Paul Allen's Yacht Destroyed Three Basketball Courts Worth of Coral Reef in the Cayman Islands

Paul Allen’s yacht damaged 14,000 square feet of protected coral reef in the Cayman Islands earlier this month. It seems the anchor chain of the “Tatoosh,” the 49th largest yacht in the world, did the damage near two popular scuba diving spots. Allen, the billionaire owner of the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks (who was not on the boat at the time), apparently just got involved with coral reef preservation research last year.

This yacht is both big and a big deal. So much so that when you Google Paul Allen, a sports team-owning co-founder of Microsoft, the first search autofill is “Paul Allen yacht.”

Here is Boat International magazine’s description of the vessel:

"Tatoosh, a five-deck yacht displacing 3,616 tonnes, was built for cellphone magnate Craig McCaw and later sold to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. A model of understated luxury, she has a huge owner’s suite with a full-beam bedroom, family room, observation lounge, office, gymnasium and two cabins for children. Six guest cabins are located on the lower deck. Aside from the main and dining saloons, there are a panoramic lounge and cinema. Other facilities include two helipads with refuelling equipment, one for the yacht’s own McDonnell Douglas MD500 and one for guests’ helicopters; a 12 metre speedboat and a Frers-designed 13 metre sailboat positioned in davits to port and starboard; a swimming pool; and a diving room with decompression chamber in the stern. Tatoosh is manned by a full-time crew of 30, with facilities available for visiting staff and the helicopter pilot. The yacht is named after an island in the Pacific Northwest that marks the entrance to the Straits of Juan de Fuca."

Everything in this story sounds like it came from the 30 Rock writers’ room.