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Posted on Monday, 29 September 2008 |
 It is something of a summer sport in the South of France, yacht spotting. Usually it takes place from the shore with either wistful yearning or obsessive precision. Which glittering floating behemoth belongs to the Russian oil millionaire, the Royal family of any number of countries or Hollywood celebrity in town to party the summer nights away?
With each passing year the number of private motor yachts and the size of the yachts increases and also the secrecy and the stories that surround them. Yacht owners are notoriously secretive about their natant property for reasons that you can only guess at, privacy, security, debauchery or maybe for boring old tax reasons.
No doubt that this only serves to fuel the roaring rumour fires which burn all summer long with the intensity of the the incurably curious. So it is refreshing to find out that one of the latest purveyors of one of these super yachts is as excited about his purchase as a normal human being should be.
U2 impresario, the Edge, rushed to correct the rumours that Bono had bought a new yacht, The Cyan. Quoted in the Irish Independent newspaper the Edge claimed, "It's not Bono's yacht at all, it's mine. Bono doesn't know a thing about boats."
"For years it was a dream of mine to own a yacht, but to be honest, it was a bit out of my league. So myself and a few friends got together, chipped in, and bought the Cyan. I don't know where the story that Bono owns it came from."
No doubt he will be invited to join his band mate on board and will enjoy a few days cruising in the Med but it probably wouldn't have been the right image for the human rights activist and voice of world poverty to be splashing out millions on such luxuries.
Although it might seem like an ostentatious purchase, at €15,000,000 for the 48metre, 140 foot yacht which can accommodate 12 guests no doubt in fine style, in the comparative arena of the French Med and the super yacht industry it is a modest acquisition.
At 48metres it just scrapes into the 'Superyacht' category and in the face of Abromovich's 175 metre new build it is a veritable dinghy. While Abromovich's yacht is definitively a folly of the ultimate capacity, the Edge's purchase represents a life long dream and may even make financial sense.
It is well known that these yachts cost in the region of 10% of their purchase price to run year on year. The Cyan charters for €140 - €170,000 per week, so it may well work for it's living if the Edge chooses to do so. Perhaps Bono could be his first customer.
See our beach front properties available in Eze for holiday rental in the 'Browse Rentals' section of our website.
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