geffen yacht portland maine

• lifestyle home
• resort & spas
• travel home
• jewelry & watches
• womens style
• fashion home
• CITY GUIDES
• BEST OF LUXE
• LUXE INSIDER
• YACHT SHOWROOM

David Geffen's 82-Room Megayacht Docks in Portland, Maine

The picturesque harbor at Portland, Maine hosts a number of luxury cruise ships in the fall months, but rarely does a privately owned vessel of a similar stature grace its waters. Thus when the world’s 10th largest yacht, David Geffen’s 453-foot long Rising Sun  docked there recently, it caused quite a sensation. The five-story, 82-room yacht took up enough space for several smaller boats at the city’s Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal. Originally commissioned by Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison from Germany's Lürssen shipyard in 2004, the yacht cost about $250 million to build. The Rising Sun features luxe accommodations for 12 people, in addition to 30 crew members, and features a gymnasium, spa, sauna, wine cellar, private cinema and basketball court that converts to a helipad. 

Geffen and Ellison were originally co-owners of the yacht before Geffen took full control of it in 2010. It it is the largest yacht in the world owned by a U.S. citizen. It is not known whether Geffen was on board the yacht when it arrived in Maine, but here’s where a few other billionaires docked their yachts recently: 

• Russian Billionaire Andrey Melnichenko brought the world’s “coolest” megayacht — a 390-foot, $400 million vessel designed by Philippe Starck and dubbed the A  — to Auckland, New Zealand.
• Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich brought the 536-foot  Eclipse , the second largest yacht in the world which cost around $800 million, to the southern Croatian island of Mljet.
• Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen arrived in Iceland aboard the 414-foot Octopus , the 13th largest yacht and the largest expedition yacht in the world.

Jared Paul Stern

Jared Paul Stern, JustLuxe's Editor-at-Large, is the Executive Editor of Maxim magazine and has written for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the New York Times' T magazine, GQ, WWD, Vogue, New York magazine, Details, Hamptons magazine, Playboy, BlackBook, the New York Post, Man of the World, and Bergdorf Goodman magazine among others. The founding editor of the Page Six magazine, he has al... (Read More)

Related Articles

Maserati TRIDENTE, a Luxury All-Electric Powerboat

For Sale: The 2006 ROYAL DENSHIP 209' "CUPANI" Expedition Explorer Yacht

Four Seasons Yachts Unveils 2026 Mediterranean Voyages

The Custom Line Navetta 38 Is A New Bespoke Luxury Monohull

Around the web.

JustLuxe.com and LivingLuxe are entities and marks owned by Luxemont LLC. 2004-2024 All rights reserved. Privacy | Terms

• Best of Luxe
• City Guides
• Destinations
• Custom Content

Massive yacht turns heads along Portland waterfront

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) - Maine is known for its waterfront, and places like Portland are certainly no stranger to massive cruise ships and luxury yachts.

But a boat that has been docked in Portland for the last several days is certainly turning some heads.

The “Rising Sun” is owned by billionaire media mogul David Geffen. The so-called giga-yacht is one of the 20 largest yachts in the world.

It is 452 feet long, and five stories high with 82 rooms, a spa, a movie theater, a wine cellar and a full-sized basketball court. It staffs a crew of 45 people.

Many people have been heading to the Portland waterfront just to get a look.

Copyright 2023 WABI. All rights reserved.

Police identify woman killed in I-95 crash in Augusta

Man called 911, said he killed wife before being shot dead by troopers on Piscataqua River Bridge

$2,000 payments going to thousands of Maine state employees

Officials identify motorcyclist killed in crash in Orono

New poll shows who is leading the election races in Maine

Bed bugs found inside laptops given out to students

Worker dies after medical event at Maine solar site, officials say

24-year-old tags: Holden Police Chief recounts unique traffic stop

Latest news.

Local snowmobile club looking for new members

Bangor man gets 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting child

Cadets at Nokomis High School hold ceremony in honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Maine Children's Home begins taking applications for Winter Essentials Program

Inaugural Walk For Hope raises over $31 thousand for cancer treatment center

LINCOLN MAN ARRESTED FOR DUI FOLLOWING CAR CRASH

Center Theatre’s livestreams 3rd ‘Dani on Deck’ fundraiser

Bangor Daily News

Maine news, sports, politics, election results, and obituaries

Gigayacht arrives in Portland Harbor

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

A $400 million gigayacht floating in the Portland Harbor is turning heads.

A yacht is typically at least 30 feet long, a superyacht is 80 to 100 feet long, a megayacht is 200 feet and a gigayacht is more than 300 feet long, according to the Portland Press Herald .

The vessel is owned by entertainment mogul David Geffen, the Press Herald reported.

The yacht, named Rising Sun, has 82 rooms, including a gym, wine cellar, spa and movie theater, according to the Press Herald. It can accommodate up to 16 guests and 45 crew members.

Geffen’s gigayacht is the 20th largest in the world, according to the Press Herald.

It’s certainly an eye-catcher at five stories high and 453 feet long.

More articles from the BDN

Las Vegas billionaire has 2 megayachts docked in Maine at once

by Troy R. Bennett, Bangor Daily News

PORTLAND, Maine ( BDN ) -- The billionaire owner of a megayacht visiting the Portland Harbor this week is so rich he brought along a second megayacht just to house all his expensive toys.

The second vessel, the 217-foot Hodor, was purposely designed to trail the 285-foot Lonian. The Hodor is likely hauling a crew of 20, five smaller boats, an array of jet skis, and a set of four-wheelers for use on land, according to the website Superyacht Fan. The Hodor can reportedly also accommodate a 6-ton helicopter, though none was spotted Wednesday morning.

• Also read: Gigayacht spotted in Portland Harbor attracts attention

Both boats, now at Fore Points Marina, are owned by Las Vegas casino tycoon and former Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Lorenzo Fertitta.

A private, motor-driven pleasure boat longer than 24 meters — or about 80 feet — is usually called a superyacht. But larger vessels over 60 meters — or 196 feet, like Fertitta’s boats — are known as megayachts

Superyacht Fan estimates the Hodor cost $30 million when it was new in 2019 and now costs between $3 million and $5 million to operate and maintain every year. But that astronomical price is a bargain compared to its mothership, the Lonian. The website reckons it was purchased for $160 million in 2018 and costs upwards of $15 million annually.

Fertitta’s pair of ultra-expensive vessels aren’t the only megayachts in town.

Parked at the next slip over is the Cayman Islands-flagged, 242-foot M&EM, which can accommodate 12 guests in six cabins, along with a crew of 19, according to Amels Yachts, the Dutch company which built it in 2022. The M&EM can cruise at 16.5 knots and has a range of about 5,000 nautical miles.

• Also read: Poisoned trees gave a wealthy couple in Maine a killer ocean view

It isn’t clear who owns the M&EM, but according to Vesselfinder, it arrived in Portland on Sept. 1 after being spotted in Portugal on Aug 25.

Also at Fore Points is the relatively small, 166-foot superyacht Sapphire, built in 2009. According to big-boat broker Denison Yachting, the Sapphire had an extensive retrofit in 2019 and can sleep up to 20 guests in seven staterooms. It’s for sale with an asking price of $15 million.

David Geffen's 82-Room Megayacht Docks In Portland, Maine

The picturesque harbor at Portland, Maine hosts a number of luxury cruise ships in the fall months, but rarely does a privately owned vessel of a similar stature grace its waters. Thus when the world's 10th largest yacht, David Geffen's 453-foot long Rising Sun  docked there recently, it caused quite a sensation. The five-story, 82-room yacht took up enough space for several smaller boats at the city's Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal. Originally commissioned by Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison from Germany's Lürssen shipyard in 2004, the yacht cost about $250 million to build. The Rising Sun features luxe accommodations for 12 people, in addition to 30 crew members, and features a gymnasium, spa, sauna, wine cellar, private cinema and basketball court that converts to a helipad. 

Geffen and Ellison were originally co-owners of the yacht before Geffen took full control of it in 2010. It it is the largest yacht in the world owned by a U.S. citizen. It is not known whether Geffen was on board the yacht when it arrived in Maine, but here's where a few other billionaires docked their yachts recently: 

• Russian Billionaire Andrey Melnichenko brought the world's "coolest" megayacht — a 390-foot, $400 million vessel designed by Philippe Starck and dubbed the A  — to Auckland, New Zealand.
• Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich brought the 536-foot  Eclipse , the second largest yacht in the world which cost around $800 million, to the southern Croatian island of Mljet.
• Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen arrived in Iceland aboard the 414-foot Octopus , the 13th largest yacht and the largest expedition yacht in the world.

• SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL
•   Weather

Search location by ZIP code

Photos: david geffen's "superyacht" docks in portland harbor.

• Copy Link Copy {copyShortcut} to copy Link copied!

One of the largest yacht's in the world, owned by David Geffen, was docked in Portland Harbor on Tuesday.

PHOTO: WMTW Image

Geffen is a former record producer and founder of Dreamworks.

His yacht, the Rising Sun, is listed as one of the largest yachts in the world.

GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Press Herald

Account Subscription: ACTIVE

Questions about your account? Our customer service team can be reached at [email protected] during business hours at (207) 791-6000 .

• Local & State
• Life & Culture

Tenth-largest yacht in world docks in Portland

The Rising Sun, owned by billionaire David Geffen, has 82 rooms and cost more than $200 million to build.

You are able to gift 5 more articles this month.

Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more .

With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month.

It looks like you do not have any active subscriptions. To get one, go to the subscriptions page .

Loading....

PORTLAND — The 10th-largest yacht in the world is berthed in Portland this week.

The Rising Sun, a five-story, 82-room super yacht owned by billionaire David Geffen, arrived Tuesday morning at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal. The yacht also was in Portland and Bar Harbor last September.

Additional Photos

It is unclear how long the yacht will stay in Portland, said Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for the city of Portland.

The Rising Sun is 453 feet long and reportedly cost more than $200 million to build. It has an extensive wine cellar, bathrooms with Jacuzzis, a private cinema and a basketball court that doubles as a helicopter landing pad, according to the yacht’s Wikipedia page .

The Rising Sun can accommodate up to 16 guests and 45 crew members, according to Superyachts.com .

The yacht was built for Larry Ellison, the CEO and co-founder of Oracle, an enterprise software company, according to Forbes.com .

Geffen, who bought the yacht from Ellison several years ago, is a record executive and film producer who started DreamWorks Studios with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Fred E. Gignoux, a Portland-based steamship agent and customs broker established in 1918, is acting as agent for the Rising Sun. Owner Justin Costello could not be reached for comment.

Last year, the Rising Sun was charged $2.10 per linear foot for each day it was berthed in Portland. Clegg said she expects the Rising Sun to be charged about $2,000 per day for berthing and amenities fees while it’s in Portland.

Comments are no longer available on this story

Send questions/comments to the editors.

Letter: A word of caution on heat pumps

Fatal portland shooting began with fight between rival motorcycle clubs, walmart plans instant bank payments, cutting out card networks, police believe ‘armed and dangerous’ man has left buxton area, after losing their leader, cumberland fair organizers step up in his memory, member log in.

Please enter your username and password below. Already a subscriber but don't have one? Click here .

Not a subscriber? Click here to see your options

• 30 Grand in Your Hand
• Dunkin' Gift Card Contest
• Fire Flame Friday
• Station Merch

6th Biggest Yacht in the World Spotted in Harpswell, Maine

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter

This yacht belongs to David Geffen, the founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of DreamWorks.

Kelly Green-Chartier spotted the luxury yacht off the coast of Harpswell this past weekend.

This little boat, according to the website Super Yacht Fan , has some impressive numbers.

Check these out:

• Named Rising Sun
• Built in 2004
• Cost 200 million
• 16 guests in 8 cabins
• Crew of 45 in 30 cabins
• 6th biggest yacht in the world

Kelly calls seeing this mammoth boat 'surreal'. I can only imagine. But what's it like on the inside? Oprah knows. Sir Paul McCartney knows. Julia Roberts knows. Since I'm sure I'm not on David Geffen's guest list - let's rely on those super yacht fans!

Imagine that you have a 200 million dollar boat and you bring it to Maine. I think that says more about Maine than it does about the big boat. Imagine, we can go out with a 200 dollar kayak because Maine is our home. How lucky are we?

And check out this sweet gallery of another superyacht that has graced our Maine waters:

Hop Aboard The Superyacht Known As 'Kismet'

More from q97.9.

trending now

Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid enjoy girls' night out in...

Janet Jackson slammed as 'irrelevant' and a 'leech' for...

Restaurateur Keith McNally takes aim at 'repulsive' photo of...

RFK Jr. wears wedding ring at Vegas event as wife Cheryl Hines...

Jennifer Lopez runs errands in LA after PDA-filled reunion with...

Tia Mowry wishes she was 'still close' with twin sister Tamera...

Martha Stewart leaves Netflix 'pissed' after she trashes new...

Keith Urban gives update on Nicole Kidman after her mom’s...

David geffen and his megayacht rising sun are still at large.

David Geffen may have stopped posting pics from his megayacht after backlash, but that hasn’t stopped others from buzzing about his boat, Rising Sun.

The $590 million yacht was seen this week off the Maine coast.

Two weeks ago, it made a refueling stop in New Bedford, Mass.

The yachting crowd was gearing up for a booming 2020 sailing season. Then the coronavirus happened.

If you were one of the lucky Americans to own a yacht before the coronavirus shut down the country, you were probably on the water.

In the first three months of the year, the average yacht sailed farther than the year before, according to an NBC News analysis of MarineTraffic boat-location data of 514 U.S.-flagged yachts at least 90 feet long.

For the billionaire David Geffen , that meant sailing around the South Pacific on Rising Sun, his longer-than-a-football-field superyacht, which includes another boat, the Rising Sun Cat, which docks inside. Like-minded superyacht owners followed suit, ditching the perils of sheltering at home — customer limits at grocery stories and trading designer clothes for toilet paper , among other struggles — for life at sea.

But after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13 , ship travel plummeted. What looked like a big season ahead for the yachting crowd turned anything but as the coronavirus spread, shelter-in-place orders were issued and island coastal borders were tightened.

Superyachts are generally at least 90 feet long, according to several superyacht club managers in Florida. The vessels typically have a paid crew on board and come with multiple bedrooms and lounging areas.

“You know it when you see it,” said Enrique Quintero, the general manager at the superyacht club Prime Marina in Miami.

For superyacht owners, the go-to spots before the national emergency declaration were the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and the Caribbean: paradises that had little-to-no confirmed coronavirus cases and were still mostly open. Yachting season for the region was at its peak for the year, with nearly 65 superyachts stretched throughout the region. After Trump’s declaration, four-fifths of the ships set sail for the U.S. At the same time in 2019, there were three times as many U.S.-flagged yachts in the Caribbean.

As states began to issue stay-at-home orders and the country ground to a halt, the yachting season became less about leisure and more about finding somewhere to shelter in place.

“A lot of people had that idea that, ‘Oh, I'm going to jump on my boat’”

Phil Brassington, a Florida-based shipwright who specializes in long-term sailing equipment, has worked late nights and weekends since February to keep up with increased customer demand. Though some of his customers made it to sea, several puttered out around the Keys, stuck stateside because of travel restrictions . From yacht shipwrights to yacht salesmen, work in the industry has picked up as affluent customers come calling.

“I've been very busy, because as COVID-19 unfolded, a lot of people had that idea that, ‘Oh, I'm going to jump on my boat and leave,’” Brassington, who has lived with his wife and two children on their catamaran for the last few years, said.

Covid Tracker These states have the most coronavirus cases. See the day-by-day breakdown.

Among those eager to escape the pandemic was Brian Harmon, 57, a retired restaurateur and chef. As coronavirus case numbers began to ramp up in mid-March, Harmon made plans to leave the mainland on his catamaran, Salty Dreams.

“I was not going to participate in the insanity,” said Harmon, who lives on Florida’s mainland when he’s not sailing. “So I decided that I thought the best way to a quarantine would be to hop aboard Salty Dreams and get off land.”

Within a week he had built a crew solicited from an online sailing forum and had cast off for the Florida Keys. In the weeks since, he’s spent most of his time fishing, tinkering with the boat and watching “Peaky Blinders”on Netflix when there’s an internet connection. His crew consists of a married couple from upstate New York in it for the experience. The wife, an attorney, works by phone whenever she can and the husband is often away on Harmon’s dinghy exploring.

In mid-April, after a month or so at sea, Harmon was out of groceries and had to turn around as popular islands in the Keys restricted travel. At Key West, the dockmaster held onto Harmon’s driver’s license while he deboarded for an hour to get gas and groceries. At Marathon, he wasn’t allowed to leave his boat at all. The inconsistency and lack of freedom drove him to turn Salty Dreams around for a slow-paced float back to mainland Florida.

Despite droves of boats such as Salty Dreams sailing home, yacht salesmen are keeping busy, according to Michael Costa, a salesman based in California. His company, SeaNet , deals in selling whole yachts and shares of yachts, akin to a timeshare.

In the past few weeks, he’s seen an increase in families drawn to the fractional ownership program, which has a price tag starting at $250,000. Most customers, Costa said, are interested in weekend getaways.

“I think that people are looking at private yachting as a very interesting alternative in this environment,” Costa said. “People are rethinking their vacation trips to Europe or having to travel long distances as it relates to getting on a plane.”

Ports close, add restrictions

Most islands in the Caribbean, such as the Bahamas and the U.S. Virgin Islands have implemented restrictions similar to those in the Florida Keys, allowing few ships out and fewer in. Yachters have been left with two options: shelter-in-place until the waters open or retreat stateside.

The island clusters are gathering spots for a majority of superyachts outside the U.S. After seaports began closing in the Florida Keys in late March, many superyachts set sail toward islands in the Caribbean, which started closing soon after.

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis sent in warships from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in early April to prevent unauthorized ships from traveling the islands without written permission.

For Katie Gasper, 39, who has been living at sea for years with her husband and 11-year-old son aboard a 65-foot yacht, the crackdown meant staying put.

Gasper, a former physician assistant and current stay-at-yacht mom, and her family were in the U.S. Virgin Islands in mid-March, a day after the Islands confirmed its first coronavirus case. If it weren’t for prior docking reservations, the family wouldn’t have been allowed in .The island’s shelter-in-place rules are similar to those stateside: Nonessential businesses have temporarily closed, restaurants are limited to takeout and delivery, and gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited.

COVID TRACKER Map of how many coronavirus cases have been confirmed across the country

They’re still allowed to travel on land throughout St. Thomas, but the limitations have started to bite at their day-to-day schedule. Since March, their typical day isn’t that different than before the pandemic: biking, homeschooling, board games and yoga. Gasper said the most uncomfortable difference is the lack of human contact.

“We don't really hang out with people,” Gasper said. “Drinking at sundown is a really big thing for sailors. We've done it only once in the past three or four weeks with friends of ours that are an older couple. We just sat 6 feet apart from each other on the dock getting drunk.”

The Gaspers are staying put until further notice, postponing a loosely planned trip that would have taken them through the Panama Canal and toward Australia, where Gasper’s husband dreamed of staying for a few months. She said the family feels safer docked in the islands than they would stateside, largely because of the distance between themselves and coronavirus hot spots.

The port they’re docked in, Charlotte Amalie, had been crowded for weeks, Gasper said. But after the island’s social distancing measures went into effect, the superyachts cleared out and headed for Florida’s beaches, which Gov. Ron DeSantis opened portions of two weeks later .

“It was kind of just like business as usual here,” Gasper said. “A lot of the megayachts were coming and going and partying. Now many of the boats are returning to the U.S. prematurely. They're either sailing up there or being shipped on freighters up there. It's emptied out quite a bit.”