by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
The Super Bowl isn’t back in town but there is another big boat moored in front of the Hyatt Regency.
The Princess Mariana, an $80 million 252-foot yacht, is back in town for the second time since April and it’s parked in its usual spot on the St. Johns.
Much like its last visit to Jacksonville, the giant vessel, reportedly the 26th largest yacht in the world, has once again caused quite a stir around downtown’s water coolers. But, all the fuss is much ado about nothing. According to the city’s waterways coordinator, Steve Nichols, the Princess Mariana’s captain is from Jacksonville and the boat is in town for some dry dock repairs.
Nichols said he was alerted a few weeks ago that the boat would be sailing into town and that the captain had reserved the spot in front of the Hyatt.
While most yachts passing through Jacksonville are usually of the smaller variety and can pull into either River City Marina or the city’s marina at Metropolitan Park for a rest, Nichols said boats longer than 100 feet have no place to moor themselves but the river banks, also known as “large vessel docking areas.”
And at $1 per day per foot, the riverside parking spaces aren’t cheap. But when the boat is worth more than $80 million like the Princess Mariana, the owner can probably afford the parking space.
Any boat the size of the Princess Mariana is allowed and more than welcome to dock in downtown Jacksonville, but Nichols said it is a bit of a journey for big ships to come downtown.
“It is about 18 miles inland and a lot of vessels coming up and down the coast don’t think about it or don’t take the time,” he said. “It is becoming more popular though.”
Though the Mariana is headed up river for repairs today, Nichols said it should be back around Thanksgiving.
So, who’s boat is it?
According to several Internet reports and yacht enthusiast Web sites, the Princess Mariana is owned by Carlos Peralta, one of Mexico’s 12 or so billionaires. It is reportedly his seventh yacht and has been sailing around Europe and the Mediterranean over the past few months.