Divorce Forces Boat Sale

[jimh]

Occasionally you read a notice of for-sale for a boat in which the seller discloses his motivation: a divorce settlement. The divorce proceeding between a Russian "oligarch"--I think that translates as master thief of state property--and his wife has resulted in a court decision in the United Kingdom requiring his mega-yacht to be turned over to his wife. The yacht is 377-feet long and valued at around $500-million.

This yacht is a bit out of my league as a recreational boat. Even if I could jump to the top of the 20-year waiting list for a slip at the local marina, I think the mega-yacht is probably too big to enter the breakwater; there is only about 8-feet of water at some times of the year; the yacht draws about 20-feet. And the 67.4-feet beam would be a problem because there would be no way to turn around inside the breakwall, and not much room left in the main channel for any other boat to get past.

Our local marina has hosted a few large yachts, but typically just 130-footers. I don't think there are too many ports of call up in the North Channel of Lake Huron, our favorite cruising grounds for the past 32-years, that could handle a 377-foot yacht.

The biggest motor yacht I have seen up there was the Burger-built CHANTICLEER, all 108-feet long and 22-feet beam, but only 6-feet draft. I remember seeing actress Francis Langford, having her breakfast on the aft deck while the yacht was tied along the seawall in Little Current many years ago. She was the widow of Ralph Evinrude, son of the Evinrude outboard engine inventor Ole Evinrude. And we've seen CHANTICLEER tied up to the two islets at The Pool a few times. But not lately. Langford passed away in 2005.

While a court has decreed that the 377-foot mega-yacht belongs to the wife, it may take some further enforcement for her to actually get control of it. If she ever does, she may be willing to sell at a discount to get some money out of yacht. Keep an eye for a listing.

[Don SSDD]

No boats involved but a local Nova Scotia company sued Aeroflot, the Russian airline and won but couldn't get them to pay. So the NS company seized an Aeroflot flight. I thought that took guts considering how Russians deal with people they don't like.

https://www.apnews.com/6e8ab3313a79f2a95643e9a94e18f5af

So if you buy this yacht when it comes up for sale, be careful out there.
Don