Gaming Billionaire Owns $130 Million Pair of Spectacular Superyachts: Rocinante and Dapple

There are other things that billionaires (and most millionaires) value more than a good pairing of luxury assets, and among them is privacy. That would explain why a superyacht like Rocinante, which is owned by the so-called "top G of gaming," Valve founder Gabe Newell, hardly ever makes headlines, even though it's worthy of attention.

Rocinante is not a new superyacht, but it has incredible pedigree and a very interesting backstory if the Newell association isn't enough to recommend it. It's also very luxurious and quite expensive and always travels shadowed by another superyacht, the shadow vessel Dapple.

Rocinante made a surprise stop in Falmouth, Cornwall, in England, earlier this month while Dapple went into the Pendennis Shipyard for work. They arrived together, and Rocinante dropped anchor in the marina as soon as it was separated from Dapple.

This rare sighting is the perfect occasion – and excuse – to have a look at this outstanding pair of privately owned vessels.

Rocinante, much fancier and faster than any horse

Rocinante is named this way in honor of Don Quixote's horse. Unlike the fictional animal, there's nothing clumsy or malnourished about the superyacht. It's an older Lurssen build, so it carries the styling and the DNA of the prestigious yard, with an Espen Oino exterior and Alberto Pinto interiors, over Lurssen naval architecture.

The Rocinante name is relatively new. This vessel was delivered as Madsummer in 2008 to real estate billionaire Jeffrey Soffer as a private commission. As a side note, this is not the larger, newer Madsummer Soffer sold off earlier this year – obviously, he has a thing for naming all his boats Madsummer.

Soffer later sold it to Emilio Fernando Azcarraga, who renamed it TV and then sold it to Newell, who, in turn, changed its name to Rocinante. Exact figures of these transactions were never made public but estimates online put its worth at over $100 million.

Measuring 78 meters (257 feet) in total length, the full displacement superyacht offers an interior volume of 2,334 GT spread across three decks and a spacious, classically styled interior. Accommodation onboard is for 12 guests and 31 crew, but the functionality is enhanced so these numbers can be modified to 18 guests and 25 crew members.

Amenities include a sauna and wellness center, a fully-equipped gym, a beauty salon, an outstanding sun deck with a jacuzzi, and plenty of socializing and relaxation areas. Before Newell bought it, the broker holding its listing said the best descriptor for it would be "home" because it was designed to be cozy and elegant but also with multi-generational appeal.

Rocinante is also outstanding for its performance. Powered by twin diesel Caterpillar 3516 DITA engines delivering 2,717 hp each, it can reach top speeds of 18 knots (20.7 mph/33.3 kph). At cruising speed, range is more than 6,000 nautical miles (6,905 miles/11,112 km), which explains its popularity as a charter platform in its TV era.

Dapple, the elegant beast

Some superyacht owners might decide they don't want to sacrifice space that would otherwise be used for guests' entertainment to carry a variety of water toys, so they get a second yacht to shadow this one. Shadow vessels could serve as superyachts on their own, given their luxurious appointments, large quarters, and leisure features – and might even pass for one if it weren't for the decidedly utilitarian styling.

Dapple is Rocinante's shadow yacht. Delivered to the owner in 2014, it was designed and built by Damen Yachting, the same yard that came up in the media more recently for Abeona, currently the world's largest shadow yacht and the companion of Jeff Bezos' Koru sailing yacht.

Dapple is styled to match the mothership and carries all its toys, but it was initially designed as a superyacht explorer. Reports online claim that Newell converted it into a floating $30 million hospital during 2020, but it still retains its toy-hauling main function.

Internally named 6711GEO, Dapple is 67 meters (220 feet) in length and offers accommodation for 20 people, not including the captain. The interiors were penned by Mark Berryman, whose credits include some of the most famous superyachts out there, including the Flying Fox that was once – erroneously – linked to the same Bezos.

The original owner was "a true scuba dive aficionado," so Dapple included a well-specced dive center and large professional decompression chamber. On the top deck, it carries a large variety of equipment and tenders, including a Pascoe Solas rescue tender, a 6.5-meter (21-foot) jet rescue tender, a three-seat Triton 330 submarine, Seadoo waverunners, and Seabobs.

A large crane helps with lowering all these to water (and subsequent retrieval), and there's also a large helideck for incursions on land by air.

Dapple maxes out at 18 knots (20.7 mph/33.3 kph), much like the mothership, and offers comparable range at cruising speed. Which is just perfect, considering it's meant to shadow Rocinante wherever it might go.