When news broke worldwide this month about Google co-founder Larry Page buying the 194-foot expedition motoryacht Senses, article after article reported breathlessly that he’d paid $45 million for his new toy. Virtually every media outlet from the United States to the South Pacific focused on the cost of the megayacht—and, in my opinion, completely missed the more interesting part of the story.

Senses, Page's new motoryacht, is known for her array of water toys.



The thing that struck me as fascinating is the specific yacht that Page selected. For the money he reportedly paid, he could have had any number of brand-new, traditionally styled megayachts from well-known shipyards such as Trinity and Feadship. Instead, Page chose a nearly 12-year-old boat originally overseen by Kusch Yachts, a far smaller German company known for its work on custom-designed, purpose-built behemoths such as the 436-foot Al Mirqab and the 303-foot Tatoosh.

And he chose an expedition-style yacht as opposed to a classic motoryacht, one designed to hold countless water toys as opposed to endless cocktail parties. At the time Page purchased Senses, the yacht was far less known for her interior décor (albeit recently redone by none other than Philippe Starck) than she was for her array of tenders, which are said to have included four Wave Runners, a 28-foot sailboat, a 16-foot catamaran, a 26-foot fishing boat, three kayaks, a 42-foot motorboat, and a 24-foot RIB. Oh, yes, and a helicopter pad, too.

While so many people in Page’s financial stratosphere buy megayachts that grant them instant access to the yachting community’s most star-studded harbors, Page chose a megayacht that would let him turn the world into his personal playground—with a range that can easily take him far from everyone else’s view.

I’m no psychologist, but it seems to me that Page’s choice of Senses makes one heck of a statement about his world view. He’s not at all interested in doing what most other people do. He’s not even interested in being where other people are. He’s a man interested in going out to discover what the most remote corners of the world have to offer, to see things that few other people ever see, and to do things that almost nobody else gets the chance—or has the ability—to do.
People have been asking for years where the Google machine ends and the man Larry Page begins. With Senses as the new extension of his personality, I’d say we now have a clear indication that in Page’s mind, there is quite simply no end in sight.

kim_kavin-headshotKim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com.

Written by: Kim Kavin
Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of 10 books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, and is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com.
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