superyacht in belfast

$60million super yacht owned by US billionaire docks in Belfast

• And Finally
• Wednesday 27 April 2022 at 7:23pm

A super yacht worth an estimated $60million has moored up in Belfast.

The boat, the Bella Vita, docked on the quayside of the River Lagan near the SSE Arena.

The yacht is thought to be owned by the US billionaire Dwight Schar, who according to Forbes has a net worth of approximately $1.9bn.

According to the Yacht Company website, the yacht has six cabins housing 12 guests and has a crew of 15.

The 60metre yacht is described as having a 'spacious interior' along with 'luxurious staterooms'.

It boasts a bar, hot tub, grand piano and cinema.

Built in 2020, it is also reported to cost £7m a year to run with a crew of 15.

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Luxury $60m yacht docks in Belfast

A LUXURY $60m yacht owned by an American businessman docked in Belfast this morning.

The Bella Vita, which docked close to the SSE arena, is owned by homebuilding mogul Dwight Schar, who has a net worth of $1.9 billion.

The six-stateroom yacht can sleep up to 12 guests.

The 60-metre vessel features a living-room and dining-room, several bars, a jacuzzi bath, grand piano, gym and several seating areas.

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The yacht also has a 15-strong crew.

Bella Vita was initially built for Paul Fireman, the founder of global sportswear firm Reebok. Then called Solemates, it was made by German manufacturer Lurssen in 2010.

It was later sold to George Argyros, the former US Ambassador to Spain, who named the yacht Huntress, before it was bought by Mr Schar.

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Seized 37m motor yacht Kahu returns to the market in another 24-hour auction

The 37-metre motor yacht  Kahu  will be sold at auction on Wednesday, 29 November, at 11 am GMT, with 24 hours for the public to place online bids.  Kahu  returns back under the hammer after being sold to the highest bidder at the first auction in April 2022.

Previously listed for auction, she was seized by British authorities in September 2021 as part of a drug trafficking operation. Belfast-based auctioneer Wilsons Auction is managing the online auction on behalf of the National Crime Agency. As per the last auction, no reserve has been set, which means  Kahu  will sail away with the highest bidder.

Built in 1979 by Whangarei Engineering Co . for the Royal New Zealand Navy, Kahu was converted into a luxury yacht in 2012. She underwent a full-scale refit that left her with a brand-new aluminium superstructure and near ice-class specification.

She has proved herself as a capable explorer since, with a remarkable range of 7,000 nautical miles that has taken her around the South Pacific and Hawaii.

Since being bought at the first auction in 2022 the current owner has completed a comprehensive list of engineering works, including the repair of stabiliser fins, installation of a new set of batteries, the repair of both engines and removal of tank corrosion.

Wilsons Auctions’ government contracts manager, Mark Woods said: “We are delighted to manage the sale of this high-profile asset again. The vessel has benefited from a great amount of works completed since we last saw her. This gives the potential new purchaser a blank canvas to customise the yacht as they like.”

“The online element of the auction is extremely convenient for bidders around the world to register and get involved. I hope it will be as exciting as the last time,” Woods concluded.

Kahu offers accommodation for up to 16 guests in six cabins, alongside crew accommodation for four. She volunteers plenty of alfresco living spaces, with generous aft decks and a spacious top deck.

Her interiors are clean and fresh and the saloon is bright and airy thanks to huge windows that drench the space in natural light. Pale woods and nautical themes contribute to the refined onboard ambience.

Online bidding will be open to the general public and will begin on Wednesday, 29 November at 11am GMT and will end at the same time the next day. The yacht, which is currently berthed in T Nielsen & Co Ltd, in Gloucester, will be open for viewings on November 28.

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Billionaire Andrey Melnichenko who parked superyacht on Thames next to HMS Belfast has futuristic new toy with sails bigger than a football pitch

‘Sailing Yacht A’ - with its 300ft tall masts - left the harbour in Kiel, Germany, for testing ahead of its full launch next year

• Tom Michael
• Published : 15:41, 4 Oct 2016
• Updated : 19:05, 16 Oct 2016

A RUSSIAN oligarch who sailed his colossal superyacht up the Thames last month looks to have got himself a new toy.

Andrey Melnichenko’s 470ft-long ‘Sailing Yacht A’ was pictured leaving the harbour in Kiel, Germany today.

The futuristic-looking grey boat – which looks like a cross between sailing boat, a battleship and a spaceship – was pictured heading out to sea for testing.

The state-of-the-art superyacht was built specifically for the billionaire at the German Naval Yards in Kiel.

Its masts are nearly 300ft high – the tallest of any yacht in the world.

And they are capable of carrying a sail bigger than a football pitch, according to Boat International .

The tycoon’s latest superyacht was styled by the world-renowned French designer Philippe Starck – the same person who designed the vessel which made headlines when Melnichenko sailed it up the Thames in September.

Jaws dropped when £225million ‘Motor Yacht A’ moored next to the HMS Belfast next to London’s Tower Bridge last month .

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The 390ft floating palace – which has luxury cabins for up to 14 guests and accommodation for 42 crew – was almost as big as the decommissioned light cruiser.

But Melnichenko’s new toy would dwarf the former Royal Navy warship – and even looks like it could be heading into battle itself.

Details about the cutting edge superyacht have been shrouded in secrecy since it was commissioned.

But it is due to come into service next year, after extensive testing to ensure it is up to the billionaire’s standards.

Melnichenko is up there with some of the world’s richest men – ranked 139th in the Forbes World’s billionaires list 2016.

The industrialist owned his fortune in fertiliser, coal, power and banking.

He and his family live a glamorous jet-setting lifestyle, hanging out with their celebrity pals.

Melnichenko married Serbian pop star and model Aleksandra in a lavish ceremony in 2005 .

The £3million wedding included performances by Whitney Houston , Christina Aguilera and Spanish singing legend Julio Iglesias.

Jennifer Lopez was paid more than £1.5million to perform at Aleksandra’s 30 th birthday.

And Snoop Dogg and Lenny Kravitz entertained guests on board Motor Yacht A for the couple’s anniversary in 2008.

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Superyacht with helicopter in Bangor catches attention of residents

It certainly caught the eye of residents out and about in Bangor on Friday

• 22:40, 26 JUL 2019
• Updated 12:42, 27 JUL 2019

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It's not every day you see a luxury superyacht complete with helicopter sail past the Co Down coast .

The Flying Manta, a 42m luxury yacht, left Dublin on Thursday and arrived in Belfast Harbour this morning.

On Friday evening it was at anchor off the coast of Bangor and was certainly catching the eye of residents out and about in the seaside town.

The yacht can accommodate up to 18 people with 5 crew members waiting on their every need.

It had been spotted down in Cork earlier this week. It is not known who is on board but it is not currently believed to be available for private Charter.

Did you spot the superyacht today?

VIDEO CREDIT: Ben Astrauskas

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Crew of super-yacht finds warm welcome in Belfast

BELFAST - The Queen Ann Victorian house built by Orlando Frost is large enough that in any of the downstairs rooms you can sit on the floor with legs extended in either direction and do exercises, which is what the majority of the seven-member crew members of Magic , a 130-foot yacht currently undergoing repairs at Front Street Shipyard, was doing on a recent evening.

The captain, Adam, explained half-apologetically that they were trying a P90X regimen, then went to join the others. They’d skipped their daily trip to the Waldo County YMCA to talk to me. True to the purposeful courses of a ship’s crew, they were finding a way to stick to the schedule.

Outside the house, it was dark enough that a passerby might miss the towering snowman built by the group of 20- and 30-somethings, some of whom had never seen snow before this winter. In past winters, the vast house might have been empty. But on this night, lights shining from every floor showed a home full of life. 

The owners, Bonnie Pierce and Michael Tracey, bought the historic mansion on Northport Avenue five years ago. At the time, both were teachers in New York, approaching retirement. They looked in Key West, Savannah, Ga., Charleston, SC and other cities in the Southeast expecting to settle near family there. But a trip north changed their minds.

Several years earlier they had visited Maine for the first time en route to Nova Scotia and liked it. On a return trip that included a windjammer sail in Camden, they were encouraged by the ship’s captain to check out Belfast.

Like a lot of visitors to Maine, Pierce and Tracey had only seen the one-time Poultry Capital of the World from the bypass.  When they went into town, they found a walkable city with a year-round working population, community and arts to spare, and an appealing quirkiness. In short, it had many of the things they’d been looking for all along.

The home they eventually bought is steeped in local history. Orlando Frost had once owned Mathews Bros., and was mayor of the city for several years in the mid-1920s. He backed land purchases for what would become the Pierce and Anderson elementary schools and raised money to repave Main Street. In an unsuccessful attempt to revive the shipbuilding industry in Belfast after World War I, he commissioned the construction of the only five-masted schooner ever built in the city, the Jennie Flood Kreger.

Though he wasn’t a shipbuilder himself, the extent and variety of woods he used in his home shows an attention to detail befitting the trade.

“He built it like a ship,” said Tracey. “It’s as straight and true as the day it was built. When I saw this house, I fell in love with it.”

Since they bought the home, Tracey and Pierce have traveled south most winters — they spoke to me from an airstream trailer in Florida. Their home, with its seven bedrooms and five baths, wasn’t an obvious candidate for a rental, so in past years they had relied on caretakers.

For the seven-person crew of Magic , however, it turned out to be perfect.

“They were happy to be housed in one place, and our house is the size that can accommodate them,” Pierce said.

For the couple, the nautical connection was appealing. And references were a non-issue.

“They take care of such a large expensive yacht, so they’re already vetted in a way,” Pierce said.

Comparisons between a victorian home and a 130-foot yacht might seem natural. But for the   crew, Pierce and Tracey’s home offered an unusual chance to stretch out.

“We live in a small area of the yacht,” said Zinta, a deckhand and one of three stewardess aboard  Magic .

As others confirmed, the crew bedrooms are the size of large walk-in closets with two bunks to a room. There’s a shared seating area with a TV and books, and a crew mess. Much of their job, understandably, involves staying out of the way.

Onshore accommodations for extended periods have typically involved similar lodging arrangements, with the crew piling into a small house or multiple apartments if necessary. ‘Typical,’ in this case, refers to the seasonal yachting circuit — winter in the Caribbean and Southern states, summers in Newport, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island and other yachting havens of Southern New England.

“Normally we chase the warm weather,” said Sarah, the chief stewardess.

In past years, a major overhaul like the current renovations to  Magic would almost certainly have happened in Florida, where shipyards are numerous  and the onshore infrastructure for crews well established.

The detour to Belfast owes much to Front Street Shipyard and its marine travel lifts, which are reputedly the largest north of Newport.

For now, the numbers of vessels with large live-aboard crews in need of temporary lodging is small enough to barely register as a part of the off-season real estate market. But business could pick up as the Shipyard grows into its new 485-ton travel lift — the one that brought  Magic  ashore — and a new workshop building slated for construction this spring.

“At any time we could have three or four different crews,” said Shipyard President JB Turner, speaking of past years. Last winter there were three large vessels, he said. This year, Magic was the only one of its size, but anticipated two more large vessels in the spring.

The absence of established channels ended up working in favor of the Magic crew . Adam initially tried several realtors and looked at some small rental apartments before he heard about Pierce and Tracey through someone at the Shipyard.

Sarah recalled seeing the historic house for the first time. “It was like, n o way, we should just leave right now,” she said.

But Pierce and Tracey wanted to make it work. They liked the nautical connection, and though the crew’s budget wasn’t extravagant, Adam was able to throw in a jacuzzi that had removed from  Magic during renovations.

If the happiness of the crew is an indication, the deal is paying karmic dividends.

“To go from bunk beds  ... even in the captains quarters, what are they, twins?” he said, looking to Sarah for confirmation.

“We don’t even know what to do,” she said. “It’s so comfortable. We feel like we’re coming home every night.”

While the boat is ashore, the daily routine for the crew changes a bit, but there’s as much work as ever.  Drew, the boat’s engineer, said there’s always maintenance to be done, and with the renovations to the boat, there are workers to oversee.

“Ultimately it’s about managing contractors,” he said.

The stewardess have their own list that extends several weeks out, including routine upkeep on the massive vessel.

Adrian, the boat’s chef, has been using the time in Belfast to research and test new recipes for  Magic’s  owner. During the week, he cooks for the crew at the house.

“On weekends they’re on their own,” he said, dryly. 

Despite the ice storm and stretches of frigid temperatures, the crew, spoke enthusiastically about their winter in Maine. Outside of work, they’ve gone snowboarding at Sugarloaf and hit some locals-only attractions, like sledding at the Northport Golf Course and ice fishing on Swan Lake. They’ve become regulars at the Y, thanks to a modified “family” membership arrangement. Adam even got an apprentice hunting license.

“We’ve made some friends for sure,” he said.

As of late January, Magic was expected to be at Front Street Shipyard until March.

For as much as they’ve enjoyed their time in Belfast, the crew members were quick to point out that they don’t want the work to take any longer than necessary.

“We are making the most of it, then we’re back off to the races,” Adam said. “We’re here for a reason.” 

Ethan Andrews can be reached at [email protected]

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