Chicagoans had both a lot of questions and thoughts after a massive yacht rolled into Burnham Harbor.
A Redditor shared a picture of the mystery vessel to the r/chicago subreddit, and classified it as "absolutely massive."
Industrious visitors to the subreddit filled in the blanks. A Redditor ID'ed it as "New Secret," a 243-foot-long yacht valued at $100 million per SuperYachtFan. It's been exchanging hands and changing names of late, but at the time of the post, it was owned by the Lopes Family of São Paulo, Brazil.
That prompted a user to speculate what it was doing in Chicago.
"If I had to guess, they were likely in town for the Sueños Music Fest in Grant Park," they predicted.
While another user questioned how it could even reach the city with its mammoth size, multiple users clarified that it could make the voyage easily. With those questions answered, the discussion shifted to the elephant in the room, or sea, in this case.
New Secret isn't the biggest boat on the seas, by any means. Still, its purported $10 million annual cost, accommodations for 12 guests and 19 crew members, and perks like a helipad, spa, and multiple pools are nothing to sneeze at.
All that luxury and space come with major consequences for the planet. Superyachts have an outsized impact that has led some to refer to them as "ecocide," per Bloomberg. Their massive engines and resulting exhaust create a tremendous amount of pollution even when they're docked, as the Guardian explained.
Meanwhile, the trend of more superyachts and private jet travel is showing no signs of stopping. That's a troubling reality, given an Oxfam report's revelation that 50 of the world's richest billionaires exceed the average person's lifetime pollution in just 90 minutes due to their toys like superyachts.
Reaction was mixed on the r/Chicago subreddit.
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Absolutely 💯 "Looks kinda tasteless to me, honestly," a user wrote with some pushback in the manner of downvotes.
"I'd love to get a tour of the shipyards and meet some of the engineering and design staff," a more receptive user reacted.
"Eat the rich," a commenter declared. A separate poster clarified why to a poster curious about that sentiment.
"Because, as Mario Puzo once wrote, 'Behind every great fortune is a crime,'" they explained.
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