.
LONDON (AP) – In what one environmentalist described as “yet another public relations disaster” for embattled energy giant BP, CEO Tony Hayward took time off Saturday to attend a glitzy yacht race around England’s Isle of Wight.
As social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook lit up with outrage, BP spokespeople rushed to defend Hayward, who has drawn withering criticism as the public face of BP’s halting efforts to stop the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
« click
With Oil Spill in Rearview, BP's Tony Hayward Heads to Yacht Race
Spokeswoman Sheila Williams said Hayward took a break from overseeing BP efforts to stem the undersea gusher in Gulf of Mexico so he could watch his 52-foot (16-meter) yacht “Bob” participate in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
The boat, made by the Annapolis, Maryland-based boatbuilder Farr Yacht Design, has a list price of nearly $700,000.
The annual Round the Island Race is one of the world’s largest, attracting more than 1,700 boats and 16,000 sailors as famous yachtsmen compete with wealthy amateurs in the 50-nautical mile course around the island.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
