Art Interior House

Shortly after the yacht's launch, Alain Colas skippered the boat under the name Club Mediterranée in the Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR). Colas was plagued by halyard problems during the race, and was forced to pull in to Halifax, Nova Scotia to make repairs. Although he was 330 miles in the lead at the time, he was penalized 58 hours for accepting help in Halifax, leaving Éric Tabarly to win the race for the second time. It is worth noting that Tabarly's win (23d 20h 12m) on the 73 foot yacht Pen Duick VI was the last win for a monohull in the famous OSTAR race until 2009, when no multihulls were able to complete the race due to severe conditions.

Because it was thought the huge sailboat would not excel as a racing yacht, she was soon converted into a charter boat, where she spent the next 20 years laying about as a Polynesian playground for the rich and famous. The yacht caught Bernard Tapie's eye in 1982, and he bought her, refit her for private use, and renamed her Phocea, to honor the Phocaeans. After his refit, Bernard was pleased with the luxury of the yacht, and the speed, which clocked up to 30 knots under sail on one transatlantic voyage!

Then, in 1997 the mega yacht caught the eye of controversial Lebanese business woman Mouna Ayoub. The former wife of Saudi billionaire Nasser Al-Rashid bought the yacht for five and a half million euros, saying she wanted to refit the boat as her personal floating palace. It is rumored that she partly paid for the refit of the Phocea by selling "The Mouna", a record-breaking 112 carat diamond.

Over 20 million U.S. dollars were spent on Phocea, as the boat was transformed into a luxury sailing mega yacht fit for the queen of shopping. While the hull and exterior where restored and upgraded, the interior of the yacht finally received a woman's touch, with major work throughout - particularly in Ayoub's special owner's suite, which fittingly sits alone on the main deck of her floating palace.

by Nick Riley exclusively for YachtPals.com