The superyacht which is now owned by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, Venus, is sheltering from the storm off Puerto Portals, Mallorca. Venus is a regular visitor to Mallorca and was recently involved with another superyacht, the Lady Moura, which uses Palma’s Club de Mar as her home port on many occasions.
Lady Moura was the ninth largest private yacht when she was launched in 1990 for USD$200 million (equivalent to $466 million in 2023) but has moved down the list in 2021 to number 48. She was owned by Saudi Arabian businessman, Nasser Al-Rashid but bought by a Mexican businessman in 2021 from yacht broker Camper & Nicholsons for USD$125 million (equivalent to $141 million in 2023).
Lady Moura has hosted several notable personalities, including George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara. Lady Moura ran aground in 2007 during the weekend of the Cannes Film Festival.
But, the other week, both superyachts collided. A representative for the owner of the Lady Moura has since released a statement explaining the events that led to the collision between the yacht and the 78.2-metre Feadship superyacht Venus last month (July 22). The statement read: “Lady Moura anchored in the Bay of Naples at a depth of 40 metres with seven shackles of chain deployed, which is the minimum required for safe anchoring under the given conditions. Several hours later, Venus arrived at the anchorage and seemingly misjudged the length of the chain that Lady Moura had in the water.”
The statement continued: “Subsequently, a violent squall with winds of 50-55 knots from an unexpected direction – different from the prevailing forecasts – caused the impact. Despite numerous efforts by Lady Moura’s crew to alert the Venus’ crew by blowing the whistle and hailing on the radio, it appears that the bridge of the Venus was unmanned. Neither vessel dragged anchor.” According to Boat International the statment concluded that damages to both yachts were minimal and cosmetic and that the situation was “amicably and professionally” resolved.