A few minutes on Rising Sun

So there I was in Valencia for a media round table with Larry Elison, head honcho at Oracle. xcept that instead of the roundtable being at a boring hotel like they usually are, this one was on board Rinsing Sun, Larry's personal yacht, over 100m long.
So we weren't allowed to take pics onboard Rising Sun because it is his home and how would you like a bunch of nosy journalists poking around your house takeing photos but I need to write this down somewhere and I will try to paint as good a picture as I can with words and post one or two exterior pics later on.

So we took the boat out to Rising Sun, which is too big to bring into the pleasure boat harbour at Valencia and we docked at the back of Rising Sun. The back is a wide deck with two large doors that swing up when the boat is stationary and lock into position when the water is rough or the boat is moving. These are very thick doors with bolts that lock them into position when they are closed.

So we had to take our shoes off there because, as with all yachts, they don't want the deck to get marked. Then it was up a flight of stairs to the first deck. This is quite small there is a room, which was closed, and a few outdoor chairs in a reddish finish with off-white cushions on them and a hot tub sunk into the deck. I guess that sundowners from there must be something special.

Up another deck and there is the basketball court and the sports room. Again this was closed but the court is a nice size and there is nothing cluttering up the space here.

Up another deck was as far as we got to go. This is what looks like the main entertainment area, with more outdoor furniture clustered around. there are also two large sets of cushions forming a square ( a bit like a chessboard of ottomans 2.5m square). All of this is very functional, not gaudy or brash in any way. There was a long outdoor table that we used for the meeting and we squashed about 20 odd people around the table.

Inside the lounge area there is another lounge suite which almost had a 70's feeling to it. the whole area was done in a brownish decor and all looked very plush and comfortable. On the far left of the lounge there was a long dining room table probably capable of seating just over 20 people around it.

Directly in front is a stone clad wall and to the left is a  wide hallway running down the left side of the boat. I didn't get much further than that.

What I did get to see was the bathroom for that section, which had under-lit marble floors and a much more modern, trendy feel than the lounge area. The toilet itself was a metal base with a wooden top, but I think that has more to do with the fact that it was on a boat than a style choice.

Despite the size of the boat and the clear luxury nature of the fittings, the whole aim seems to have been to build a comfortable home, rather than trying to impress people by going over the top. I do wonder at what point you start to get used to having a large staff of people always around you. I guess that once you get a large house you start with a housekeeper and then a gardener and then a cook and then someone else and soon enough you have a staff of 40 looking after you on your luxury yacht.

Considering how successful Oracle has been as a company it is hard to fault the accommodation he has chosen.