The world of yacht sailing has long been a fascination for people all over the world. Whether it’s because people are enraptured by the idea of sailing to exotic destinations, or it’s simply because yachting is seen as a part of the lifestyles of the rich and famous, people can’t help but have their ears perk up when the topic turns to yachting.
Over the years this fascination with yachting has led to a handful of crazy yacht stories being endlessly repeated. But how many of them are true? Here are three of the craziest yacht stories we’ve heard and whether they’re fact or fiction.
 Tom Cruise and his rescue yacht
Given that Tom Cruise makes his living as an action hero, this particular tale is an easy one to doubt. The story goes that Cruise was relaxing on his yacht one morning off the island of Capri when he looked up to see another boat not only sinking, but in flames. Being Tom Cruise he didn’t bother calling for help, he simply sailed over in his yacht and pulled the boat’s occupants to safety.
The verdict: this one is fact, friends. Cruise is credited with rescuing French newspaper tycoon Jacques Lejeune and his family as well as two crew members.
The wolf of Wall Street and his Sinking Yacht
Back before Jordan Belfort was a smug author being portrayed by a smug Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, he was just a stockbroker doing rich guy things like sinking his gigantic 176-foot yacht in the Mediterranean. This scene famously made it into the movie, but did it happen in real life?
The verdict: also fact. Belfort ignored the advice of his captain and sailed out into high winds, resulting in the sinking we all saw on-screen. The only deviation from how it truly happened came when the helicopter was shown to have fallen off the yacht. In reality, Belfort and crew had to push it off to make room for the landing of an Italian Navy commando.
Pirate Shooting Yacht Sailing Expeditions
Somali pirates have been in the news a lot lately, and so have reports that a Russian yachting company is offering luxury yachting expeditions along the coast of Somalia that allow passengers to shoot Somali pirates.
The verdict: finally we have found some fiction! These so-called Ultimate Adventure Cruises were an invention of a satire writer that were mistakenly picked up as a legitimate news item.
