Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's mega yacht docks at Richmond terminal

By Robert Rogers
Contra Costa Times
Posted:   10/17/2012 05:47:04 PM PDT
Updated:   10/17/2012 06:25:52 PM PDT

RICHMOND -- It's more than 400-feet long, with a sleek superstructure and a skyward mast that has inspired awe in ports circling the globe. Its owner is a billionaire software mogul and professional football team owner.
For the next five weeks, Richmond is home to the "Octopus."
One of the world's largest, most famous yachts, managed to creep into local waters with little fanfare, probably over the weekend.
"A few of us saw it this weekend when we were on our way to the Homefront Festival," Councilman Tom Butt said. "It was puzzling. I was like 'what is that ... whose is that?'"
The answer is that it's the $200 million toy belonging to billionaire Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and owner of the Seattle Seahawks.
The Octopus includes two helicopters, seven boats, a 10-man submarine and a remote-controlled vehicle for crawling the ocean floor. The crew is about 60 people, according to a Forbes Magazine feature on the ship, including a team of Navy SEALs to ensure security as the Octopus trolls international waters.
The yacht will be docked at Richmond's Terminal 3 for five weeks, according to Richmond Port spokeswoman Lucy Zhou, for unspecified repairs.
Similar large vessels, including the USS Iowa, have paid the city a rate of about $10,000 per month to dock, Butt said.
More than a dozen cars were parked on the lot beside the yacht Wednesday morning, and workers could be seen busily working the decks, including sanding or buffing the railings.
The white satellite antennae were stationary, like two golf balls blown up to 10,000 times normal size.
In Butt's mind, the revelation isn't the presence of one of the world's greatest seafaring contraptions, but its temporary host.
"A lot of people don't think of Richmond as a hub for maritime culture and activity," Butt said. "But they should because exciting things are happening all along our shoreline."
Contact Robert Rogers at 510-262-2726 or rrogers@bayareanewsgroup.com and follow at Twitter.com/roberthrogers.