Currently at anchor off Inchkeith lies the 70m x 13m Benetti superyacht Freedom.
Yesterday afternoon, while she stood closer to Cockenzie, Spurtle examined her through a high-powered zoom lens from Calton Hill (see image right). After over an hour’s careful scrutiny, we had still detected no human activity aboard whatsoever.
With a top speed speed of 14 knots (16 mph), Freedom has 5 decks with 6 cabins to accommodate 12 (sleeping) passengers.
The vessel is equipped with a lift, air conditioning, gym, helipad, WiFi, deck jacuzzi, stabilisation systems, satellite TV and a crew of 25. In today's market, she is valued at between US$40m and US$49m.
Wet, wet, wet
Freedom’s play inventory includes: inflatable water-toys and trampoline, canoe, kite board equipment, towable tube and banana boat, sit-down waverunners, wakeboard, sailing dinghy, windsurfer, beach games, kayak, surf board, water skis, snorkelling equipment and an underwater scooter.
In short, everything you might need to enjoy late May in the Firth of Forth before coming ashore for dinner in one of Prestonpans' exclusive beachfront eateries.
The luxury dream boat (formerly named Reverie) was built in 2001 and refitted in 2016 and 2019. It is currently registered by the ‘offshore entity’ Freedom Unlimited and sails under the flag of the Cayman Islands.
You can find eye-boggling images of its facilities before the most recent refit here.
Silver lining
Freedom is the glorified pedalo of 65-year-old US businessman Peter Sperling, former chair of the Apollo Education Group network which heads America’s 4 largest universities. He is the co-founder and current chair of Callwave, Inc., a ‘leading provider of cloud-based communication solutions’.
He has a BA in Economics from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from Phoenix University, which his father helped to establish.
Sperling jnr has an estimated net worth of US$2 billion, making him the 2,109th richest person in the world.
