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
Necker Island (British Virgin Islands) would revert to the state. Branson committed to build a resort on his tropical dream island. When Branson bought the island, it was uninhabited. He purchased the island at the age of 28, just six years after starting Virgin Group. It took three years and some US$10 million to turn it into a private island retreat. Using local stone, Brazilian hardwoods, Asian antiques, Indian rugs, art pieces and fabrics and bamboo furniture from Bali, architects and designers created a 10-bedroom Balinese-style villa crowning a hill above the beach. Each of the ten bedrooms has open walls, giving a 360-degree view