World-famous yacht anchors off Shelly Beach

‘MY Octopus’ a multi-million 414 foot (126m) megayacht owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, caused great excitement when it was spotted anchored off Shelly Beach this morning.

The South Coast Herald was told by reliable sources that the yacht was on its way to Durban but had stopped off Shelly Beach where passengers aboard it were taken on a diving expedition by local dive operators, African Dive Adventures.

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However, we were unable to contact owners, Roland and Beulah Mauz to confirm this.

At 11am, when South Coast Herald photographer Vee Ramsayi arrived to photograph this world-famous vessel it was stationary and was facing north.

However, he watched as a tender approached it, when it then turned to face southward.

According to press reports, it was spotted in Cape Town Harbour at the end of December last year.

The private vessel was launched in 2003, according to Wikipedia. It is one of the world’s largest and most recognisable yachts and is regularly loaned out for exploration projects, scientific research initiatives and rescue missions.

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‘My Octopus’ is apparently kitted out with two helicopter pads, a 19m tender docked in the transom, six other tenders and a landing craft.

The yacht also has a glass-bottomed pool and two submarines, one of which is operated by remote control and was lent to Google Earth for its ‘Explore the Ocean’ project.

Side hatches at the water line form a dock for jet skis. Paul McCartney has apparently used the fully-fledged, on board recording studio.

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