>Tech Billionaires do the darndest things
as the locals are wont to yell out to the overtanned dudes cruising their oversized yachts along Ego Alley in Annapolis ...
"nice boat, sorry about your dick!"
-----
Don't worry--that enormous gray warship docked in Baltimore Harbor isn't here on official business--it's the latest big-ticket purchase by Doug Humphrey, founder of Digex and Cidera.
Humphrey found the 120-foot British warship on the Internet as he was searching for either a boat or a plane to buy. He decided boats are more social and typical yachts aren't really his style. "I was going to allow myself one silliness," says Humphrey. It didn't come with the guns--the British government took them off before the sale.
Humphrey plans on putting a whirlpool on the deck and taking his friends on big trips, eventually cruising around the world. He's moving it soon to a private dock.
"It doesn't fit in with your average marina really well," he admits. He named the boat Badtz Maru, which is the name of a rude and obnoxious Japanese cartoon character--the antithesis of Hello Kitty.
While the Badtz Maru's original asking price was $3.5 million, Humphrey got it for a bargain, only paying $395,000, apparently because no one else (who was going to sail it rather than sell it for parts) wanted it. "It's military surplus and it's a big ugly warship," explains Humphrey.
Why does he love it? "It's a big toy that can go anywhere," Humphrey says. His wife, Lisa Losito, calls the boat the "clubhouse." "He's worked really hard, and he deserves something to play with," she says.
washingtonpost.com |
