It is big. Really big. When you see photos of Jeff Bezos and his boat, the scale doesn't quite register until you spot a human being standing on the deck looking like a literal ant. We are talking about the Koru, a $500 million schooner that has basically become the final boss of luxury maritime engineering. Honestly, people get weirdly obsessed with the price tag, but the engineering and the sheer logistical chaos this boat caused in the Netherlands are way more interesting than the bank statement.
You’ve probably heard the rumors. There was that whole "egg-throwing" threat in Rotterdam because people thought a historic bridge would be dismantled just to let the masts through. It didn't happen. They towed it without the masts and stepped them later. It was a whole thing. But beyond the drama, this vessel represents a massive shift in how the ultra-wealthy are spending their time on the water. It’s not just a floating hotel; it’s a 417-foot technical marvel that requires a secondary "support ship" just to carry the toys.
Why the Jeff Bezos boat is actually a schooner (and why that matters)
Most billionaires buy motor yachts. They want the sleek, white, "wedding cake" look seen in Monaco. Bezos went the other way. The Koru is a three-masted sailing yacht.
Why? Because sailing is a flex of patience.
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When you’re under sail, you’re dealing with the physics of the wind. Of course, it has massive engines, but the sails are functional. Built by Oceanco under the project name Y721, the ship draws inspiration from Ethereal, a smaller but equally complex yacht. It’s painted midnight blue with a gold stripe. It looks classic. Sorta like something a 19th-century tycoon would own, if that tycoon also happened to run a global logistics empire and a space company.
The name Koru is Māori for "new beginnings." It’s a spiral shape based on an unfurling silver fern frond. Bezos posted about this on Instagram, talking about personal growth and renewal. It’s kind of ironic considering the boat is basically a small city, but the sentiment seems to stick with his current "rebranding" phase of life.
The shadow ship: Abeona
You can’t talk about Jeff Bezos and his boat without talking about the other boat.
Meet Abeona.
It’s a 246-foot support vessel built by Damen Yachting. Think of it as the world’s most expensive garage. Because Koru is a sailing vessel, the deck is covered in rigging, masts, and winches. There’s no room for a helipad or a fleet of jet skis. Abeona follows Koru everywhere, carrying the helicopter, the provisions, the extra crew, and probably enough fuel to keep the party going for months. It’s a two-ship operation. If you see one, the other is usually lurking a few miles away.
The Rotterdam bridge controversy was a giant misunderstanding
Let’s clear this up once and for all. The Koningshaven Bridge, affectionately known as "De Hef," is a landmark in Rotterdam. In early 2022, reports went viral saying the city would dismantle the middle section of the bridge to let Bezos’s yacht pass.
The internet lost its mind.
A Facebook group was even formed to organize a mass event where locals would pelt the yacht with rotten eggs. It was a peak "eat the rich" moment. However, Oceanco eventually withdrew the request for the bridge to be dismantled. They moved the boat in the middle of the night, masts detached, to a different shipyard for finishing. No bridge was harmed. No eggs were thrown. It was a masterclass in PR damage control, but it cemented the boat’s status as a symbol of excess before it even touched salt water.
Inside the Koru: What we actually know
Privacy on these boats is tighter than a NASA debrief. However, maritime enthusiasts and photographers have captured enough to give us a clear picture.
- The Figurehead: There is a wooden figurehead on the bow that looks remarkably like Lauren Sanchez. It wears a necklace with the Koru symbol.
- The Pool: There is a massive pool on the aft deck. Not a hot tub—a legit swimming pool.
- The Capacity: It can host about 18 guests and requires a crew of nearly 40 people to operate smoothly.
Living on this thing is basically like living in a boutique hotel where the scenery changes every morning. Bezos has been spotted everywhere from the coast of Spain to the Italian Riviera. Most recently, the boat has been seen in the Caribbean during the winter months.
The environmental irony of sailing yachts
There is a lot of talk about how sailing yachts are "greener" than motor yachts.
Kinda.
While Koru can move using wind power, the carbon footprint of building a 400-foot steel and aluminum vessel is astronomical. Then you factor in the support ship Abeona, which is a pure motor vessel. It’s better than a pure motor yacht of the same size, sure, but "eco-friendly" is a stretch. It’s more about the aesthetic of sailing—the quiet, the heel of the ship, the connection to the ocean.
What most people get wrong about yacht ownership at this level
People think you buy a boat and just go. At this scale, Jeff Bezos and his boat are a corporate entity.
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Running Koru likely costs about $50 million a year. That’s for crew salaries, docking fees (which are insane in places like Ibiza or St. Barts), insurance, and maintenance. Most of these boats are registered in the Cayman Islands or similar jurisdictions for tax and regulatory reasons. It’s not a hobby; it’s a logistics puzzle that requires a full-time management team on land just to handle the paperwork.
The complexity of the masts alone is staggering. They are carbon fiber. They have to withstand immense torque. If a winch fails during a gust, you aren't just looking at a broken part; you're looking at a potential catastrophe. This is why the crew on Koru aren't just "deckhands"—they are highly specialized engineers and professional sailors.
The cultural impact of the "Big Boat" era
We are currently in a "Gilded Age" of yachting. Bezos isn't the only one. Mark Zuckerberg recently reportedly bought a massive ship (Launchpad), and Larry Ellison has been in the game for years.
But Bezos’s choice of a sailing yacht changed the conversation. It made "old-school" cool again. Suddenly, the world’s tech elite are looking at masts and rigging instead of just bigger engines. It’s a strange juxtaposition: the man who built the future of retail is spending his vacations on a vessel that relies on technology invented thousands of years ago.
Real-world takeaways for the curious
If you’re following the saga of Jeff Bezos and his boat, there are a few things to keep in mind if you ever want to see it in person:
- Track the AIS: Use apps like MarineTraffic. The Koru and Abeona are required to broadcast their positions for safety. You can see exactly where they are anchored in real-time.
- Look for the Support Ship: Often, Koru will be anchored further out to sea because of its deep draft (the amount of boat underwater), while Abeona might be closer to port or moving supplies.
- Respect the Perimeter: If you’re on a rental boat, don't get too close. These yachts have professional security teams that do not find "close-up selfies" amusing.
- Understand the Flag: Koru flies the flag of the Cayman Islands. This is standard for almost all "Gigayachts" due to the maritime laws and tax structures available there.
The Koru isn't just a boat. It’s a statement about how the most powerful people on Earth want to be seen: as explorers, as traditionalists, and as individuals who can literally move mountains (or at least try to move bridges) to get what they want. Whether you find it inspiring or an example of extreme wealth inequality, you can't deny that it is a beautiful piece of machinery. It’s a ghost of the past built with the tech of the future.
Next steps for yacht enthusiasts
If you want to understand the tech behind these ships better, look up "Dykstra Naval Architects." They are the ones who pioneered the modern "Dynarig" and large-scale sailing tech that makes ships like Koru possible. You can also research "Oceanco Y721" to see the original design renders before the boat was officially named.