Superyacht with 66-metre support yacht spotted off Victoria
The 87-metre yacht Lonian superyacht pictured from Gonzalez Hill Regional Park in Victoria. (CTV News)
A pair of multimillion-dollar yachts sailed past Victoria on Monday, both owned by billionaire brothers who made the bulk of their fortunes as owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The 87-metre yacht Lonian was trailed by its 66-metre support yacht Hodor, described by Boat International magazine as "the world's largest floating toy box."
Support vessel Hodor is pictured in a handout photo from 2019. (Incat Crowther)
While the Lonian can accommodate 12 guests, 27 crew and a helicopter of its own, the catamaran-style support ship acts as a kind of floating garage, carrying speedboats, jet skis, motorcycles and ATVs.
The helicopter pad of the support vessel Hodor. (Incat Crowther)
"The idea was to get all the clutter off the mothership and on board a dedicated vessel," the Hodor's first officer told the magazine last year.
"There was no need to restrict the quantity of toys we put on board. The owner just let us go ahead and fill it with cool stuff."
The rear-deck of the support vessel Hodor. (Incat Crowther)
The Hodor's designer, Incat Crowther, says the support ship "accommodates an astounding number of toys, facilities and personnel," which includes a submarine garage and a scuba-diving platform complete with onboard air compressors and "a hospital with decompression chamber."
The 66-metre "support yacht" Hodor is seen from Victoria on July 11, 2022. (CTV News)
According to financial transparency website OpenCorporates, the vessels are owned by a pair of holding companies controlled by Fertitta Enterprises, the family company of Lorenzo Fertitta and brother Frank Fertitta III.
The 87-metre yacht Lonian pictured off Victoria, B.C. (Sooke Coastal Explorations)
According to Forbes magazine, the casino-magnate brothers bought the UFC for US$2 million in 2001 and sold it in 2016 for US$4 billion, while retaining stakes in the company which sold in 2017 at a US$5-billion valuation.
Vessel-tracking website marinetraffic.com indicates the yachts were en route to Vancouver from Seattle.
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