People saw it on Facebook. And they saw it on Instagram. But many had to come see it up close and in person.
Social media scrollers turned into real-life gawkers on Wednesday as a steady stream of onlookers paused along the western shore of Seattle’s Lake Union to take in Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s superyacht.
No one knew why the $300 million, 387-foot Launchpad was in Seattle. Some wished it wasn’t. Others were pretty thrilled to get a glimpse of the gleaming blue and white vessel, backed into a giant slip along Westlake Avenue North.
“I’ve been selling boats here in Seattle on Lake Union for 35 years, and I believe this to be the biggest boat I think I’ve ever seen on the lake,” Tony Witek told GeekWire.
The biggest boat Witek has ever sold was about 90 feet long. He called Zuckerberg’s Dutch-built yacht a “personal cruise ship.” Asked how many boats he’d have to sell to afford one like Zuck’s, Witek laughed.
“I think you’d only have to sell this one, and then you could easily go into retirement,” he said.
On a blue-sky May day at lunchtime, the bike and pedestrian trail along the lake was especially busy, and slowed to a pinch point as people stopped to stare, take selfies, FaceTime friends or just ask, “Whose boat is that?”
On the water, people got even closer in dinghies and kayaks — and were warned to stay back by a private security guard from land. A stand-up paddleboarder floated nearby to take pictures. The Argosy Cruises tour boat slowed during a pass by the yacht’s bow. Two electric rental boats did circles as passengers looked up at the towering Launchpad.
The vessel arrived in Seattle Tuesday night, drawing a similar crowd as it passed through the Ballard Locks. The timing was called less than ideal by some, as Meta cut nearly 1,400 jobs in Washington state earlier in the day.
“The timing of it seems a little distasteful,” said Tim Peterson of Renton. “Probably should have kept it out there in the Sound a little bit longer.”
Peterson said he can’t afford a boat of his own and said he’d be lucky to be able to get a dinghy. He’s not on Facebook, but he is on Meta-owned Instagram.
“I helped pay for it a little bit,” he laughed. “I guess my taxes helped pay for it as well,” he added, lamenting the yacht as a glaring example of excess while many people lack food, housing and healthcare.
“If people have that, then by all means, get you a big old boat,” Peterson said.
The yacht drew several employees from Meta’s nearby South Lake Union offices. Two engineers said it was interesting to get a sense of the scale of the ship, especially one owned by the head of their company.
“That’s what it’s like to work for a conglomerate,” one of the workers said. The two didn’t want to give their names for fear of being fired.
Steven Redpath, a former Boeing worker, said he used to come to Lake Union to see the aerospace company’s superyacht, Daedalus. The floating corporate entertainment venue was sold for approximately $13 million in 2020.
“Boeing has cleaned up their corporate image and got rid of the yacht,” said Redpath, who took a detour on his bike ride to get a glimpse of Launchpad.
“We bend over backwards for public transportation. We are always looking for solutions to the homeless crisis, and that doesn’t help with either one,” he said, pointing at the yacht. “I think capitalism is letting us down. This is not what our founding fathers were intending to do. This is run amok.”
Gurneet Takhar, an estate planning attorney in Seattle who spends her time analyzing the money moves of millionaires and billionaires, called the yacht “an interesting asset to own.”
A man piloting a dinghy nearby said he owned a boat on the lake and cruised over to get some size perspective, joking about how many of his boats would fit in the yacht. Another man made a comment about taxes while pointing out the yacht’s Marshall Islands flag, a common registry for large yachts.
And another onlooker, a real estate broker reflecting on the effect of tech layoffs on Seattle and the housing market, called the boat “ugly.”
Deckhands from the yacht could be seen unloading cardboard boxes from a U-Haul box truck parked on the dock. It was tough to tell what was in the boxes — supplies for the stay in Seattle, perhaps. Other workers, including one wiping down parts of the boat, could be seen on decks above.
There was no sign of Zuckerberg.
Ava Pappas stopped by after seeing a picture of the yacht in her aunt’s Instagram story.
Pappas leads a Seattle run club called Cool Down Running that runs from the Center for Wooden Boats in South Lake Union up to the Fremont Bridge and back on Wednesday nights.
She planned to make a stop with the group mid-run.
“It’s insane. Most people don’t understand the caliber of this megayacht,” Pappas said. “It’s definitely just a treat to be able to see it in person. It’s a beautiful boat, and I love just kind of looking at it in awe.”
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