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Photo: Edmiston Yachts (Composite)
There's a saying in showbiz that applies across all other industries, but only if you know which sources are reliable: there's never smoke without a fire. Two months after reports that billionaire Bill Gates was about to sell his personal superyacht fleet and one month after his megayacht was listed, his shadow cat has also hit the market.
Bill Gates is not just the world-famous Microsoft co-founder, a billionaire, and arguably the world's highest profile environmentalist. He's also, as of 2021, a superyacht owner, a choice that seems to contradict his passionate speeches about our need to cut down on pollution, to reduce our carbon footprint, and to each do our part to stave off climate change.
In 2021, Gates took delivery of the largest vessel to leave the Astilleros Armon shipyard to date, the 224-foot (68.2-meter) shadow catamaran called Wayfinder. The reported price at the time was just $25 million, which must've felt like a drop in the bucket for someone of Gates' worth. However, it wasn't that what made Wayfinder such an intriguing topic of discussion for pundits and trade publications alike.
Neither was Gates' environmentalism and how it clashed with his new status as a superyacht owner. Instead, the riddle was his choice to buy a shadow vessel when he clearly had no mothership that Wayfinder could, well, shadow.
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
An explanation came earlier this year when word got out that Gates was preparing to take delivery of Project 821, a Feadship build that's the world's first hydrogen fuel-cell megayacht. Project 821 is a gargantuan leisure craft with a matching budget of well over $600 million, which we assume comes with matching amenities and features. That last part is still unknown as of this writing since construction is still underway.
The succession of events was then swift and completely surprising. Wayfinder was listed on the charter market for the first time, which was followed by reports that this was but a first step towards Gates selling it. Chartering it first would allow word of mouth to spread faster and get potential future owners to check it out in person, at their own leisure.
Then, rumors swirled that Gates would also be selling Project 821 and that he'd decided to do it before he'd take delivery of it, allowing its next owner to customize it by further stretching out the construction timeline. Those rumors were confirmed shortly after by the shipyard, though they didn't as much as acknowledge the reported $600+ million asking price.
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
Today, we add another chapter to the saga, which also comes in the form of confirmation of earlier rumors. Wayfinder has been listed for sale with Edmiston Yachts, so the same luxury broker that holds the listing for charter is now holding the listing for the sale.
So, anyone looking for a military-inspired, rugged, and very competent catamaran that can be either a shadow vessel to a much larger superyacht or a superyacht on its own can have Wayfinder, as long as they can afford the €55 million asking, which is $59 million at the current exchange rate. Here's one report that has just been shut down: Wayfinder didn't cost $25 million to build.
Aside from the Gates ownership, Wayfinder has many more things to brag about, from the Incat Crowther naval architecture, Oliver Design interiors, and 1,737 GT of interior volume to the 12-guest, 30-crew capacity, lavish amenities, and packed garages.
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
Wayfinder falls in the superyacht explorer category, a relatively recently-emerged subsection of the high-end superyacht sector, but with the added capacity of a toy hauler. This means that it can go anywhere, anytime, with or without its mothership, and with or without the toys the mothership requires.
Amenities range from lavish socializing and dining spaces to single-purpose designer areas, like the waiting lounge by the helipad, an infirmary, a dive center and decompression chamber, a spacious beach club with fold-down terraces, and a well-equipped wellness area and gym (also with fold-down terraces).
Even the commercial-grade helipad is rendered awesome through multi-functionality, not that owning a superyacht with its very own helipad wouldn't be awesome enough. On Wayfinder, the helipad can – and did – double as a massive party venue with a 200-strong guest capacity, or as a pickleball court even when the vessel is underway.
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
Then, there are the packed garages that no toy hauler could ever be worthy of the name without. Wayfinder carries a 17-guest Munson Beach Lander, a 16-guest Compass limo, an Explorer Icebreaker e-Jetboard, and a range of personal watercraft of various sizes.
Wayfinder is built to the latest IMO Tier III emission guidelines, has an onboard water treatment plan and a dry waste treatment system, in keeping with a zero-discharge policy. This part is what probably answers best the question of how known environmentalist Bill Gates could reconcile his activism with his ownership of such a massive polluter – and unnecessary luxury "toy." Which reconciliation was only temporary, it seems.
