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Microsoft co-founder inadvertently financed superyacht marinas in the Caymans

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It is unlikely that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen originally had the idea to do this kind of charity, but it was out of his pockets that the Cayman Islands government paid for the construction of several superyacht moorings.

So the authorities decided to dispose of the fine that Paul Allen paid for the fact that his own 92-meter boat Tatoosh had destroyed with its anchor chain an area of coral reefs the size of the Olympic swimming pool.

The first of four superyacht anchorages has already been set up. A huge mooring buoy weighing 13.6 tonnes was installed by the military and the Department of Environment in Grand Cayman's West Bay area to sink into a layer of sand 12 metres deep. Yachts over 30 metres in size can now moor here. It is the first of its kind ever to be built in the Cayman Islands.

In total it is planned to construct two super yachts moorings at Grand Cayman and one on two other Cayman islands.

Besides the construction of superyacht moorings, Paul Allen also paid for the restoration of the damaged reef. At the same time, the billionaire never admitted his guilt in this case.

According to the yacht's owner, the crew clearly followed the port authority's instructions when mooring the yacht. « When the crew received a diver's warning that the Tatoosh's anchor chain could damage the coral, its members promptly and willingly moved the yacht to another location»," the Microsoft co-founder said in a statement.

Megayacht Tatoosh was built in 2000 at Nobiskrug shipyard in Germany for telecom tycoon Craig McCaw. She was bought by Paul Allen in 2001. The boat is the 49th largest in the world. Her five decks have two helipads, a depth-adjustable pool, movie theater, basketball court and recording studio. Tatoosh can accommodate 20 guests and 30 crew members. In 2010 Paul Allen put Tatoosh on sale for $160 mln, but she was not sold after 4 years and was subsequently withdrawn.

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