| Privacy
at It’s Best...
Written
by Kim Kavin
It’s got to be tough being Tiger Woods. Between championship rounds on the PGA Tour, he has a dozen sponsors to keep happy: There are Buick commercials to film, Tag Heuer watches to wind, American Express mini-movies to headline alongside the gopher from Caddyshack. Pity the poor man who’s just trying to beat par. How could he ever spare a second to build the yacht of his dreams? |
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Actually, he’s just the type of customer Christensen Shipyards wants these days. While the builder would neither confirm nor deny that Woods is the owner who took delivery last summer of a 155 Trideck Motor Yacht known as Hull 026, the fact is well-known within the industry—and the matchup makes perfect sense. This yacht is the first in Christensen’s new Advanced Production Series, in which it starts a 157-footer every four months (the 155 is identical to the 157s, less a kicker on the swim platform). The yard’s goal is to deliver three 157s each year to busy owners who want a yacht that’s nearly complete but that can still be personally tailored.
Example number one is Woods, who bought the 155 in February when it was about two-thirds done. “Sixty percent is really ideal,” says John Lance, Christensen’s marketing and advertising director. “You’re down to under a year delivery time. You can come in and choose the interior, and you’ve got a boat.”
That is, unless you’re busy approving
the latest version of EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf for video-gamers
worldwide. Woods may have paid for the $20-million yacht, but he never
once set foot in the Vancouver, Washington, yard before her delivery. Instead,
his then fiancée visited several times. “She’s a quick decision-maker,”
the project manager notes without confirming her identity. “No haggling
around.”
| m | What she chose for Hull 026 is
a clean, contemporary interior surrounded by deep cherry woodwork. “I think
they were looking for something that created a very light environment inside
a very warm shell of paneling,” says Portland, Oregon-based interior designer
Carol Williamson. “There was a desire to have very clean, simple, understated
lines to the furniture. The idea was to contrast the modern against the
traditional wood detailing.”
To that end, Hull 026 features
tone-on-tone beige marble where other yachts might have intricate mosaics;
polished chrome and stainless steel where other owners might choose gold.
The carpeting that runs
In the saloon, chairs and couches are cream and light browns with simple, square lines—save the brown leather beanbag chair that was one of Woods’ favorite pieces aboard his previous yacht (he apparently enjoys sinking into it before playing video games or watching television). Williamson had it replicated in white leather for Hull 026’s sky lounge, which is filled with soft whites and pale grays. |
The furniture layout in the saloon is a first for Christensen, with open space between the seating areas on each side. “Usually, you walk in (from the aft deck) and there’s a cabinet you have to go around,” Lance says. Instead, the only cabinet on centerline in this space separates the saloon from the dining room, and it holds a 50-inch plasma-screen television that swivels. “If you want to watch ESPN while you eat your Cheerios,” Lance says, “you can.”
Most guests enter via the starboard
foyer, near the sweeping staircase made with cherrywood handrails and clear,
curved-glass panels. An elevator—a Christensen standard—that can hold three
people (or one wheelchair) is a few steps away should guests want to skip
the steps heading down to their accommodations.
| The VIP stateroom is aft, with
mirror queen cabins amidships and a twin cabin with Pullman nearby, just
before the accommodations for nine crew begin all the way forward. The
portside twin guest cabin is converted to a gym, with a cutout in the overhead
above the TechnoGym treadmill—which still looks like it will be a tight
squeeze for the 6-foot, 2-inch Woods. He may have to settle for a workout
on the Evolution exercise bicycle, or with the stylish black-and-silver
rubberized free weights that range from 5 to 45 pounds.
Then again, it seems Woods might prefer to get his exercise outdoors. There had once been talk of a fully gimbaled pool table in Hull 026’s sky lounge, but instead, the yacht carries all her toys under the sun on the top deck, including three SeaDoos, two ocean-going kayaks, and a pair of Vespas. |
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They’re all stowed aft of a large bar with marble countertop, stainless Lynx barbecue grill, eight-person Jacuzzi, and teak chaise lounges covered with (you guessed it) beige-and-white striped cushions.
Woods has an inflatable decompression chamber aboard, an important safety measure for divers who push deeper than the 120-foot recreational limit. One of the deckhands aboard Hull 026 says his boss has never been below 140 feet but is now aiming for 200. “Anywhere there’s fish,” he says. “We like to spear fish.”
Hull 026 took a little more than
three years to complete.
| m | A little more
about Tiger Wood’s wedding to Model Elin Nordegren
News reports describe the sunset wedding of Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren as lavish, posh, ritzy, bewitching, exclusive, expensive, and elaborate. Here's information on how the two met, and more facts about their wedding and marriage. Birthdate: Eldrick "Tiger"
Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California.
Wedding Date: October 5, 2004. The
ceremony itself was simple although the rest of the wedding preparations
were elaborate and expensive. 500 red roses were imported for the wedding.
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Tiger hired the whole complex for a week including 110 rooms and three golf courses. The rooms reportedly cost from $700 to $9,000 per night each.
Wedding Attire: A team of hairdressers
was flown in from London. Elin wore an off-white sleeveless gown. Tiger
wore a beige suit.
| Wedding Attire: A team of hairdressers
was flown in from London. Elin wore an off-white sleeveless gown. Tiger
wore a beige suit.
Wedding Guests: Approximately 150
guests were invited to the wedding, including Ophrah Winfrey, Michael Jordan,
Charles Barkley, and Bill Gates. The wedding reception was held in
the resort banquet room, which was decorated with 10,000 red and black
roses. Champagne and caviar were served to the wedding guests.
Where They Met: Elin and Tiger met in 2001 at the British Open at Royal Lytham in England. Elin was working as an au pair to Jesper Parnevik, a Swedish golfer. |
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Proposal: November 25, 2003. Tiger
proposed in the South African Shamwari Game Reserve while they were on
a romantic walk at sunset. They were there for a safari vacation and slept
under the stars after the Presidents Cup.
Honeymoon: Their first night as
a married couple was spent on the multi-million dollar, 155-foot yacht
named Privacy. Tiger hired the yacht for two weeks.
| m | Hometowns: Tiger - Cypress, California;
Elin - Stockholm, Sweden.
Occupations: Tiger: Professional Golf Player; Elin: Model, Au Pair (Nanny) Residences: Tiger and Elin own a 155-foot, $22 million yacht which they named "Privacy". It is docked at the Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach, Florida. Religion: Tiger, Buddhism. Children: None. Other Marriages: None. Right is a photo from Tiger Woods party |
Quotes: Tiger Woods: "I have a
balance in my life. Ever since Elin came into my life, things just became
a lot better. Someone you can bounce things off, somebody who is a great
friend. We do just about everything together. It's nice having that type
of person around you. She's so much like me. She's very competitive, very
feisty, just like I am."