Necker Belle Necker Belle The Necker Belle is a 105-foot (32 m) private charter catamaran yacht, offered through Virgin Limited Edition and based at the resort Necker Island. The "Belle" superyacht is one of the few luxury sailing catamarans in the world. Prior to being purchased by Richard Branson's Virgin, the yacht was called "Lady Barbaretta", and cost £5.3 million for Branson to obtain. It required a two-year refit to emerge as the Belle, operates with a crew of seven, and is currently captained by Captain Piers Helm. The refit won the "2010 best new refit" at the World Superyacht Awards. The
Louis Necker of changes during the liberal phase of the French Revolution, he thought it prudent to return to his homeland in 1791. The disgrace of his younger brother Jacques, who resigned in 1790, contributed to his decision. The Neckers were far from welcome in Geneva. Many of the French émigrés considered them Jacobins, and many of the Swiss Jacobins thought them conservative. His son Jacques (1757-1825), who had joined the French army, married Albertine Necker de Saussure in 1785. The French Revolution ended his military career. In 1790, he began teaching as a demonstrator in botany at the Academy of Geneva