Steve Jobs’ Floating Apple: The Venus Yacht

He never saw the finished product…

The late Steve Jobs, founder and creative lead of all things Apple, passed in 2011.  A year later, his floating palace was unveiled and put to sea. 

“Venus” they call her…

A collaborative effort between Jobs and famed designer Philippe Starck beginning in 2007, the 257-foot Venus was engineered by De Voogt Naval Architects and built by Feadship at their De Vries yard in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. 

You may recall Starck having been involved in other striking yacht design from my blog on Andrey Melnichenko’s 390-foot behemoth.  With Venus, Starck and Jobs created a floating sculpture clearly in the Apple design idiom.  The yacht is all aluminum except for the stainless steel cutwater at the bow and the anchor pockets.  10 by 40-foot glass panels define the clean exterior, all surfaces appearing smooth and uncluttered by design.  Hatches, cleats, even the Jacuzzi are hidden beneath panels or sliding teak covers.

As for the interior, nobody outside of the inner circle wants to provide information.  Few pictures or details have ever been released.  I am guessing they never will…

Where is Venus now?

After a retrofit in late 2015 at Monaco Marine in La Ciotat, France, the yacht has emerged and is likely prowling Mediterranean waters.  Owned by Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, the yacht is not chartered, indicating Laurene and her closest family and friends are the sole occasional residents of this floating homage to Apple. 

Remember, apples do float…

Indeed..!