MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Megayacht drawing plenty of attention in Lake Union

May 10, 2014, 11:05 PM | Updated: 11:31 pm

The 314-foot long superyacht Vava II is docked in Lake Union. (Alyssa Kleven/MyNorthwest.com)...

The 314-foot long superyacht Vava II is docked in Lake Union. (Alyssa Kleven/MyNorthwest.com)

(Alyssa Kleven/MyNorthwest.com)

A high-priced visitor is drawing plenty of attention on Seattle’s Lake Union this weekend.

The $160 million superyacht VAVA II, owned by billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and his wife, former Miss UK Kirsty Roper, has been docked on the west side of the lake since Friday.

The yacht, which features its own swimming pool, helicopter landing pad and fold-down beach club, is reportedly the 33rd-largest in the world.

Bertarelli is an an Italian born Swiss businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist, who ranked 94th in the 2013 annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people compiled and published by Forbes magazine. Roper is considered the wealthiest woman in the United Kingdom.

The yacht traveled through Ballard’s Hiram M. Chittenden Locks Friday afternoon and narrowly missed hitting the side, according to a post on the Locks’ Facebook page.

The yacht was reportedly refueling in the lake after traveling from Hawaii and stopping in Port Townsend, the Seattle Times reported.

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Megayacht drawing plenty of attention in Lake Union