August 17, 2023 – It is no secret that celebrities love Croatia. Whether it is for work or pure relaxation, everyone from sports stars such as Michael Jordan, Novak Đoković, Roger Federer, to singers and actors like Niall Horan, Beyonce and Jay Z, Kevin Spacey and so many more have been and have come back to Croatia.
This year, one particular group has attracted quite a lot of attention from Croatian media. As Index writes, Jeff Bezos is sailing around Croatia on the Koru yacht worth half a billion dollars.
The Vessel
Koru is a 127-meter-long vessel, which is actually more similar in structure to a sailboat, making it the largest sailboat in the world. The builder of the yacht is Oceanco from the Netherlands, which launched the yacht in 2023.
“With the masts and the dark hull, it resembles a ship built in 1930 for JP Morgan Jr., the Corsair IV. Like a reincarnation of that ship. It certainly contrasts with the ships the oligarchs are building today,” Robert B. MacKay told the New York Times, author of The Golden Age of Newport Yachting: Between the Wars.
Koru is also considered “the most ecological yacht in the world” because it is primarily powered by the wind. “Sailboats tend to be greener than most boats,” said Don Anderson, former captain of the M5, the world’s largest single-masted sailboat. “I think Koru will be one of the most environmentally friendly yachts in the world, with the sails and the technology that will be on her,” he added.
Up to 18 guests can stay on the superyacht, with accommodation for up to 40 crew members, including the ship’s captain. In the world ranking of the largest yachts, Koru took 32nd place. It is also the largest yacht built by Oceanco. Its annual maintenance and operation cost around 25 million dollars.
It sails under the flag of the Cayman Islands (a country with 1322 yachts registered under its flag). Koru is accompanied by Ebeona, a 76-meter support vessel. Superyachts often have auxiliary vessels accompanying them. These “shadows”, as they are called, are used to transport various “toys” – most often they are cars, seaplanes, motorcycles, smaller boats, diving equipment, submarines, and even helicopters.
In Bezos’s case, it could be a helicopter, as his fiancee Lauren Sanchez is licensed to operate helicopters, and recently the couple was filmed boarding Ebeona by helicopter. The auxiliary ship has enough range to accompany Koru from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean.
The Friends
As Večernji writes, on his Croatian holiday Jeff Bezos hosted the famous couple Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, who were filmed on Stradun on Wednesday evening. The group brought another friend, the famous American musician Usher.
Everyone enjoyed a walk through the old city center in a great mood, accompanied by their bodyguards. For the evening walk, Katy and Orlando decided to coordinate their fashion, so they both chose white outfits. The famous singer wore a simple white short dress and flat sandals, while her fiance Bloom wore shorts, a t-shirt, a vest and sandals, and completed the styling with a hat. In a slightly more daring edition, Usher wore a combo of white trousers with a colorful shirt with white details, which attracted a lot of attention from the crowd.
Although the big stars attracted a lot of attention from passers-by on Stradun, they behaved rather inconspicuously and, judging by the photos, it seems that they were very interested in the architecture and that they were looking around all the time, writes Story.
