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Ought the BP CEO not yacht?

By Mary Grace Lucas, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A posh weekend at an annual yacht race off the coast of England has embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward once again treading water in social media, and tweeting a defense.

After Hayward took a verbal pummeling on Capitol Hill last Thursday over his company's handling of the Gulf Coast oil spill, photos surfaced Saturday of the CEO spending this weekend clad in sunglasses and a ball cap at the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race off Britain's Isle of Wight. His 52-foot yacht "Bob" was part of the festivities.

In an apparent response to the slew of online complaints about Hayward's weekend away and his management duties, BP tweeted Hayward's response Saturday: "Gulf response efforts remain my top priority. To assure continued focus, Bob Dudley will support me on this full-time to make it right.Tony."

But even the White House weighed in on the stark contrast of out-of-work fisherman on the Gulf and the glamour of the yacht race. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel spoke of Hayward's activities during an interview to be aired Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week."

"Well, to quote Tony Hayward, he's got his life back, as he would say," Emanuel said, according to a blog post from fill-in anchor Jake Tapper. Emanuel continued, "I think we can all conclude that Tony Hayward is not going to have a second career in PR consulting. This has just been part of a long line of PR gaffes and mistakes."