The Oban Times

Beyoncé rumours scotched

- SANDY NEIL sneil@obantimes.co.uk

A SUPERYACHT moored at Islay and Oban sparked rumours that global singing star Beyoncé was on a visit to the Scottish islands while on her Formation world tour.

Mystery still surrounds the VIPs behind the smoked glass of the glamorous 60m (195ft) Jamaica Bay, which had been spotted in ports close to Beyoncé’s tour venues.

The luxury yacht, which was flying the flag of the Marshall islands, berthed at Oban’s North Pier last week after visiting Port Ellen, Belfast and Liverpool, where the rumours first started.

The arrival of the 1,100-tonne yacht in Liverpool coincided with the singer performing at the Emirates in Manchester on the same day, July 5.

Liverpool is the nearest major port to Manchester, and passersby wondered if ‘Queen Bey’ and her rapper husband Jay Z, apparently 2016’s highest- earning celebrity couple, had parked at Liverpool’s Cruise Liner Terminal.

Rumours continued on social media when, on July 7, the ship appeared in Belfast on the banks of the river Lagan, when the Texan star was due to sing at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, and later at Croke Park in Dublin on July 9.

The yacht was then spotted off Kilnaughto­n Bay, and rumours were rife that Beyoncé was visiting Islay. The Jamaica Bay drew curious crowds when it moored in Oban on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, looking more suited to the Caribbean than the Firth of Lorn. But the singer was performing in Germany on July 12 and Switzerlan­d on July 14.

Coming ashore, a discreet and tanned crew member refused to name those on board, but denied it was Beyoncé. ‘ You wouldn’t recognise their faces,’ he said. No- one reported seeing Beyoncé on or disembarki­ng from the Jamaica Bay.

The boat, built in 2010 and registered in Bikini in the Marshall Islands, can accommodat­e 12 guests and 15 crew, and features six staterooms, teak decks, mahogany panelling, marble bathrooms, a gym, library and sundeck jacuzzi.

 ??  ?? The luxury yacht Jamaica Bay.
The luxury yacht Jamaica Bay.

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