WHAT HAPPENS ON THE BOAT STAYS ON THE BOAT
6/7/2007 10:21:40 AM by Wave Editorial Staff
Wave’s editors and foreign correspondents often find themselves in some pretty sticky situations while out at sea in search of that next great story idea. Here are a few we thought might be worth a mention.
HOLLYWOOD HEIST
Until he decided to take up piracy, Brad Renfro was best known for being the kid client in the 1994 film The Client, based on the bestselling John Grisham novel. His acting credits also include The Cure, Telling Lies in America and Sleepers with Brad Pitt. As if those 15-plus minutes of fame weren’t enough for the then-18-year-old, Renfro, along with friend Harold Bond, 24, decided to steal a 45-foot motoryacht at Holiday Harbor Marina in Fort Lauderdale. The criminal duo was caught because they forgot to untie the dock lines. When they attempted to throttle away from the dock, the boat, valued at $175,000, backed into the dock, damaging the stern and allowing time for the thieves to be apprehended. The two were charged with third-degree grand theft and criminal mischief, and were thought under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the attempted theft. Renfro subsequently received two years’ probation, in addition to making reparation in the form of repair costs and police fees. The totals were $4,204.55 for losses and repairs and $141.02 for investigative expenses.
SEA SINNER
Father Michael Moynihan of St. Michael’s Parish Church in Darien, Connecticut was forced to resign due to his taste for the yachting lifestyle at the expense of parishioners. The minister traded-up boats five times within a short period of time. The first was a $9,000, 19-foot Cobia, the last was a 35-foot Chapparal at an estimated cost of $200,000. To fund his luxury lifestyle, which also included trips to The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, first-class airplane tickets, and, since 1996, six Infiniti Q45s, Father Moynihan kept two confidential bank accounts containing church funds in excess of $500,000, which he could not account for. The staff at expensive waterfront restaurants in his cruising waters are reportedly missing his big-tipping visits very much.
GHOST ABOARD
Even ghosts can’t keep their boating stories out of the news. In 1979, actor John Wayne sold his boat The Wild Goose to Santa Monica lawyer Lynn Hutchins a month before he died. Since then, his paranormal phenomena have been observed aboard. “I’ve seen John Wayne’s ghost twice and have felt his spirit nearby many times,” says Hutchins. “I was sleeping in The Duke’s stateroom when I woke up in the middle of the night. The room was black and the boat was uncannily silent. As my eyes got used to the dark, I suddenly became aware of someone standing by the door to the port gangway. I froze because I was alone on the boat. Then I leaped out of bed and the figure vanished into thin air! Later I talked to Bert Minshall, a former captain of the boat, and he said that the ghost was John Wayne.” Noted psychic Pat Hayes checked out the yacht thoroughly and reported that she is convinced that Wayne’s spirit was returning to the boat because he had a deep emotional attachment to it in his life.
NOT HOT
Paris Hilton has been photographed numerous times sunbathing topless and even completely nude aboard the superyachts of her friends and boyfriends. The hotel heiress admits that she has done many wild things on yachts but has never been a “yacht prostitute.” In her deposition rebuttal to the $10 million slander lawsuit brought against Hilton by model/actress Zeta Graff, Hilton claims Graff once told friends of Mariana Kourkoulos, mother of their shared ex, Paris Latsis, that Hilton had worked as a “prostitute” on billionaire computer genius Paul Allen’s yacht during the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Hilton is being sued for a false story that she gave out about Graff attacking her in a London nightclub that ran in the New York Post. Allen has not commented on the matter.
POWER YACHT
This past April, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt signed a contract to purchase a 240-foot, $137 million tri-deck Italian superyacht. The story was leaked by Mario La Via, a boat builder at the Privilege Yard near Rome, when he said that an ultra-luxury megayacht was ordered by “a leading Hollywood couple.” While he refused to confirm that it was Brangelina, other local sources say it was. The yacht will feature six ensuite staterooms with lavish marble and gold fittings for themselves and their children, as well as a helicopter pad, swimming pool and gym. The yacht is described by those in-the-know as “a push for more family togetherness.” Guess that puts a crimp in paparazzi shots of Jolie sunbathing topless aboard.
SUPERMODEL VS SUPERYACHT
Supermodel Naomi Campbell reportedly didn’t like the cuisine aboard boyfriend Badr Jafar’s 100-foot luxury yacht last summer. The result of her outrage was an astounding $54,000 worth of damage aboard. The incident occurred when Dubai-born Prince Jafar took his yacht, Nasma, with Campbell aboard, to the Tuscan Riviera. Once moored, Jafar hired a cook from a local restaurant of note to craft a “memorable, romantic meal” for he and Campbell. Locals report that the renowned chef, referred to simply as Andrea, dished up a “fresh and tasty tomato, mozzarella and dried ham starter accompanied by a local white wine.” Campbell turned her famous nose up at the offering and is reported to have told Andrea “where to shove it.” The chef retorted with a colorful Tuscan diatribe that sent Campbell into a fit. A guest aboard stated that, “All hell broke loose. All you could hear was shouting, screaming and the sound of plates being broken.”