It’s often claimed that being an air traffic controller is the most stressful job in the world, but I reckon a day directing planes would be a walk in the park compared to the job of navigating a multi-million-dollar megayacht along tiny Dutch canals.
If you want to experience the stress of piloting an enormous yacht through the tiny canals that litter the Netherlands, then you should check out this clip showing the journey taken by a brand new megayacht before it reaches the ocean.
To raise the stakes a little, let me tell you that this giant yacht is the new toy of Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire owner of the Aston Martin F1 team who is part Bond villain and part unhappy panda. His new yacht is currently under construction in the Netherlands, and was recently moved out of the shipyard where its superstructure was completed to begin sea trials.
More than 50,000 miles of canals
In order to complete this journey, the 259-foot long yacht, which is code named Project 714, was carefully hauled out of the Feadship yard on the outskirts of Amsterdam. It was then towed to Rotterdam in the south of the country, where it was free to enter the open ocean to begin sea trials, reports GP Fans.
In order to get from one Dutch city to another, the $200 million yacht wasn’t taken along the coast or hoisted out the water to travel by road. Instead, it was squeezed along some of the 55,000 miles of canal that you’ll find in the Netherlands. To make the journey, the ship had a tug boat at each end so as not to use its high-tech hybrid power.
The journey was captured by YouTube channel Dutch Yachting and while it’s a pretty slow watch, there are some real edge-of-your-seat moments in the roughly 44-mile trip.
Larger than my house
The film, which is available to watch above, documents the ship’s journey through the canals, which at times are just a whisper wider than the 44-foot hull of the enormous boat. On the way, it passes through the town of Alphen, where it dwarfs houses and even a church lining the canal.
The clip also shows the ship squeezing through a road bridge that lifts for it to pass. Crews on the side of the canal are on hand to ensure the hull doesn’t touch the road, and spotters onboard can be seen checking the clearance as it passes through.
There are a few other sketchy moments while passing through other bridges, with cars lined up as traffic builds while the roadway is out of action. Another particularly hairy moment comes when the yacht navigates a kink in the canal, and there’s also a 90-degree turn that’s immediately followed by yet another tight bridge.
At home in the Monaco harbor
The entire journey reportedly went off without a hitch, and the ship will soon begin sea trials before Stroll can take delivery of the vessel, which will reportedly come later this year.
It’ll be a pretty formidable ship in the Monaco harbor when Stroll no doubt takes it to the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix to see his team finish just outside the points yet again. The vessel measures almost 260 feet in length and is 44 feet wide. It comprises five decks that reportedly house a swimming pool and several bars, and the elongated bow doubles as a helipad. The ship reportedly cost around $200 million to build and replaces the multi-million-dollar Faith yacht that Stroll sold in 2022, adds luxury news outlet DMarge.
Stroll isn’t the first billionaire to block Dutch roads with his megayacht, as Amazon boss Jeff Bezos also caused a few traffic jams when his luxury liner was floated down the waterways on its way to the ocean.
