Captiva Mystery Yacht Solved? Facebook may drop the case

It looks like Facebook sleuths may have solved the mystery of a mega-yacht recently docked on North Captiva Island.

And Vincent Smiley offers more than guesswork.

“For those asking we were @ North Captiva yesterday,” Smiley commented on Facebook on Dec. 29.

“The ship was anchored and we got on it and around. It’s an Emels Limited Edition 242 built in the Netherlands in 2022 for 95-99 million Euros, about $117 million USD. We went around the ship to within 20 feet and one of the guys with us had to report this big. Its status and name which is ‘M EM’ or M&Em.”

Gulf Coast Charters agrees, saying it’s an EM that is “privately owned, named after his two daughters.”

Other Facebookers also confirmed that it is M EM and have seen it all over the world. But no one could confirm the name of the owner.

It started with a Facebook post

Jenny Battel of New Jersey posted a photo of the yacht on the afternoon of Dec. 29 to a Sanibel and Captiva Island public Facebook group that has more than 188,000 followers.

Click here to view the yacht.

“Anyone know about this yacht off the coast of North Captiva?” Battel has written.

Facebook commenters took it from there.

Some speculated that the mega yacht belonged to Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars football team, who maintains his title as the richest man in Naples — and Southwest Florida.

His net worth increased from $12.2 billion in 2024 to $13.4 billion in 2025, Forbes reported.

And as of Dec. 31, the posting has more than 1,300 responses, more than 1,600 comments and more than 70 shares.

Google apparently agrees

A Google search of “M EM yacht owner” checked a lot of boxes about sailing. Its “name honors the owner’s children, Madeleine and Emile, and features a striking royal blue hall.”

Photos shared on Facebook show the yacht’s hull in a really deep blue or navy color. Other “key details” Google shared:

• Manufacturer: Amels Yachts (Dutch), based in Vlissingen, Netherlands.

• Length: 74 meters (242 feet)

• design: Exterior by Tim Haywood, interior by Winch Design

• Features: Royal blue hull, owner’s deck with hot tub, large main deck pool, foredeck jacuzzi, helicopter deck.

• Performance: Designed for long voyages with a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

• owner: The owner’s identity is private, but the yacht’s name is a tribute to their children.

There have been M EM places

Googled the name of the yacht and there are tons of photos and videos, including one of Monaco’s yacht.

Hey, 5,000 nautical miles covers a lot of land, or, water.

And all the sightings prove that it was the craft seen from North Captiva.

Facebook had fun with the yacht for a few days, and credited Caleb Carroll whose comment was the most popular.

“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t put my location out there for everyone,” Carol wrote, followed by an eye-roll emoji.

Bill Martini shared a map from the Marine Traffic app that also confirmed it was an M EM yacht, showing a Cayman Islands flag next to the yacht location.

Dave Osborne is the regional features editor for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Contact him at dosborn@usatodayco.com and follow him on Instagram @lacrossewriter.

This article originally appeared in the Fort Myers News-Press: North Captiva Island Florida yacht mystery may be solved