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The Wayfinder is a support yacht valued at 65 million attributed to Bill Gates as of 2021. It has now been put up for sale
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The founder of Microsoft has never been seen on board, so it is suspected that it could be a hoax. It’s not the first time it happens
There are only a few days left until summer officially begins, and millionaires are busy getting their superyachts ready to enjoy the privacy provided by the crystalline open waters of the Balearic Islands or the Caribbean. However, some seem to have realized that spending their lives surrounded by the immensity of the sea is not for them.
Supposedly, that is the case of Bill Gates, who is credited with owning the Wayfindera 68-meter-long support yacht, which he ordered from the Galician shipowner Armón in 2021. Now, it is for sale through the intermediary Edmiston & Company for an approximate price of 55 million dollars.
A Galician shipowner who pretends to be Swedish. The Vigo shipowner Armón has two factories in the Galician city from which fishing, scientific and military vessels usually leave. However, a few years ago, the man from Vigo wanted to enter the luxury boat market following in the footsteps of the Dutch shipyards.
The result of that adventure was the spectacular Wayfinder, a 68-meter-long support catamaran and a certified heliport with hangar on the stern. From the beginning, the Wayfinder It was attributed to Bill Gates as the owner, but this information has never been confirmed (or denied). Neither on the part of the shipowner, subject to confidentiality contracts regarding his client, nor on the part of the millionaire or his foundation.
The other big hoax. As we said, Bill Gates has not come out to publicly deny that the Wayfinder is not his property, something he did do with the Sinot Aqua, an innovative 112-meter-long hydrogen-powered superyacht valued at more than $640 million, which was supposed to sail supported by the Wayfinder.
The denial was published in February 2020 in the BBC, when supposedly, Bill Gates had already acquired the support ship from the Galician shipowner for 65 million dollars. The builder Sinot publicly confirmed that the luxury yacht firm had not had any commercial contact with Bill Gates, putting the rumors to rest. However, there has never been a similar denial by Armón.
Gates’ disappointment. Unlike Paul Allen, founding partner of Microsoft, Bill Gates is not known to have a great love for the sea, beyond attending celebrations on other millionaires’ yachts as a guest. According to the British publication IndependentBill Gates was one of those attending Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s engagement party aboard the Koru.
That lack of fans, and the fact that he has never been seen on board the Wayfindermay be one of the reasons that led to the sale of the ship.
Less refined on the outside, but maintains luxury on the inside. The external design of the Wayfinder It is not as refined as the superyachts of millionaires tend to be, it can be used as a main yacht since it has great detail inside. He WayfinderIt has been designed by Basque firm Oliver Design, which describes its interior as “a Scandinavian theme with bright, open spaces, touches of light oak and pops of colour, creating a timeless and welcoming feel”.
The yacht has capacity for up to 20 crew members in 12 cabins, and up to 12 guests distributed in 12 cabins with their own bathroom. She was designed primarily to be a support boat, so in her holds all the “toys” used by the tenants of the main yacht can be stored.
It allows you to store a large amount of supplies, diving equipment for which it even has a decompression chamber, as well as space for several jet skis and up to five auxiliary boats.
In Xataka | Jeff Bezos’ yacht is so big that he can’t find a mooring in Miami. So they docked it with the oil tankers
Image | Armon, Wikimedia Commons (Gvantsa Kilasonia)
