Australian Billionaires’ Super Yachts Flock to the Mediterranean
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It’s that time of year again. A flotilla of super yachts owned by Australian billionaires including James Packer and Lindsay Fox has descended on the south of France.
The Mediterranean, of course, becomes a playground of the ultra‑wealthy this time of year and is particularly appealing to anyone from cooler climates with very deep pockets. For the well‑heeled, super yachts are the ultimate holiday flex.
Paula and Lindsay Fox.Paul Rovere
A quick look to see where the floating status symbols of some of Australia’s rich list regulars are currently anchored shows Packer’s 354‑foot (1 anchored shows Packer’s 354‑foot (108‑metre) super yacht, IJE, has arrived in Saint‑Tropez after spending a few days at La Seyne‑sur‑mer.
Packer has been hosting friends while moored off the French coast, with the Australian Financial Review reporting on Thursday that the corporate titan had been joined on board by Packer’s old business partner, Hollywood filmmaker Brett Ratner, who was director of the Melania Trump promotional reel – sorry, documentary – along with the legendary former boxer, Mike Tyson.
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Meanwhile, Fox’s super yacht, Volpini 2, was also at anchor off Saint‑Tropez as of Sunday afternoon, according to yacht‑spotting data, as Frank Lowy’s 269‑foot (90‑metre) boat, Ilona, made its way from Saint‑Tropez to Cannes.
Solomon Lew’s 177‑foot (54‑metre) super yacht, Maridome, was located at Sani in Greece – the same Maridome which some readers will recall was at subject of a legal bust‑up back in 2012, when the vessel collided with another in a Florida shipyard.
Meanwhile, Gretel Packer’s 285‑foot (87‑metre) super yacht, Arctic, was anchored off the Italian coast near Naples. Slipstream, Jack Cowin’s 198‑foot (60‑metre) super yacht, was also in Italian waters, at Imperia in Italy.
Taking in the Spanish sun, Coral Ocean, the 238‑foot (73‑metre) super yacht owned by Sydney businessman Ian Malouf, was located off Mallorca. The cost to charter Coral Ocean starts at $937,000 a week according to the Ahoy Club website. Arctic, the distinctive icebreaker which was famously converted into a luxury super yacht by Kerry Packer, is also listed for charter via Ahoy Club, starting at $978,000 a week.
Then there’s Clive Palmer’s prized 184‑foot (56‑metre) super yacht, Australia, which according to tracking data is nesting at Southport in Queensland, far from the summery Mediterranean crowd.
Now, just who is on these boats at any one time, we can’t say for certain. It is peak season for the charter set in Europe, and yacht life is a highly prized holiday.
Superstar Janet Jackson crowns Melbourne milliner
Melbourne milliner Jill Humphries has always been a fan of Janet Jackson.
Now, after receiving an international boost from the superstar just days after her bank account was hacked, the celebrated chapeau artisan is even more of a fan of the Miss You Much hitmaker.
Janet Jackson attends the 2026 BET Awards. Getty Images
Humphries, who has made hats that have been worn by celebrities and notables at great horse race meetings around the world, was contacted via social media by Jackson’s stylist to make a custom fedora for the Rhythm Nation singer.
Jackson’s team had spotted Humphries’ work on Instagram. They ended up ordering three versions of the hat, and in the same week that Humphries was finishing the pieces and shipping them to America, her account was compromised.
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“I was watching my account being drained, just one transaction after another, it was horrifying,” Humphries said.
While she was sorting through the highly distressing issue with her bank, Humphries got a major business boost when Jackson wore her hat to the BET Awards in Los Angeles.
“They had not told me what event Janet was attending, just that something really cool was happening,” Humphries said.
“I woke up Monday morning and here are photos of Janet Jackson wearing my hat, and I am being tagged by her on Instagram. .. She is an artist and a queen. It was very special.”
Humphries was among the guests at the Millinery Australia Hall of Fame event on Friday – a mad hatters’ cocktail party, if you will – at The Bank in Collins Street.
Amid a sea of wild and whimsical creations, Catherine Kelly was elevated to the Hall of Fame while Rose Hudson walked away with the Design Award.
French honour for Melbourne food legend
A lifetime of good taste was recognised when Melbourne food writer Rita Erlich was awarded a French Order of Agriculture Merit for her work in promoting French cuisine, culture and agricultural heritage in Australia.
Erlich was presented with the honour by Paule Ignatio, the Consul General of France for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia at a lunch held at Philippe’s restaurant in the CBD late last month.
Food writer Rita Erlich. Darren James DAJ
“For more than half a century, you have been an ambassador for French gastronomy in Australia – not by appointment but by vocation. You have written about us, travelled among us, translated us and celebrated us with a generosity and expertise that France is proud and honoured to recognise,” Ignatio said at the intimate gathering.
Guests included chef Gabriel Gate, president of the Alliance Française de Melbourne Myriam Boisbouvier-Wylie, and Sofitel Hotels arts ambassador Clive Scott.
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Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
