Ellison wants a bigger superyacht

by Alinghi Team website on 21 Feb 2003 According to the New Zealand Herald, the ' fastest mega-yacht on the planet ' will be sold for the low price of 125 million New Zealand dollars. That's 63 million Euros.

Since the start of the competition, the yacht belonging to Larry Ellison, the head of Oracle and the 5th wealthiest person in the world, was present for all the American syndicate's races. Its immense tinted glass windows, which fed the rumor mill generated by the follies of his grand celebrity, also became emblematic on the Hauraki Gulf.

Now Larry Ellison wants a new yacht ... a bigger one! Katana is 74 meters long, has a basketball court and a giant movie screen, and finds itself in 6th position on the list of massive American super yachts.

Three places behind is Tatoosh, belonging to Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and partner in the OneWorld challenge and ... a huge rival of Larry Ellison. Katana and Tatosh were the two largest boats at the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Legend has it that if they won a race, the Oracle sailing team were invited onboard Katana. They game the sailors played was to try to order the most exotic, incredible cuisine for the meal.

Larry's chef was able to create any platter in the world with only a few hours' notice. The sailors were never able to trip him up! The article did not say if the chef would take up the game again on the new mega yacht.