"MY BOAT IS BIGGER THAN YOUR BOAT !

Auk Bay was looking like it was being invaded with huge luxury yachts one bigger than the other !  I did some investigation on the Internet to try to figure out who these people could possibly be.  To my surprise they were mostly billionaires escaping their infamous past !

M/V Lady Christine 223 ft.
26 Crew Members
Holds 47,424 Gallons of Fuel
Owner: Lord Irvine Laidlaw and Wife Christina
Scotland

Naughty Scottish Lord Laidlaw, multi-millionaire, remains in exile and disgrace after a sexual scandal involving prostitutes, cocaine and a 78 million dollar unpaid tax bill in Britain. His notorious orgies have been aboard the "Lady Christine" which he keeps in Monaco where he also hides from paying taxes.  He crashed the helicopter you can see on the stern of the ship during one of his parties but survived. He has been in several sex rehabilitation facilities and donated 2 million dollars to one to help patients dealing with similar problems.  He resigned from the House of Lords because of the scandals and tax debt.  

S/V Athena 295 feet
18 Crew Members
Holds 103,255 Gallons of Fuel
Owner: James Clark, Founder of Netscape, Silicon Graphics, Healtheon/WebMD 
United States of America

Athena's bowsprit is 45 ft. long.

This Magnificent Schooner is the world's largest. James Clark is a very generous philanthropist donating huge amounts to Stanford University.  He has been married four times.The last marriage is to an Australian model 36 years younger that he.

The Athena is for sale for a reportedly $95 million dollars.

M/V Vibrant Curiosity
26 Crew Members
Holds 75,297 Gallons Fuel
Owner: Reinhold Wurth,  Screw Manufacturer
Germany

The German billionaire who has put his factory workers on short-time and cut their wages. He ordered 1,250 of his 5,000 employees in Germany to reduce their working hours and cut their pay by 15 per cent.  The rest of his workers are being forced to take a solidarity pay cut of five per cent.  At the same time the convicted tax evader christened his new $100 million yacht
 "Vibrant Curiosity"!
While in Auk Bay, the yacht conspicuously anchored outside the break water to ensure his privacy.

EPILOGUE:
There were many more luxury yachts that came and went with similar stories.  They seemed to be in such contrast to the raw natural beauty of Alaska and to the hardworking people of the fishing and logging industries.  Perhaps they needed to experience something "REAL"!  To see the incredible beauty of the wild landscapes and the wonderful creatures that live in them, things that cannot be bought or sold.  Or maybe to see the source of their fine cuisine and those that bring it to their tables. 

Or maybe it was none of the above, maybe it is just another day in their lives!

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