Customers of extreme wealth have come to expect more from their purchases. Three-floor bedroom suite? Mobile home gym and spa? Helicopter pad and hangar? Submarine garage? Big as they are, there's only so much you can fit in a Rolls-Royce. So the revered British marque has teamed up with renowned shipyard Palmer Johnson on what could be the ultimate globe-trotting mega yacht the world has seen yet.

With 82 meters (267 ft) fore to aft and six decks of living space, the PJ World Yacht packs all the features we listed above and then some. It's even got an anti-piracy system – we're talking about real pirates, not copying DVDs here – and an environmentally-friendly diesel-electric propulsion system. At the moment, this Ice Class cruiser – enabled by Palmer Johnson's acquisition of Noway's Flekkefjord & Slipp shipyard – is just a concept, but at this level, all it takes is one wealthy customer to turn the idea into reality. And something tells us that customer already has a Rolls-Royce or two in the garage.

Itama Yachts, founded in Italy by Mario Amati in 1969, matched timeless style with the latest engineering. The sleek, powerful, blue-and-white boats became an instant hit with jetsetters and sportsmen on the Italian Riviera. The company's latest and largest offering, the $4 million SeventyFive (above), continues that tradition with new technology and style to spare. The 75-ft. motoryacht features high bows, a spectacular curved profile and a distinctively sleek structure created by a slim central roof.

An enormous carbon fiber and glass windshield and retractable canopy covers the cockpit, and large sliding sofas can be joined to form a vast horseshoe seating 12 people on deck. The layout includes three cabins and three baths below, as well as a twin crew cabin. Elegant materials are employed throughout, including natural teak and steel, wooden parquet floors, linen lacquered wall paneling and mosaic tiling for the bathrooms. With its twin 1823 hp MTU engines the yacht boasts peak speeds of up to 43 knots.

Working for Oprah certainly has its perks. The AFP is reporting that Oprah Winfrey celebrated her 55th birthday in Barcelona with 1,700 of her employees and their families. The party took place over the weekend at Poble Espanyol, a popular tourist destination with shops, bars and restaurants. Her lucky guests will spend three days in the city before embarking on a 10-day Mediterranean cruise aboard the Norwegian Gem liner sailing to Italy, Turkey, Greece, and Malta. The ship has 11 bars and lounges, 12 restaurants, pool, hot tubs, a beauty salon, spa, casino, cigar club, library and even a bowling alley. Oprah is said to be spending around $5,400 per person on the cruise.

Many towns are cutting back on fireworks and other public events and another public draw nearly ended up cancelled. The Boston Globe reports that Sail Boston, the international regatta of tall ships, has been saved after the state agreed to provide $1 million to cover security costs. Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Governor Deval Patrick worked on a deal to get the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to pay for the event, In 2000, the Sail Boston event ended up costing the city $1.6 million. But this time Boston will receive $750,000 directly from the state and Sail Boston is also paying $250,000 toward state police costs.

This year's event will be smaller. The event will no longer include the parade of sail, the most striking event when 50 ships fill the harbor watched by throngs of people. Related fireworks displays have also been canceled. This time they will sail in on a staggered schedule and dock for five days. But visitors can still get on board the ships and meet the crews from around the world. The event takes place from July 8-13.

Some wonder whether the downsized Sail Boston event will attract major tourism. It is more likely that the event will attract day visitors more than those staying overnight especially since the event has been up in the air for months. The event remains free for spectators.

Once the final putt is holed at this week's U.S. Open, the golf world will turn its gaze eastward toward the craggy shores of Scotland, where the British Open will be held at Turnberry next month. With all due respect to New York's Bethpage Black, the rugged site of the 2009 U.S. Open, there is nothing like golf on the Auld Sod, and there may be no finer way to experience it than by taking a private cruise: play a majestic links by day, sail by night.

PerryGolf, a well-respected tour operator, is offering two exclusive seven-night voyages aboard the Harmony II, a beautifully restored mid-twentieth-century mega-yacht. Each sailing can accommodate up to 12 guests. The first trip, from July 20–26 (the week following the British Open), begins in the Ayrshire town of Troon on Scotland's west coast and concludes up in the Highlands, in Inverness. The second journey, beginning July 27, reverses course.

Both itineraries feature six rounds of golf at such storied old links as Royal Dornoch, Machrihanish and the Machrie and the brand-new Castle Stuart (above), which will open in July bearing a timeless seaside look. Cultural excursions include exploring the unspoiled Isle of Islay, home to eight working distilleries, and a visit to Cawdor Castle, with its fictional link to Macbeth. The cost is $8,895 per golfing passenger; $8,495 for nongolfers. The price includes all on-board meals and drinks as well as ground transport and all golf-related fees.

Back in April we reported that despite the economic crisis Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich planned to complete work on the 557-ft. Eclipse, the world's largest and most expensive privately owned yacht. Now the ocean-going behemoth has been launched on its maiden voyage to test operational systems before the finishing touches are applied, at a reported final cost of close to $500 million according to the London Daily Mail. As the all-white megayacht glided out of the Blohm & Voss shipyard (above) in Hamburg, Germany the other day, it dwarfed a navy destroyer it passed along the way.

The Eclipse, which features a military-grade missile defense system, armor plating and bullet-proof windows, will literally eclipse the recently-debuted $350 million, 531-ft. Dubai owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai. The ship also has a submarine that can be launched underwater and dive to a depth of 160 ft. that doubles as an escape pod, as well as two helicopter pads. Abramovich already owns several other superyachts, including the 377-ft. Pelorus, the 282 ft. Ecstasea and the 160 ft. Sussurro, which cost him $25 million a year to maintain, and apparently plans to keep them all.

The CODE-X high-tech hybrid powerboat is one of the more avant-garde motoryacht designs we've come across. If it goes into production with anything like these killer looks and the performance promised, the Swiss company stands to make a mint. The CODE-X is billed as "Formula 1 performance meets solar power." It features a flexible solar hybrid propulsion system enabling both quiet, environmentally friendly cruising in ports and coastal areas as well as high speed racing on open waters courtesy of a pair of Ilmor Marine 710 hp V10 Formula 1 engines.

A touchscreen on the dash lets you switch in whole or part to a bank of photovoltaic modules supplying electric motors and/or lithium batteries. With the gas engines going the CODE-X can do 90 knots while on full solar power it can only hit 9, but is practically silent. The boat also features a GPS-controlled Virtual Anchor system to keep it stationary regardless of the wind speed or water current, as well as a Kevlar/carbon shell with phototropic-shaded screens and windows.

[via JamesList]

The newest price cut in the yacht world is Azimut's spicy 101-foot Paprika. The yacht was built last year and has three cabins. The customized version of the Azimut 103S model has had a variety of changes and upgrades customized for the owner who took possession but then rather quickly had to sell. It includes a below deck media room so that you can watch a movie without being disturbed by on-deck noise. Paprika zips along at a cruising speed of 30 knots. The yacht was originally listed at 8.1 million euros but is now listed at 6.75 million euros.

[via Boat International]

I showed you Lucky Seven last week now here's another "seven" yacht and another deep price cut. Oceanfast's 174-foot Ocean Seven was built in 1994 and designed by Jon Bannenberg, but had a refit last year. The yacht has room for 12 guests in six cabins. The refit included adding a second bonus hot tub on deck in a new deck lounging area forward of the mast and refurbishment of the sundeck and bridge deck areas. The yacht has teak decking, those two spa hot tubs and a deck shower and mister. Inside the large salon is decorated in a sophisticated style and has wood floors. The full-beam owner's suite has a private lounge and his and hers marble lined bathrooms. This yacht was listed at 19 million euros but can now be yours for just 15.5 million euros.

[via Boat International]

Magnum Marine's wicked new $8.95 million 80-ft. speedboat (above) has lines like a supercar, which is hardly surprising since legendary Italian styling house Pininfarina, known for Ferraris and such, did the design. Florida-based Magnum, founded in 1966, is dedicated to making "sexy, high-end speedboats on a grand scale." The hand-laminated, high performance craft is powered by twin 2400 hp MTU diesels producing a top speed of about 60 mph. Even at that velocity its deep-V hull "cuts through the waves like a knife, making for a smooth, comfortable and quiet ride even in adverse sea conditions." The boat's interiors are extremely spacious and features tons of teak, large open spaces and two VIP cabins with en-suite baths, copious living and dining areas and crew accommodations.

[via JamesList]

More bad news for Hatteras Yachts. I wrote about the company's worker layoffs earlier this year. Now the North Carolina boat builder announced an extended six-week furlough over the summer. The company once employed 1,400 workers and now employs around 300 and Bill Naumann, Hatteras Yachts chairman, told the New Bern Sun Journal that for around 90 of those employees it will be"an indefinite furlough." Naumann who came out of retirement last fall to steer the company again, says this is the worst thing he's seen from an economic standpoint. Boat sales have continued to fall and Genmar, the industry's second largest U.S. manufacturer, declared bankruptcy on Monday. Hatteras, which makes sport fishing and motor yachts between 50 and 100 feet long has been in business since 1959.

Feeling Lucky? The 112-foot Lucky Seven yacht just got a million dollar price cut. The yacht sleeps eight guests in four staterooms (with two cabins for crew plus a captain's cabin). The motor yacht was built by Westport in 2002 and has a large salon with a walk-behind, step down bar located aft to portside and a formal dining area in the forward salon. The aft deck has a large U-shaped seating area with a varnished wood table. The full-beam master stateroom includes his and her baths and the VIP stateroom is forward and separate from the other cabins. The flybridge is designed for lounging with a large hot tub, gas grill at the bar with five bar stools and a dining area. The yacht comes with a Novurania tender and a pair of Waverunners. Once listed at $6.29 million, Lucky Seven is now listed at $5.29 million.

[via Boat International]

The $130 million Maltese Falcon may be a bit beyond most people's means, but for $150,000 a week you can get a taste of ultra-stylish superyacht sailing with the 143-ft. Ohana (above), also built by Perini Navi and available for charter via global online luxury marketplace JamesList. The all-aluminum high-performance craft features accomodations for 10 guests and 7 crew in her clean, modern interior. Standout features are an enormous fly bridge with abundant sun cushions and a large sunken aft cockpit for dining and lounging. The yacht, which has a top speed of 13.5 knots, will be based in La Spezia this summer for charters in locales like Greece, Croatia and Italy.

We've seen the emergence of electric and hybrid yachts and now the Eco Watercraft Eco 1 is set to be the Tesla of the waves. It's a zippy little electric jet ski that can do more than 60 mph. The personal watercraft has a lithium-ion battery that will last around three hours and will also have solar panels. The craft will be built in a factory in the U.S. that will be 100% powered by renewable sources of energy. Wired reports that the Eco 1 will sell for $32,000 when it goes into production in 2011. An economy model may come out a while later for around $10,000 to $12,000.

The world's largest, best designed, and most expensive sailing yacht, the famous 289-ft. Maltese Falcon, has been listed for sale via global online luxury marketplace JamesList for $130 million. Built by Perini Navi for venture capitalist Tom Perkins in 2006, it remains the ne plus ultra of sailing superyachts, a masterpiece of technology and design, and was recently featured on the cover of Luxury Toys: Top of the World. Her revolutionary sailing system - the DynaRig - set a new milestone in yachting history: three self-standing and rotating masts hosting 15 sails for a total sail area of 25,791 square feet for unrivaled, performance maneuverability and record-shattering speed; she can complete Atlantic crossings in ten days.

The yacht's incomparable interior is ultra-luxurious with a rich contemporary décor, and whimsical touches such as a statue modeled on a vintage Bugatti - a reference to the real Bugatti Perkins sold to help finance the yacht's construction. The interior finds its zenith in the atrium where the three decks are united by a circular stairway surrounding the main mast creating a spiraling effect, enhanced by natural light cascading from the top to the lower decks through transparent floors. The main deck is a wide open space featuring a main saloon, an enormous aft cockpit, two separate studio areas and a majestic dining room.

Twelve guests berthed in five lower deck staterooms and one inimitable owner's cabin on the upper deck with a private cockpit, a protected sun bathing area and direct access to the ultramodern wheelhouse at the heart of the whole vessel offer uncompromising comfort. An updated Art Deco feel is achieved using leather, steel and light-colored wood. One of the guest staterooms is a full beam master with a king berth, a separate full beam dressing room and a private gym on the lower deck. The other four guest suites can convert into two enormous VIP suites each with en suite baths. There are also facilities for 16 crew to look after the guests.