Yachting News

According to the Sydney Morning Herald News Corp supremo Lachlan Murdoch has purchased a rather charming 1950s "superyacht" for $30M to possibly boat around Sydney Harbour,as one does. From photos in the prestige Yachting News online magazine the interiors seem a tad austere. No insult Lachlan- we mean that nicely (we know Lachlan puruses Whisper's pages occasionally). Certainly compared to the Superyachts of the world. There are a reputed just under 6000 yachts that fit the category. Perhaps this will just be his Sydney runabout as he has another larger yacht being built.

Whispers has had a short history with Superyatchs. In the early 80s we were a guest for 3 nights on Adnan Kashoggis Nabila when it was docked in Monte Carlo. Working on a European fashion magazine funded by Kashoggi, an extremely charming host, we were summonsed to cover a series of events and although we shared a "double cabin" the yacht was wonderfully luxurious and huge, a bit like a rather large country mansion in decor. Certainly not as glitzy as the Trump Princess which it became when Trump snapped up the ship for a knock down $30M.

There are several superyachts we actually missed out on visiting due to unforseen circumstances and prior committments. An invite to attend a party on the famed Aristotle Onansis yacht Christina O and Rupert Murdoch's NYC based Lady Ghislaine (as it was then called) when he was launching something or other (or was it his wedding to Wendi ?). Murdoch bought the yacht from the infamous Robert Maxwell.

These older yachts like Lachlan's and the Kashoggi yacht really look spectaular and in their day were considered huge. But they are dwarfed by monsters like Aussie billionaire James Packer's $200M IJE which, apparently after just one summer sailing the Medeterranean, is now for sale for $300M. No photos exist of the interior and apparently guests on that trip were forbidden to take any.

Still, it could be worse. Take the $700M Scheherazade said to be owned by Vlad Putin, invader of Ukraine. It's hard to see if it will ever set sail on the Med and may be doomed to cruise the Black Sea for eternity.

## You can charter the Onansis ship below with it's grand piano room and pool for aorund $1M a week for 20 guests!