FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING

Woke up to this as my new neighbor in the anchorage. As I sipped my coffee the garage at the back open up and equally futuristic tenders emerged. No winching a rubber dinghy over the side for this big boy.

A quick google came up with this

You’d be forgiven for thinking it was a freshly launched destroyer painted white just to intensify its stealth qualities, or a type of submarine. But the ship is, in fact, a new toy of reclusive Russian billionaire, 36-year-old Andrey Melnichenko.

The private mega-yacht is simply known as “A”. Being 120 metres (390 feet) long it cost its owner around $US 300 million. Melnichenko’s “war-yacht” is neither the biggest nor the most expensive yacht in the world.
What does make it different is its futuristic, naval design created by worldwide famous French designer Philippe Starck. From the outside the yacht does not look like a floating palace. Its aggressive streamlined look, with its axe bow and small superstructure, is reminiscent of the most advanced stealth warships.

I dinghied past the back on the way to a bit of snorkeling in my more modest tender and yes it is called just A and has Hamilton as it's home port. A high speed tender was circling the A and I got the feeling that armed guards might be the order of the day.

The water has cleared a little, the scuba crowd has been complaing about poor viz and attributing it in part to fallout from the Montserrat eruption but I think it was just the big swells that have been running recently but not today.


I spotted this a reef "Cleaning Station" The little yellow fish are nipping parasites off the bigger ones.






There was a queue of fish all waiting there turn.


I suppose there is a benefit for both sides, the little yellow guys get a meal and the bigger fish lose their parasites.

I watched for a while and it was clear that the bigger fish reacted to the attentions of the little cleaners, pain or tickling who knows. but there was no agression shown towards the cleaners by them.




Another spectacular sunset to finish of the day but no chance to check for the elusive green flash as I can not see the horizon.