NASA notes arctic sea ice at lowest point measured, and a NW passage has opened
And a the same time, the SuperYacht Crowd makes note that a superyacht is the first vessel to complete the Northwest passage without the support of icebreakers.
There have been 108 previous sailings by icebreakers or small groups of ships supported by icebreakers and the commercial possibility of a NW passage are huge. But it appears on the very first unsupported sailing of the NW passage is a superyacht. These are the yachts set apart from other yachts because they are, well, super. When the 1% of the 1% need to set themselves apart from those who are apart. This confluence has led me to ponder some things.
The efforts to find a northwest passage have have driven thousands of men. The exploration of Hudson's Bay, the Coasts of Main and even the sailing of the Half Moon up what was later to be called the Hudson River was all in the effort to find the Northwest Passage. Saving months on the passage of commerce from Europe to Asia. When it was first accomplished by a nuclear submarine it was global "big news".
A Short History of the Hundreds of Failures to find the NorthWest Passage
In the last decade as the arctic ice accelerated it's vanishing, a larger and longer flotilla of commercial vessels have crossed the passage supported by icebreakers. But the time this can happen is only a few weeks each year, and not yet commercially "plannable". But I expect in the year 2013 for CostCo and Maersk to plan "one runs" across the top of the world.
But today we have the announcement of the completion of the journey and it is cause for a bit of buzz apparently in the super-yachting set. A number of announcement on web sites that follow the superyacht set, yet while the accomplishement, and a retelling of the tale appears repeatedly... and yet while all the announcement contain, deserved references to the ship and it's captain, and often a link to the specifications of the superyacht, the accounts are all strangely devoid of the names of the owner and his superyachting guests.
Specifications of the Superyacht Arcadia
This is slightly interesting on several levels. Who is it who complete the NW Passage in a Superyacht, but chooses to have releases sent congratulating the captain, and praising the yacht...but making no mention of the owner, nor the invited guests.
This is one examples recounting the journey:
Launched by Royal Huisman in 2006, the 36m explorer yacht Arcadia has now successfully completed her east-west transit of the Northwest Passage – making this superyacht the 159th vessel to complete the intrepid journey since the original record was set 108 years ago.
This treacherous journey requires a sturdy vessel and an even studier crew, but what makes Arcadia’s journey so significant is that this is no steel-bound ice breaker, but an elegant luxury yacht.
She was designed and built with the vision of her owner to become a globe-trotting gentleman’s yacht with the ability to go anywhere in comfort and style. Her Tony Castro design certainly alludes to high latitudes and explorer tendencies – a visual heritage that Arcadia has evidently lived up to in real life.
Arcadia departed on her voyage from Christianshab, Greenland, on 2nd of September and crossed the Baffin Sea to Pond Inlet where she commenced her transit on the 5th of September.
Under the command of Captain James Pizzaruso, Arcadia’s owner and guests experienced a stunning journey that included numerous polar bear sightings, weather which both challenged and awed those on board and some exhilarating shore-side hiking.
"The Arcadia's owner and guests?"
How...Modest. Victorian? Gilded Age? Who is this unknown owner? Who payed for this ship and this adventure? Apparently Mr. Steven Grossman.
http://www.superyachtfan.com/...
Taken from Super Yacht Fan, and validated by the web site of Royal Huisman Shipyards:
Arcadia 35.8m (117.45ft) - Royal Huisman Shipyard BV 2006
Owner: Steven Grossman - Cost to Build USD 600 million
A fairly common name. But interest to note that there is a broken link associated with the SuperYacht Registry leading to RockTenn corp.
Of course.
For those who have not followed the business world of cardboard and packaging, though I am sure you will use some of the products during the day today...let me catch you up a bit.
RockTenn was a small family owned packaging firm, formerly known as Grossman-Southern Container. Even in the mid 2000s it was only a few hundred people. Business Profile of Rock-Tenn c. late 2005
And then something happened. A massive amount of leverage capital made Rock-Tenn the hub of a huge roll-up. The business model is pretty easy to understand: Buy up Unionized Packaging companies by a non-union owner. "Cut Costs" on labor. Repeat. Where this funding came from is a little hard to fully unwind, but in 2006 a huge input in capital came in, along with a young financial cheerleader driving SunTrust Banks massive leveraging in Florida Real Estate, Mr. J. Powell Brown. While it is unclear where Mr. Brown's money came from, it is very clear the money came along with Mr. Brown joining the board in 2006.
That same year Mr. Grossman, who had been running a $100M annual company, and likely taking home $1M or so a year...suddenly was able to put in a custom order for a $600M yacht.
Bully for him.
Rock-Tenn went on a buying spree of extraordinary buy ups which continues today, most recently Smurfit-Stone, this account below is simple enough.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (NYSE: SSCC) is a global paperboard and paper-based packaging company based in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. It has approximately 21,000 employees. In 2007, Smurfit-Stone was ranked 13 in PricewaterhouseCoopers' "Top 100" forest, paper, and packaging companies in the world (ranked by sales revenue).[1] The company is also among the world's largest paper recyclers. Rock-Tenn bought the company in a $3.5 billion deal that closed in May 2011.[2]
While this roll-up has mostly left both the buyers and the sellers happy with the payouts, It is interesting to note that Smurfit-Stone's shareholders and directors found the buyout rough enough to bring some litigation, recently settled over the price paid.
RockTenn settles with Smurfit-Stone paying up another $6.26 per share to shareholders
At some point along the way, I will note that Mr. Grossman apparently was not buying up other targets fast enough for Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown apparently fired Mr. Grossman in 2009 or early 2010. Though I can find no links covering the reason for the transition.
And while I don't know what training Mr. Brown had in running a global paper and packaging firm, I will note he is the son a famous industrialist.
J. Powell Brown previously served on the Board of Directors of the SunTrust Bank/Central Florida, as Vice Chairman of Finance for the Board of Governors of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Central Florida, and the Bolles School Board of Visitors. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Boggy Creek Gang Camp. Mr. Powell Brown is the son noted investor J. Hyatt Brown.
So if you want to examine Mr. Brown's leadership record and judgement perhaps you can examine Mr. Brown's record at SunTrust? Or not, as Mr. Brown left the BOD of SunTrust in 2007.
We do know SunTrust needed a $3.5 Billion bailout in 2008.
One of many accounts of SunTrust CEO being pleased to accept the funds
SunTrust seems to have used nearly all of the funds to buy up weaker banks. SunTrust has a historical legacy of working with Coca-Cola and various SE US companies. I work in banking IT. Interestingly I have never worked on, or bid on, a SunTrust project. So I have no first hand understanding of the culture.
But the point of this journal is not Banking IT. It's the first crossing of the NW Passage.
Which was apparently financed by huge windfall of Brown and Brown Investments exiting SunTrust Bank and deciding to use the vehicle of RockTenn to do a rollup and union busting run of paper and packaging assets.
Mr. Grossman, as a result, being launched from the Yachting Crowd, to the SuperYachting Cadre, and now in fact a name that should be registered in the global legion of explorers.
He completed the Northwest Passage.
Step up and take some credit Mr. Grossman, who were you fellow sailors? Or is this all hush-hush due to an upcoming TV Reality Special? I am sure a lot of Smurfit-Stone employees would love to see how you spend their $600M + in leverage buyout winnings resulting from the "cost-reductions"
And I for one, am extremely pleased at your efforts.
While "the science is not yet definitive" has rung horribly false for two decades. Even the mouth-breathers can understand it's a new world when SuperYachts can cross the pole, and the NorthWest passage is real.
Interesting Times.