brett blundy superyacht

Star Wars loving Australian billionaire is selling his superyacht for $167 million. The VIP suite on the 243 feet long vessel is named ‘Master Yoda’. Designed with a focus on family, it has a gym that transforms into a classroom for children, an espresso bar, and a large swimming pool.

Clould 9 is currently in Barcelona and represented by Burgess yachts who are seeking $167 million.

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Cloud 9: The CRN superyacht with sky-high luxury

The exact origins of the phrase “cloud nine” have been lost to the mists of time, but it has become synonymous with a state of supreme elation and happiness — the perfect name, in other words, for a new superyacht with an emphasis on family relaxation.

Cloud 9 represents a considerable achievement considering its builder, CRN , wasn’t exactly in a place of supreme elation and relaxation when it learned its original client for the 74 metre hull would not be able to finish the boat he had on order. Enter a new owner, with his design and build teams, who was able to find the silver lining and turn CRN’s second largest yacht into a stylish and comfortable cruiser — and one eminently worthy of her moniker.

The adventure began with a phone call in January 2014. Captain Colin Boyle was in Singapore where his yacht, the 60 metre CMN Cloud 9  (now Ice Angel ) was based. “One night at about 10pm the owner called and asked: ‘Can you get on a flight to Rome at 1am?’” Boyle recalls.

“He said, ‘There is a boat I want you to look at to see if it’s worthwhile’.” Burgess , who had represented Boyle’s owner on the previous build at CMN, knew he was looking to build a larger yacht. Here might be an opportunity to get one that was already well under way, but Burgess and Boyle knew it had to be the right fit.

From Rome, Boyle travelled to Ancona, Italy, where CRN project 131 was in stasis. The metalwork of the 74 metre hull and most of the superstructure were substantially completed, and the majority of major machinery installed. Underwater, it shared lines with award-winning predecessor Azteca and, higher up, styling similarities with the yard’s 80 metre flagship Chopi Chopi .

Structurally and mechanically it had great potential but the layout required substantial rethinking. As Bernardo Zuccon of exterior design firm Zuccon International Project puts it, this “forced the shipyard and the designers to rewrite the story with a new owner”. As it turns out, it is a story with a very happy ending.

“We had three months to replan and redraw it: staircases out, staircases in, top deck off, raise it up, rework the naval architecture,” the captain says. Then, once the layout and exterior details met the owners’ expectations, he gave his team and the yard 30 days to get to a mutually agreeable contract. “We signed in June 2014,” notes Boyle, and the new Cloud 9 was under way.

“The project was born with a well defined will to meet the concept of timelessness that we always value,” says Zuccon. He also uses descriptions such as “maturity” and “substance together with a great attention to the human being” about the styling. Inside and out, and in spite of her size, Cloud 9 feels utterly approachable, even from the stern platform, where the massive fold-down door forms part of a sprawling superyacht beach club .

Stairs flank a 10,000 litre superyacht spa pool with a glass bottom, which is at the heart of a recreation area on the main aft deck. Privately, the owners like to call their new superyacht “ Cloud 9 Plus ” and stepping through the doors that slide open into the main saloon, it’s immediately apparent how her owners came up with the nickname.

Their first Cloud 9 , penned inside and out by Winch Design and delivered by French shipyard CMN in 2009, had an attractive blue hull and décor blending sunny sand hues and gradations of blue. That beach house feel helped attract many charter guests. Here Winch Design has again used sand tones, vibrant blues and a treasure trove of decorative shells, corals and agates placed inside multiple niches. Brushed Douglas fir and limed oak — two of some 50 surface materials used on board — also convey the idea of the beach house, but realised on a larger, more luxurious scale.

The new Cloud 9 measures around 2,218 gross tonnes, which is about twice as many as the first one. This extra volume translates into generous dimensions, apportioned in comfortable spaces that flow neatly from one to the next.

Devoid of a conventional dining area at her owners’ request, the main saloon ambiance is open, casual and sunny. A 3D porcelain panel “cloud” by British artist Fenella Elms adds movement and depth to the central bulkhead along with two Vortex sculptures by Tim Royall. “The sofa in the saloon (and the one on the aft deck) is 1.5 metres deep. It’s a lie-down sofa, which is what you want to do when you watch a movie or come up from the swimming pool,” notes Mark Mämpel, the designer in charge of the project for Winch Design.

The studio received carte blanche from Cloud 9 ’s owners to come up with an interior concept adapted to their family needs and future charter guests. The final result was kept a secret at the request of the husband to surprise his wife, although the 3D renderings produced at the onset are uncannily similar to the final result.

The main saloon encompasses one of two cinemas on board Cloud 9 ; the other is outdoors, at the aft end of the 400 square metre owners’ deck . Another element courtesy of the new yacht’s extra volume is a hair salon/massage room on the main deck, featuring oak décor with a woven effect and a folding hull door that creates a balcony. This yacht also has a spacious superyacht gym flooded with light, which at the time of my visit was temporarily converted to a schoolroom.

Moving around the guest areas feels easy and natural. Forward of the main saloon is a foyer with an eye catching central glass and steel superyacht elevator — in Winch design language, it is meant to represent a waterfall from sundeck to beach club, connecting the exterior blue stripe to the interior.

A long, wide corridor leads to six cabins (including two staff cabins finished as guest cabins, which could be used for nannies or teachers). Each door has a nameplate engraved with the name of a Star Wars character. They are removable, in case the next guests are not fans of the films, and underneath are elegant numbers in stainless steel.

Captain Boyle leads me through the yacht’s six decks (counting the technical deck dedicated to stores, laundry room and machinery spaces such as the pump room), patiently answering questions about his new charge in soft speech with the hint of a Scottish accent. A concert musician who studied and taught at London’s Royal Academy of Music before embracing a new career at sea, he stepped onto the first Cloud 9 eight years ago and aboard the new one in May 2017.

Within minutes of being aboard, warm lighting and silence have melted away my stresses. Heavy layered doors to the cabins, with soundproofing from specialist Cergol Engineering, shut with a muffled click. The yard achieved a 48dB(A) level in the master suite at cruising speed and 45dB(A) at anchor. Cloud 9 ’s not quite concert hall quiet, but she’s pretty close.

Subtle curves throughout contribute to the sense of wellbeing. The interior needed to be friendly to children, so there are no sharp corners or angles. Curved support columns are clad in limed oak veneer with thin stainless accents on the windows, doorframes and nearly all of the bespoke furniture. “Easy to draw, very hard to realise,” observes the captain, who was an integral part of the team managing the construction of Cloud 9 .

This team included technical consultants from Burgess who ensured compliance with the owners’ wishes (and class rules), blending their modifications with the pre-existing project. Ed Beckett, the naval architect on the Burgess team, scrutinised the technical details and equipment, elevating some of the technical focus and integrating the new interior. Based in Scorze in Venice and part of the Ferretti Group , Zago Interiors worked with outside suppliers to produce all of Cloud 9 ’s polished steel details, which amount to around 4,500 metres for the guest areas alone.

What sold the new Cloud 9 to his boss, the captain says, is the owners’ deck, which contains a magnificent suite with wraparound windows looking onto a private terrace and helicopter deck below. These owners don’t intend to use the helipad, so they decided to turn the vast open space into a grand entertaining platform instead. Andreas Iseli, responsible for exteriors at Winch Design, came up with the idea of a large tent that can be installed there to shield guests from weather while they dine al fresco. It’s become a favourite spot for karaoke, too.

Other important modifications included adding an interior crew staircase and creating a beautifully finished fire- and soundproof passageway through the engine room’s top level to connect the beach club with the port tender garage for the MasterCraft ski boat and other toys, and the guest arrival lobby to starboard. This highly practical lobby also exemplifies the whole interior design philosophy.

“The biggest challenge mastered by CRN was to combine, in balance, the interior and exterior design with the functionality required by the owner,” says Raffaele Giannetti, the project manager in charge of the Cloud 9 build for CRN.

“We made that entrance lounge into a space of waves,” Andrew Winch says. From the bright sunlight, guests move into a quiet, soothing space that allows the eyes to adjust gradually after bright sun. To achieve this effect, the design team created a bespoke teak and holly design with wave details carved into it and repeated all around the room.

“We wanted it to be an envelope, a cocoon. It’s the same pattern on the ceiling and on the floor,” Winch adds. “That is an ongoing story on Cloud 9 , to give you a sense of relaxation.” On the whimsical side, Winch Design interior decorator Rebecca Johnstone added table lamps with a Picasso-inspired painted design and white curtains with blue ombre that recall sky and sea.

Aft is Cloud 9 ’s beach club, which has an espresso bar complete with a professional machine and a seating area with wonderful views. Light streaming through the pool above bounces wave patterns all around. The owners so enjoy this space that they often like to dine al fresco here. The primary outdoor dining area is on the upper deck, protected from wind by sliding glass panels, adjacent to the main indoor dining area which is semi enclosed by glass doors.

Both areas feature large circular wooden tables that can be expanded to accommodate more guests, or removed completely to make room for a dance floor or corporate event. This may be the space that best exemplifies the goal of both Zuccon and Winch studios to merge indoor and exterior spaces.

“Certainly, the exterior spaces of the boat — in particular the cockpit on the main deck and the bow area — are key elements that testify how important it is, despite the dimensions, not to forget the real reason why boats are designed: to live on the sea in its purest form,” Zuccon says. “The work of Winch Design has been strategically important for he was able to create a perfect dialogue between the experience lived outside and the one felt once entered.”

For his part, Andrew Winch is very pleased with what he calls the “on-water house”. “I think that Zuccon designed a beautiful yacht… his style signature on this boat is pure, and I find it very lovely. I think it is a very chic, elegant exterior and we were happy to work with him to fit into it all that the owner required.” The good partnership between designers made the work easier, says the captain, and has left a lingering feeling of goodwill on board. Yet another reason for guests to feel that they are on cloud nine, when they are on Cloud 9 .

First published in the September 2017 edition of Boat International

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Billionaire retails big-ticket items including cattle stations and a superyacht

Brett Blundy, a high-net-worth individual rated as “one of Australia’s most talented retailers” is in the midst of a super sale of assets. 

Not only is he liquidating two of the Northern Territory’s biggest and best set-up cattle stations, but he’s also put his 89-metre superyacht Cloud 9 on the market. 

Think in the vicinity of $240 million to purchase the seven-suite private yacht that, with a crew of 27, charters through Burgess for over $1.5 million – a week! Burgess is also the selling agency. 

“He’s really only trading the yacht in – he’s already got another one coming,” chuckles Rawdon Briggs of Colliers Brisbane, the agent who is fielding enquiries for the two massive NT cattle stations of the Beetaloo Aggregation and the Walhallow and Creswell Downs combination. 

The 63-year-old Brett Blundy started out as a seller of ladies’ lingerie (through Bras N Things), CDs (Sanity Records) and other retail chain products, before founding BBRC – an investment powerhouse that diversified into fund management, property, technology and agriculture.

From 2014 to 2016 (about the same time as he took delivery of his yacht), and in various partnerships, Blundy bought into the cattle production industry. With the two stations currently looking for new owners, plus the recently divested Amungee Mungee station near Daly Waters, by 2018 he’d amassed so much northern Australian turf that he’d become one of the 10 largest landowners on the planet.

Like Gina Reinhart, who has been selling her West Australian grazing properties to move the Hancock Agriculture operations into concentrated feed lots in the eastern states, over the last 12 months Blundy has been moving out of the pastoral industry. Unlike Reinhart, however, he is exiting the beef industry altogether.

The 1.05-million-hectare Beetaloo , its infrastructure and 72,000 head of cattle are up for grabs at a time when the beef industry is running hot due to prices of $5 to $8 per kilogram, according to Rabo Bank, and with the land generally looking lush as it rebounds thanks to some good rains which have allowed for the rebuilding of herds, 

And after unsuccessfully concluding what would have been a record price for an Australian pastoral holding last year, the 1.003-million-hectare Walhallow and Creswell Downs has again returned to market. 

Why get out of the Australian industry now when, as Briggs says, “the demand pool for beef is enormous because other national suppliers like Canada, the US and South America are struggling to feed the world”?

“Because Brett’s a pragmatic investor,” Briggs says. “He’s been divesting [pastoral and retail] for the past two years. He’s a seller. He doesn’t keep companies for generations. He buys, adds value and then sells things.”

The smart retail strategy is to sell when the value add has been completed. And on both stations, many millions have been poured into improving yards, roads, fencing and water. “These properties were a mess before he bought them and they’ve been pulled into action,” Briggs says.

Since 2019, quality Australian farmland values have been on an upward trajectory, which is why billionaires like to “buy scale”. Scale is what this pair certainly represents because together they add up to over two million hectares. Briggs is quick with a correction – “2.58 million-plus hectares”.

While the mid-2022 Walhallow and Creswell Downs sale failed to be realised at around $250 million, and bought the property back to market, Briggs confirms that there are plenty of interested parties for it, and for Beetaloo.

“Sniffing around are American funds and some high-net-worth individuals who are already in the industry,” he says. 

“There’s a huge bow-wave of demand and there are plenty of people who think that beef prices are only going to go higher”.

Time on the market for agricultural land is not something sellers sweat too much, the agent says. “Even for small farms, it can sometimes take nine months. For northern Australia it can take 12 to 15 months. Even years is not uncommon. But these places won’t stay on the market for that long.”

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Life and death on a superyacht: 'If something goes wrong, they can just raise the anchor and leave'

Crewing can seem a glamour-filled job. But at least three young Brits have lost their lives, as Rupert Neate reports

I f Dirk Zimmerman’s boss fancies a fresh tomato salad, the 35-year-old German hangs up his chef’s apron, dons a headset and takes to the skies. Zimmerman, who has been working on superyachts for more than a decade, has lost count of the number of times he’s been sent out on a ship’s helicopter or seaplane to source food, from courgettes in Oman to truffles in Argentina or vine tomatoes from a nearby Pacific atoll.

“It might shock you to know how much money some people spend privately,” he says as he prepares sushi in the professional-grade kitchen on the 60-metre St David, moored in Monaco. “But to be able to take a helicopter and fly two hours somewhere to get the boss’s preferences makes his day.”

As the rich become even richer – 145 more dollar billionaires were minted last year – orders for new superyachts (longer than 24 metres) have hit a record high. More than 500 are being built in shipyards around the world, and with many requiring at least 100 staff, superyachts now employ more than 37,000 people. Britain’s seafaring history has made it the biggest source of employees; crewing on a superyacht is so popular among young adventurers that Southampton Solent University now offers degree-level training at its Warsash Superyacht Academy . Every spring, dozens of young Brits decamp to Antibes on the Côte d’Azur, the unofficial centre for superyacht crew recruitment, where you can wander along the docks looking for opportunities.

While it is a dream job for some, other deckhands and chefs have horror stories of working punishing hours. Accidents, injuries and deaths are also commonplace, with union leaders believing working on superyachts to be more dangerous than life on oil rigs; over the past few years at least three young Brits have died while serving their billionaire bosses. Because many superyachts continually float around the world ( this is marketed to some as a way to avoid being registered in any country and hence to avoid paying tax), their crews may not be afforded the same legal protections as those on land. Families complain about a lack of assistance and sympathy from owners and those in charge of the vessel. None of the owners attended the three British men’s funerals.

M ichael Hanlon, 22, left Cumbria for his dream job as a deckhand and watersports instructor on 62-metre superyacht Faith, owned by the Canadian fashion billionaire Lawrence Stroll , in March 2013. Less than a month later, and before he’d had a chance to spend any of his first $3,500 (£2,600) monthly pay cheque, he was dead.

Michael, known as Milo to his friends and family, had returned exhausted from a night out to the vessel docked in Antibes on the French Riviera. He had done two shifts back to back, working night and day, then gone to local bars to celebrate sailing across the Atlantic. Faith had been locked up for the night, and Michael climbed to its top in an attempt to get inside via an unofficial emergency entrance. An inquest found he fell from the top deck, hit his head on the quay and drowned. His body was recovered the next day.

Jacob Nichol, from Cornwall, died last summer, aged 24, two years after he suffered severe brain injuries after falling from superyacht Kibo, while cleaning it as it was docked in a Majorcan port. Jacob, the yacht’s third assistant engineer, had been hanging in a harness when he fell and fractured his skull. His sister, Jenade Moon, said he had never been asked to clean the boat before: his job focused on engine maintenance. The owner of the £90m yacht, Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut – until last month owner of Waterstones, and friend of Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich – was not on board at the time.

After 10 days in a coma in a hospital in Palma, Jacob was repatriated to Shropshire, where he needed constant care. In September an inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death. “Our beautiful Jacob has sadly passed away,” his family said. “A young, bright, intelligent, kind soul has left us after an excruciating two years.”

In 2010, Robin Black received a call from the captain of the £15m sailing superyacht Burrasca , on which Black’s son Will was bosun, or officer in charge of crew and equipment. At the time, it was moored at the Monaco yacht show in Port Hercules, the annual beauty parade held in the industry’s global hub. The captain told Black that Will, 28, hadn’t been seen since the night before, when the rib he was piloting (a small boat used to ferry passengers to and from the yacht) collided with another boat. He thought Will may have been knocked overboard.

By the time Robin, Will’s mother Judith and his sister Rosanna, now 37, arrived in Monaco to join the search, the yacht had left. “The captain said: ‘Don’t worry, we threw some flowers over the side and gave his belongings to the police,’” Rosanna says, fighting back tears as she describes “the worst days of our lives”. “I couldn’t comprehend that the boat had gone before Will was found and before we got there,” she says. “How could they just leave a family to deal with the death of one of their crew, and the police and paperwork and everything? I can’t believe that if something goes wrong – if someone dies – they can just raise the anchor and leave.”

The family don’t know who owns Burrasca, though he is thought to have been a Russian billionaire (owners do not have to declare themselves). He was not on board at the time of the accident. The yacht did not request divers to look for Will’s body, leaving the captain of another superyacht, who was a friend, to pay for search and recovery divers. But they were unable to find Will, who had not been wearing a life vest.

Will’s life was not insured. “But it’s not about money,” Rosanna says, “it’s about respect for another life.” She says that the owner didn’t and doesn’t seem to have cared. A spokesman for the yacht’s management did not respond to the Guardian’s requests for comment.

If something goes wrong on a superyacht, it can be incredibly difficult for crew and their families to understand which laws and rights apply. Vessels are often operating in international waters, their day-to-day operations run by management companies on behalf of often unidentifiable owners; their yachts are registered via offshore companies in places such as Panama or the British Virgin Islands.

To add to the confusion, superyachts can be registered with another country and fly their flag, even if the yacht is not based there. At the time of Will’s death, Burrasca was registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. There was no British inquest, and local authorities recorded this report of the accident: “Mr William Black was on tender duty between the mothership at anchor and the shore. The anchorage was very crowded. Returning to the mothership, the tender hit an unattended vessel that was anchored in the bay. The tender was found drifting with no one on board… Mr Black’s body was not found.”

Will, who had always wanted a life of adventure, had worked his way up from a deckhand on smaller boats to an officer on Burrasca. He’d recently begun his role as bosun on the 55.7-metre yacht and Rosanna says he was passionate about his job. “Will had found his calling. He worked hard, but he played hard, too, and always came back with the most amazing stories,” she says as she shows me photos of Will on a night out with 50 Cent and Jamiroquai . “We still get letters from some of the families he worked for. They send cards for Uncle Whale, as he was called,” she says. “He had a huge personality and everyone loved him.”

Despite the circumstances of his death, Rosanna says she would not discourage others from joining the superyachting world. “I would just tell them to make sure they’re always on top of safety, and to find out who the owner is before they join.”

I t’s shorts, T-shirts and deck shoes weather at the Monaco yacht show, as I weave my way through champagne receptions, passing Ferraris and Aston Martins for sale on the quayside. This year’s display of yachts is collectively worth more than £2bn; the combined annual spending on the world’s 6,281 superyachts could wipe out all developing countries’ debts.

There are so many superyachts docked for the show that Top Shop boss Sir Philip Green ’s £100m Lionheart has been forced out of its mooring into the Bay of Monaco. The 110-metre Jubilee, which was built for the late emir of Qatar, is on sale for $300m.

On board the six-cabin St David, which is on sale for just under £20m , Zimmerman is preparing canapes for a party. He says the industry keeps many people in well-paid employment, adding that he can’t envisage going back to work on land, as “the pay cannot compare. I have three children, and working here pays for their education.” But, he adds, newbies have to decide early on whether they can sit by and watch their billionaire bosses spend vast amounts enjoying themselves, while appearing not to care about those around them. “It’s a compromise that everyone has to make – can you accept it?”

Liz Brasler, 29, is chief mate, or second-in-command, of one of the yachts in the harbour. She won’t say which but “it’s one of the bigger ones”. She has worked her way up the ranks from deckhand since 2006. “It can be great fun but it’s also exhausting, delivering the highest standards invisibly, magically, with no apparent fuss,” she says. “Owners expect the best in the world. They want to go wherever, whenever, and demand the highest standards without delay. Money is not a problem for them.”

For most of her career, Brasler, who is South African, bunked with colleagues in small cabins; now she has a cabin of her own. But while she has more privacy, she says she can’t remember the last time she had seven hours’ sleep while on charter or at sea.

Has she ever woken up to find an A-list actor on board? “Oh yes, quite often. You can’t get all excited every time you see Tom Cruise . It is a glamorous life. I’ve met some of the most famous people you can imagine. [But] they pay to be invisible – the richest of the rich are sometimes the most discreet.”

The billionaires’ superyacht designer of choice, Andrew Winch , knows all about the needs of the super-rich. We speak on Cloud 9 , the 74-metre, £59m yacht he designed for the Australian retail tycoon Brett Blundy ; this is the first time he has stepped aboard since he handed it over. Winch, who has designed yachts in a London studio since 1986, created Madame Gu , the 2014 motor yacht of the year, and Phoenix 2 , owned by the late Polish billionaire Jan Kulczyk. His yacht designs have proved so popular that he now designs clients’ homes and planes, including Roman Abramovich’s Boeing 767.

“Most clients will have three, four or five houses around the world,” he says. “We have clients we’ve already worked with on their jet and their yacht, and soon there will be a ‘rollover’ and we’ll start on another sequence.”

Of all Winch’s projects, which first take shape at his offices on the banks of the Thames, Cloud 9 was a clear favourite. “He [Blundy] is great fun. This is the second boat we’ve done with him, so we know him very well, and he’s family.”

Everything on board is designed for the owner, from the bedroom suites named after Star Wars characters (his favourite film), to the extra head space above the gym’s treadmill (he’s tall) and the proliferation of chess sets: “He likes to play chess, for several days, with various guests at the same time,” Winch says. In the hair salon, a wall folds down to create a balcony “because it’s very nice, when the sun’s setting in Greece, to have a massage outside”.

A short ride downstairs in the ship’s glass-topped elevator is the “beach club” at the bow. From here Blundy and his guests can hit the water with the boat’s “toys”, including a speedboat for waterskiing, jetskis and what Winch calls a “James Bond-style personal submarine”. A “water sports and boys’ toys” instructor will be on hand to help guests get the hang of it and take care of “all the boring things”, like cleaning and clearing away. For guests who dislike the swell or salt of the ocean, there’s a swimming pool above an espresso bar.

The gym includes a pair of rowing machines and exercise bikes which can be carried up to the bow so the owner and his personal trainer can race each other in the sea breeze. “The captain can be motoring the boat from place to place, and it could feel as if he is pedalling it there,” Winch says. The gym can also be turned into a classroom for Blundy’s two children. Chairs and desks appear from discreet compartments; the walls contain an interactive blackboard and video screen. “They [the children] can join any class anywhere in the world,” Winch says. “They can learn about the history of the ship’s next destination before they get there.”

The ship’s teacher, one of 22 staff, is on hand to guide their learning. There’s also a nanny, personal trainer, masseuse and hairdresser. “You take your life with you,” Winch explains.

“L ife on board is perfect for owners – they receive a seven-star service. But for officers and crew it can be a lot more difficult,” says Danny McGowan , the strategic organiser of seafarers’ union, Nautilus International . He has come from their offices in London to the Monaco show to draw attention to the deaths of young workers, highlighting the dangers of working in an industry that to outsiders appears the height of glamour.

“They will often be working very long hours, right around the clock, looking after guests,” says the fair-skinned, red-haired McGowan, sheltering from the sun in Monaco’s famous La Rascasse bar, which a crew recruitment company has hired out for the week. “These are tragic situations where young people have lost their lives, and there are hundreds of other injuries and complaints that aren’t reported.” He says staff have had their passports confiscated and wages withheld; they talk of being sent home for the slightest uniform infraction.

Superyacht owners can view crew as “dispensable and replaceable” and don’t consider the impact on their families. “Often an owner feels they can just get a new third engineer, rather than thinking of the consequences for the individual,” he says. “We’re not here to be up against these billionaires. We want to work with them to make employment in this industry better.”

Most recently, McGowan has been representing the 42-strong crew of a £67m superyacht owned by the Indian multimillionaire Vijay Mallya. The crew, among them several Britons, haven’t been paid for months, and are owed more than $1m. McGowan helped them take their case to court, to have the yacht impounded in Malta. Mallya, a co-owner of the Force India Formula One team, was arrested in London last year over allegations that he supported the team with laundered cash, and Indian authorities are currently seeking his extradition to face trial. He is living in a Hertfordshire mansion while on bail; the yacht, which features a 15-seat cinema and Sir Elton John’s baby grand piano , remains impounded, with some of the crew still on board.

S itting on the harbour wall overlooking Cloud 9 and a fleet of other superyachts, Fiona Hanlon fights back tears as she remembers the “heartbreakingly impersonal” way she was informed of the death of her 22-year-old son, Michael.

Hanlon has flown to Monaco from the family home in the Lake District to scatter Michael’s ashes. At the same time, knowing he had worked two shifts back to back, she is taking the opportunity to highlight the plight of some other superyacht crew, who she says are often forced to work long hours – conditions that might be illegal in the UK. “It was Michael’s dream job,” she says. He grew up sailing on Windermere. “He had just got his first salary and he’d sent me photographs of the sunglasses and travelling guitar he was going to buy. He was so excited, it was wonderful.”

Michael had been texting his mother daily updates about his adventures sailing across the Atlantic. But on 7 April 2013, Fiona’s phone didn’t ping. She texted him: “Worried about you now – no contact gets me thinking something is wrong – say hello soon please x” followed by, “My baby where are you x x please get in touch angel – we just want to know you are OK.”

The next day his mother was told Michael was missing. “It was seen as an inconvenience, as the boat was going on to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones ,” she says. The following day Michael’s body was found under the yacht by police divers.

The coroner for Cumbria, Philip Sharp, ruled that he died from drowning and recorded a verdict of accidental death. He wrote to the yacht’s registered owner – a PO box in the British Virgin Islands – to raise concerns that “crew members and in this case the deceased were likely to have been asked to work additional shifts when the boat came in to port, potentially causing tiredness”. Sharp’s letter required the yacht’s owner to provide all crew with a key to the boat, and to ensure the captain check the crew are not required to work excessive hours.

An unnamed director of the superyacht’s owner, Pluteus Limited (a company based in Monaco, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and registered in the Cayman Islands), wrote to the coroner to say: “We are keen to cooperate and address the concerns you have identified as a result of the inquest. However, please note that in doing so, no acknowledgment or admission of failings or liability is intended or to be inferred.”

The director said that access to the yacht had been improved by the provision of keyless codes to all staff. It was also promised that working hours would be monitored, “to ensure crew members are not working additional hours without the requisite rest periods, in particular between shifts, unless the safety of the boat, crew and passengers is in danger”.

“It’s destroyed our family,” Fiona Hanlon says. “Michael wanted to travel the world. Instead he’s in my bag [she carries his urn with her] and I’ve taken him to see the Great Pyramid of Giza, Pearl Harbour and the Great Wall of China.”

Meanwhile, chief mate Liz Brasler is wondering what job she might do next. She says that while working on superyachts has been fun, it can be difficult, demoralising and sometimes dangerous. Friends have been injured and she knows of others who have died. “We’re insured, but it doesn’t cover everything. I know the price of my life,” she says. “And it’s less than my parents think.”

• Death and dying

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9 outrageous yachts appearing at the Monaco Yacht Show owned by some of the world's richest billionaires

• The Monaco Yacht Show takes place this week, where 40 new superyachts will make their worldwide debut.
• Many yachts at the Monaco Yacht Show are owned by notable billionaires or have been chartered by the rich and famous.
• These are just a few of the billionaire-owned yachts expected to be at the Monaco Yacht Show.

The Monaco Yacht Show is set to take place from September 26 to September 29. A playground for the ultra rich, the yachting event of the year is welcoming 40 new superyacht debuts among a host of other well-known superyachts that have already hit the waters.

With yachts over 100 feet costing an average of  $1 million per 3.3 feet , many of these yachts are a mere indulgence among billionaires. The 1% flock to the show looking for their next purchase, while others put their colossal floating giants up for show.

Using the Monaco Yacht Show's list of exhibiting yachts , we compiled a list of yachts expected to be at the show that are owned by some of the world's most notable billionaires.

From motor yacht Kismet, owned by auto parts billionaire Shahid Khan and chartered by Beyoncé and Jay-Z , to motor yacht Aquarius, owned by Las Vegas businessman Steve Wynn, see which billionaire yachts are expected to be at the Monaco Yacht Show.

Owner:  Dmitry Pumpyansky

Net worth:  $1.3 billion

Russian billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky  largely built his wealth making steel pipes. He reportedly owns the 236-foot yacht Axioma, which features an infinity swimming pool. Her charter rates range from $700,722 to $747,829 a week.

A post shared by Merle Wood & Associates (@merlewoodassociates) Jul 27, 2018 at 5:00pm PDT

Owner: Darwin Deason

Net worth: $1.3 billion

Tech entrepreneur Darwin Deason earned his wealth by selling his company to Xerox. He owns the 2015-foot yacht Apogee , which is currently for sale for nearly $25 million . She has a certified scuba diving instructor on board and a sundeck Jacuzzi that can fit up to 12 people.

A post shared by The Superyacht broker (@your_superyachtbroker) Jun 7, 2018 at 4:29am PDT

Owner: Brett Blundy

When former chairman of BB Retail Brett Blundy isn't working on building a beef cattle empire in northern Australia, he's busy cruising his yacht, the 242-foot Cloud 9 , which charters for nearly $900,000 a week during the winter. Everything on board was reportedly designed for Blundy, including bedroom suites named after Star Wars characters and various chess sets throughout the yacht, according to The Guardian .

A post shared by Baltic Yachts (@balticyachts_official) Sep 11, 2017 at 4:43am PDT

Owner:  Pier Luigi Loro Piana

Net worth: $1.5 billion

Pier Luigi Loro Piana , heir to clothing company Loro Piana, owns the sailing yacht My Song. The 130-foot yacht took 22 months to build and competes in the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, which Pier Luigi hosts every year.

A post shared by Danny Britto (@dannywheelz) Jun 14, 2018 at 11:26am PDT

Owner: Chris Cline

Net worth: $1.9 billion

Coal mining tycoon Chris Cline aptly named his 200-foot yacht Mine Games. She's worth nearly $30 million and has a gym and beach garage on board. 

Love for the Sea, Passion for Sailing #perininavi #onebrandonecompany #superyachts A post shared by Perini Navi (@perininavi) on Sep 1, 2018 at 11:24am PDT Sep 1, 2018 at 11:24am PDT

Owner: Ennio Doris

Net worth: $2.6 billion

Banca Mediolanum chairman Ennio Doris owns 197-foot sailing yacht Seven , which received an award for its impeccable lighting design. Doris and his wife were very precise about how they wanted the yacht designed, from a bright interior to the layout.

Owner: Steve Wynn

Net worth: $3 billion

Steve Wynn , cofounder of Wynn Resorts, built his wealth creating casinos and hotels throughout Las Vegas and spent some of it purchasing the yacht Aquarius. At 301 feet, she has a massage room, helipad, beauty salon, swimming pool, and beach club.

A post shared by didairbus 🇮🇩 (@didairbus) Jun 2, 2017 at 7:48am PDT

Owner:  Dmitry Rybolovlev

Net worth: $6.8 billion

With a $6 billion-plus fortune from Uralkali, a Russian producer of potassium fertilizer, Dmitry Rybolvlev  owns a Greek Island — which he can visit via the yacht he reportedly owns, Anna I . At nearly 220 feet, the yacht boasts a skylounge with a movie screen, a dip pool, and a steam room. She charters for half a million a week during the winter. 

Owner: Shahid Khan

Net worth: $7.8 billion

Motor yacht Kismet, with a weekly charter rate of around $1.29 million , has had a lot of celebrity guests step aboard. Not only is it owned by billionaire Shahid Khan — who also owns Fulham football club and the Jacksonville Jaguars — it's also been chartered by Beyoncé and Jay-Z. She has a multi-level swimming pool, basketball court, and helipad.

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While Jack Cowin built an empire on fast food, his conversion to yachting was slow. But, with two highly sought-after charter superyachts in his stable, his passion and success are no less impressive for that fact.

14 December 2023

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There’s a certain irony at play when it comes to Jack Cowin and his love of yachts . Best known for starting the Hungry Jack’s chain in Australia, the Sydney-based entrepreneur may have made his fortune in fast food, but there was nothing quick about his journey to the sea. In fact, boating came relatively late in life despite all the ingredients being there from an early age.

“I grew up in Windsor, Ontario, across the river from Detroit, but I had no boating experience during my childhood. Even though we lived on a lake,” he begins, “there was no history of boating at all.”

After spotting an opportunity in a market where fast food barely existed, Cowin moved to Australia in 1969 aged 26, hungry for success and armed with seed money he’d raised to open a handful of restaurants under the KFC franchise.

After a few months in Sydney, he and his wife Sharon moved to Perth to work on the business, staying there for 10 years. The Australian way of life and its strong link with the sea was his first real taste of the boating lifestyle. “It’s part of the culture here,” he says. “In the early days, we rented a houseboat on the Hawkesbury River.”

The boating culture in Perth and the Swan River was just as pervasive as in Sydney, and the Cowins made frequent trips to Rottnest Island for holidays. Still, the boat didn’t come. “I didn’t have a big interest in owning a boat because I still didn’t know much about boating, and had a preference for being invited by friends on their boats,” he grins. “It seemed to be a better way of getting around it!”

As Cowin’s business empire grew, so did his network of contacts, and the moment of revelation came in the 1980s thanks to Australian businessman Alan Bond. “In 1983, of course, Bond won the America’s Cup,” Cowin enthuses.

“We knew him, and at that point, he had a 56-metre yacht, which seemed like an ocean liner to us – it was the biggest boat we’d ever been on. He invited us aboard for the America’s Cup; that was our first exposure to a superyacht and it blew our minds.”

Although sold on the experience, Cowin’s venture into yacht ownership was entirely accidental. A decade after the big awakening, at the end of the 1990s, an Australian Olympic sailor friend who was interested in yacht design and construction approached Cowin about building a boat together purely as a business proposition. “I went into it as an investor,” Cowin says.

“The concept was that we could build a boat in Australia at a certain cost – the Aussie dollar was low at the time – and we could then take the yacht to Europe and sell it. Of course, we discovered a large number of the components had to be bought in US dollars!”

The build took three years and the result was the 43-metre Warren Yachts-built Silver Dream , which was delivered in 2001. The pair put the yacht on a freighter to Europe and, within a week, had had an offer on it.

“I said to my partner, look, we’ve spent three years building this boat; we could at least have one summer enjoying it. But the offer was attractive, and he wanted to sell, so I had no alternative but to buy him out. So then I owned a boat, for which I had no real experience or knowledge!”

Luckily, he found an experienced captain to run the boat, which meant Cowin and his family and friends could essentially be passengers, enjoying everything the yacht offered. They decided at the start to charter her, not least because, with the boat in the Mediterranean and the family living in Sydney, it made it difficult to use the yacht on an ad-hoc basis.

“One thing we learnt relatively quickly was that the crew liked to be occupied, so chartering kept them happy – and us too with the charter income we got,” Cowin says.

“We’d still use the yacht a couple of times a year, in the Mediterranean in the northern summer, and in the Caribbean. We also went to the Maldives and as far as Thailand,” he adds, “although we initially cruised a lot along the milk run from St Tropez to Portofino in the western Med.”

Once the ownership bug had bitten, it didn’t take long for Cowin to start thinking about a new yacht. “Once you get involved in the boating world, you see bigger and more elaborate boats with different features,” he smiles.

The result came at the end of the 2000s with the 60-metre yacht Slipstream , which Cowin built at the CMN yard in France alongside a sister ship called Cloud 9 , owned by Australian businessman (and Cowin’s friend) Brett Blundy. “We were in business together and decided to do it together; we built the yachts side-by-side,” says Cowin.

With both yachts sharing the same platform and core design from Winch Design , they would be differentiated primarily by their interiors, and it is in Slipstream’s elegant finishing that Cowin’s heritage really comes to the fore.

There are large pieces of Aboriginal art throughout the boat – a nod to his five decades in Australia – but there are also pieces that reflect his Canadian upbringing, including a striking feature piece in the yacht’s foyer. “I think we’re the only boat with a totem pole,” he beams.

Like Silver Dream , Slipstream has chartered from the day she launched under management by Burgess and, like Silver Dream , has proven a highly popular and very successful charter yacht – one family, her captain tells me, has come back 18 times.

The key, says Cowin, is the crew. His captains have been with him for 22 years and 18 years, respectively, and the rest of the crew are first class in their service, hospitality and teamwork.

For their part, Cowin’s family and friends have all become converts to the yachting lifestyle, and they’ve enjoyed some magical cruises together, although Cowin freely admits to not being an intrepid explorer.

That didn’t stop them, however, from taking Slipstream on an extended cruise through Northern Europe in 2022, with family (the Cowins have four children and 12 grandchildren) and friends joining for various legs.

“We started in Dublin, southern Ireland, then went across to the Isle of Man, up the west coast of Scotland to Stornoway, and then we went to Edinburgh while the yacht went across to Norway where we met up with her again,” he says.

“Then we cruised down the Norwegian coast and across to Copenhagen in Denmark, through the Kiel Canal to Hamburg, Germany. The original plan was to then join the yacht in London,” he adds, “but we were invited to see the Rolling Stones in Paris, which obviously won out!”

For now, Cowin doesn’t have a boat in Sydney and is keeping both superyachts in the Med. “We’ve looked on several occasions at bringing Silver Dream back to Sydney, but there’s a big charter industry in the Mediterranean that Australia doesn’t have quite yet,” he says. “Boat ownership and chartering is growing here, and the facilities are having to catch up.”

Still, 40 per cent of the world’s population lives on Australia’s doorstep, so if you have the facilities and the availability, it will definitely be a growth industry.

“In addition to Australia,” he notes, “you also have the Fijian islands, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the whole of the Pacific Rim – there are some very exotic charter destinations that will bring people here.”

With more than two decades of yacht ownership experience, Cowin has some solid advice for anyone thinking about taking the plunge into yachting. First, he says, try to experience it for yourself by chartering or joining friends who own or charter yachts. And, if you do decide to buy or build a superyacht, there are a couple of simple rules to live by.

“From a construction design point of view, get professional advice,” he offers. “Once you own it, the key is establishing a relationship with the captain and the crew who will be running your business – whether you charter or don’t charter, they are little businesses because you have to employ people and manage the process. There are a lot of beautiful boats out there,” he adds. “The difference between a good one and a great one is the crew.”

For those who are still unsure, Cowin recommends considering the advantages a yacht offers over joining a cruise ship, even a boutique one. “One is the privacy – you go on one of these big cruise ships with thousands of people, and you wouldn’t call that a private experience,” he advises.

“But probably more so is the ability to tailor-make your holiday to fit your interests, and to be able to do what you want, whenever you want to do it – that, to me, is one of the major appeals of a superyacht, rather than having to stick to whatever schedule a cruise ship has.”

You have to wonder if, two yachts in, Cowin has plans for another. “I continue to flirt with the idea,” he admits. “We came close pre-pandemic, but COVID hit that on the head.”

Still, he says they continue to entertain the idea. “New boats have new features, and they say bigger is better. Now that life has somewhat returned to normal, we can continue to think about it. But,” he teases, “we haven’t crossed that bridge. Yet.”

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Aussie John Symond lists superyacht Hasna for $160 million, eyeing a bigger future boat

Aussie Home Loans founder John Symonds is selling Hansa, his super megayacht, with hopes to build a new one in the future.

He's asking around $160 million, which would be $60 million more than Australia's most expensive home, for the 73 metre vessel which was only delivered in 2017.

It has been reported on The Australian's Margin Call that there is heat in the market at the moment.

Symond's son Stephen has been recently using the boat, sailing from New York City out to The Hamptons.

Hansa won award at last years World Superyacht Awards for her exterior lines, large jacuzzi and high-quality finish.

It was built by Dutch shipyard Royal van Lent.

The boat was a big reason as to why Aussie John was listening to offers for his Point Piper mega mansion, given plans he and wife Amber McDonald had to travel Europe on the water.

The listing, referred to as a 'her' in its marketing, is one of the most expensive this year.

It features its own beach club, an eight metre infinity swimming pool, its own gym, hair salon, lift and 10 seat cinema on the main deck.

There's a lower deck wellness centre with a massage room.

An elevator serves the lower, main and bridge decks. 

There are six cabins that sleep 12, with a catering crew of 21.

The owners suite, on the main deck, has his and hers bathrooms, separate dressing rooms, a lounge and a private study.

Its twin MTU diesel engine gives it a top speed of 16.6 knots, around 30 kilometres an hour.

The boat isn't the most expensive however on the market.

That gong goes to Secret, a 2013 built, 82.5 metre yacht built by German boat builders  by  Abeking &   Rasmussen. It is currently on the market for nearly $200 million.

The opulence almost overtakes Symonds.

The interiors are designed by Jim Harris, with the exterior by the acclaimed yacht designer Sam Sorgiovanni.

The boat is owned by American businesswoman Nancy Walton Laurie an American heir to the Walmart fortune.

Walton Laurie has an estimated fortune of US$6.6 billion (AU$9.7 billion).

Harris was also responsible for the interior of Walton’s previous  Feadship  yacht.

Is is believed Walton bought the superyacht Jubilee.

Walton's sister Ann Kroenke, fellow heir to the Walmart fortune, owns the yacht Aquila.

None of the above mentioned boats come close to being the most expensive yacht ever, which is in the billions.

The History Supreme is worth $4.8 billion, given it is made from solid gold.

Some 10,000 kilograms of solid gold was used by renowned luxury yacht designer Stuart Hughes from the UK. The build of the fairly modest 30 metre yacht took three years.

It reportedly belongs to Malaysia's richest man Robert Knok.

The master bedroom has wall feature made from meteorite rock and a statue made from genuine Tyrannosaurus Rex bones.

It also features a 68 kg 24-carat gold Aquavista Panoramic Wall Aquarium and a liquor bottle featuring a rare 18.5 carat diamond. 

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of English Premier League football club Chelsea, owns the $1.5 billion Eclipse, the second most expensive boat in the world.

He's regularly on the gigantic 170 metre yacht built by Blohm and Voss of Germany and designed by Terence Disdale. 

It has a mini submarine capable of submerging up to 50 metres underwater.

Abramovich is rarely photographed on the boat, namely due to the fact there's an anti-paparazzi shield which consists of lasers sweeping the surrounding areas.

Australian billionaire Brett Blundy recently offloaded his 74 metre Italian superyacht Cloud 9, according to Margin Call. 

Joel Robinson

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