Does anyone know who might be on a yacht off the French coast with a military escort right now?

[MinnieMountain]

Sorry for the long title.

I’m being nosy.

I’m staying in Cassis and since I’ve arrived on Thursday there’s been a big yacht anchored in the bay with a yacht in camouflage colours anchored near it.

Does anyone know who that might be?

An internet search hasn’t brought anything up.

If I told you I would have to have you killed.

It’s Sergey Brin.

I'm intrigued by the yacht in camouflage colours - shades of blue/grey, or a really out of place green?

The “camouflage” ship is the John Paul De Joria.

I’ve uploaded a picture, awaiting review.

It’s me. Do you want to head over tomorrow for lunch? We are having lobster and caviar. I’ll send the tender to pick you up for 12. Bring your swimmers.

Well I never. You lot are so good you should be spies.

I assumed the grey camouflage is military. Rather dull for a yacht isn’t it?

Count me in!

It’s a research vessel, unspecified in which research.

Sergey Brins yacht is called Dragonfly and is worth $450 million.

Look it up on vesselfinder.com - it's fascinating! But yes, as a PP said, looks like it's Sergey Brin's Dragonfly.

Photo taken from Cassis beach at sunset yesterday.

It’s definitely Dragonfly. I could see a section just above water level lit up at night.

The John Paul De Joria is a marine conservation vessel owned by Paul Watson famous for being arrested for saving whales. It was on its way to Iceland to intervene in the whale hunt there but that for cancelled. Cool ship to see!

The camouflage one is a research vessel, so nothing as exciting as you're imagining unfortunately.

I’d love to @fruitbrewhaha but I’ll be on the train to Paris then. Mind if I pop over for breakfast before I go?

I’m off to google, but am I spectacularly out of touch, never to have heard of Sergey Brin?

Inside the Dragonfly
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4322268/Dragonfly-super-yacht-owned-Google-exec-Sydney.html

Oh, how ironic. Apparently he co-founded Google!

I was just about to comment on the irony of your first post 😂

I’d never heard of him either @maudelovesharold .

I had assumed royalty and the camouflaged yacht is protection. Mega yachts look like big yachts from the distance I was looking.

The one in the middle has really good camouflage!

I’m guessing they just happen to be in the same bay. The John Paul DeJoria is owned by Paul Watson’s Foundation. He is an environmental activist previously wanted by Costa Rica and Japan for alleged crimes. Last year he was in prison in Denmark. “In July 2024, Watson was detained in Nuuk by the Danish police, citing an Interpol red notice from Japan.[12] He was expected to stay in pre-trial detention until October 2, 2024;[13] Watson and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to have the decision set aside.[14][15] After his detention was extended several times, on December 17, 2024, the Danish government decided that Watson would not be extradited to Japan.[16] He was released from prison and returned to France.”

I doubt Paul and Sergey are on a boating holiday together.

https://www.all-creatures.org/strategies/strategies-john-paul-dejoria.html

Ah, that's what they want you to think. Move along, nothing to see!

All this stuff looks good, £450 million etc but that Titanic submersible and the sinking of Bayesian shows that the money means nothing if the sea decides it wants you