On Sunday (28th Oct 2012), over a year after Jobs’ death, the super yacht was finally revealed and the launch took place in the presence of Jobs’ widow Laurene and their three children Reed, Erin and Evem. The ship was built by the Dutch shipbuilder Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw, which took over six years to be finished.
In Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson which has sold over 1 million copies there’s the story that the late Mr. Apple went to Aalsmeer in Holland to have his unique, “sleek and minimalist” yacht built, designed by himself and the minimalist designer, Philippe Starck. Jobs planned to sail the world with the ‘Venus’, together with his family.
Jobs did not live to see his dream yacht launched, and he was well aware of that he might never sail the ‘Venus’ on her maiden voyage himself. Nonetheless, he kept continuously involved with the design process. In the Isaacson biography, Jobs is quoted, “I know that it’s possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half-built boat. But I have to keep going on it. If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die.” But even if he would never sail it, being Steve Jobs, he wanted to leave it behind as a landmark in ship design – and as a present for his wife and children.
Shipbuilding staff were present at the launch and Laurene Jobs brought them a personal letter, to thank them ‘for your hard work and craftsmanship”, and they all received a specially designed iPod Shuffle with the name ‘Venus’ inscribed on the back. After the launch, the Venus will be transported – by ship – to the US.
The ship was named after the Roman Goddess of love, beauty, art, fertility and pleasure. She’s between 230 and 260 feet long (70-80 meters), and the outer hull is made entirely from aluminium, making the yacht much lighter than any other ship of its class.
The tall white motor yacht, with its shiny straight bow that stands perpendicular on the water surface, has straight lines and a design that gives the ship the appearance as if it were carved out of one solid peace of aluminium. The large panes of ceiling-to-floor glass are exactly as described in Isaacson’s book, “as at an Apple store, the cabin windows were large panes, almost floor to ceiling, and the main living area was designed to have walls of glass that were forty feet long and ten feet high”.
The decks are made of teak, the front deck has a large sun terrace and a Jacuzzi and a line of windowpanes runs from the bow to the vessel’s midpoint. At the ship’s rear is a hatch to launch a speedboat to go ashore when it’s not possible to moor in a port. The ship is said to have 27 iMacs on board, 7 of which can be seen on the bridge that will be used to navigate the ship over the seven seas.
Royal De Vries is part of the Feadship Group, leader in the luxury motor yacht market and supplier ‘par excellence’ of the oil sheikhs and billionaires of this world. Other members of the Feadship Group are De Voogt Naval Architects and Royal van Lent.