in the world when it was launched in 2003) is 416 ft long.
Christ! That's only a few feet short of HMS Daring, the Royal Navy's latest type 45 Destroyer!
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
According to the Vessel Critical Profile, it is 414 feet long, drafts only 18.7 feet, and displaces 9932 Gross Tons (ITC values).
Delivered in 2003, the keel was laid two and a half years earlier.
This boat is DAMNED big!!
-------------------- Opinions aren't excuses to remain ignorant about subjects, nor are they excuses to never examine one's beliefs & prejudices...
Babies are like tattoos. You see other peoples' & they're cool, but yours is never as good & you can't get rid of it. Posts: 5622 | From: Jax, Florida | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Looks to me like it has more electronic gear (radar etc) than your typical Destroyer. Does that thing have six different radar and/or antenna domes?
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Which is better, be a world class athlete (say Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods) or be a world class geek (like Paul Allen or Bill Gates). I figure Allen and Gates probably make more in interest in a year than Jordan or Woods made/will make in their entire careers.
Edited to correct for fat fingers.
Posts: 629 | From: Greenwood, IN | Registered: Dec 2005
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forcadragons
I'll Be Home for After Christmas Sales
posted
I remember when the Saudi Arabian royal yacht was built locally.
Looking it up, the "Abdul Aziz", launched in 1984 is 147m / 482 ft long.
-------------------- We're sorry to bother you at such a time like this, Mrs. Twice. We would have come earlier, but your husband wasn't dead then. Posts: 130 | From: Southampton, England | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Jay Tea: [QUOTE]Christ! That's only a few feet short of HMS Daring, the Royal Navy's latest type 45 Destroyer!
And Octopus is probably more technologically advanced.
So you’re saying that a new state of the art destroyer class, beginning sea trials next year and currently being fitted with the world’s most advanced and powerful military technology, including SAMPSON fire control and tracking and S1850M radars, signature reduction technology, infra-red spoofing and decoy systems, room for 60 Royal Marines and even the fastest helicopter in the world is outstripped technologically by a billionaire’s yacht? Will the seas ever be safe?
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:And Octopus is probably more technologically advanced.
Considering the owner, it probably does a blue screen whenever it tries to raise anchor.
quote:So you’re saying that a new state of the art destroyer class, beginning sea trials next year and currently being fitted with the world’s most advanced and powerful military technology, including SAMPSON fire control and tracking and S1850M radars, signature reduction technology, infra-red spoofing and decoy systems, room for 60 Royal Marines and even the fastest helicopter in the world is outstripped technologically by a billionaire’s yacht? Will the seas ever be safe?
You've obviously never seen those documentaries with that James Bond guy...
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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...anyone else find this comment extrodinarily funny? or is it because i have the sense of humour of a 12 year old?
Posts: 282 | From: wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Jay Tea: [QUOTE]So you’re saying that a new state of the art destroyer class, beginning sea trials next year and currently being fitted with the world’s most advanced and powerful military technology, including SAMPSON fire control and tracking and S1850M radars, signature reduction technology, infra-red spoofing and decoy systems, room for 60 Royal Marines and even the fastest helicopter in the world is outstripped technologically by a billionaire’s yacht? Will the seas ever be safe?
Technologically advanced, yes, Offensive capabilities, I doubt it. But I would be willing to bet that it's defensive capabilities are probably comparable (and I would put it's detachment of former SEALS upagainst the Royal Marines any day
-------------------- Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket? Posts: 782 | From: Arlington, TX | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Har! 'Former' SEALS? Not even 'active' SEALS? My my we are gung-ho today aren't we?
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Jay Tea: Har! 'Former' SEALS? Not even 'active' SEALS? My my we are gung-ho today aren't we?
Given Allen's political clout, and his attractiveness as a terror target, perhaps there is a detachment of 'active' SEALS.
Tinfoil hat time (my favorite time of the day, today I'll be using my pointy hat with 4 antennae)...
Anybody remember the Glomar Explorer? Very successful misdirection by the CIA and one of the richest men of the time, Howard Hughes. Heck, the misinformation campaign was so succesful it created an industry. Of course the industry crashed and burned the instant the ship's true mission was revealed.
No really, it's just a rich guys boat.
(But what exactly are those four small spheres up on the masts? And does it really need two radar domes? And, are the slides sloped for radar stealth?)
This is so cool, a great start to a UL!
Posts: 629 | From: Greenwood, IN | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
From Drainfluid's link about the Octopus in Durban harbor:
quote:The yacht's visit has not been made public.
What, like it's a secret?
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by jimmy101: But what exactly are those four small spheres up on the masts?
One for weather and one for traffic probably.
(and conceviably one for tracking the chopper)
-------------------- "British English speakers point to Americans adding more syllables so that they can make even more noise without actually saying anything." Llewtrah
Posts: 2235 | From: Sussex , UK | Registered: May 2004
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quote:Originally posted by jimmy101: But what exactly are those four small spheres up on the masts?
One for weather and one for traffic probably.
(and conceviably one for tracking the chopper)
Actually, the radar is the long rotating bar on the main mast in front of the two domes. I think the larger domes cover satellite dishes, and the smaller ones either doppler radar or, more likely, microwave antennas.
-------------------- "My neighbor asked why anyone would need a car that can go 190 mph. If the answer isn't obvious, and explaination won't help." - Csabe Csere Posts: 1225 | From: Wichita, Kansas | Registered: Nov 2003
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