Mention Australia to those who have never been there and,
chances are, they’ll think outback, or Sydney Harbour’s internationally
recognizable bridge and opera house or putting shrimp on the barbie, mate. But
as a cruising destination, Australia has vastly more to offer than the
standard Down Under stereotype suggests, as an increasing number of Northern
Hemisphere superyacht owners are discovering.
 The New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Sydney Harbour is one of
the world’s finest. (Click image to enlarge)
Australia’s coastline is varied, vast and spectacular. With
numerous iconic marine locations such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Kimberley
Coast and the Whitsunday Islands, combined with a wide range of international
attractions and events such as the Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix, the Gold
Coast Indy 300, the Melbourne Cup, Hervey Bay whale watching and New Year’s
Eve on Sydney Harbour, it’s hardly surprising that Australia is fast becoming
the new mecca for large-yacht owners from all over the world.Combine this with the equally superb cruising to be found
across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand along the Coromandel Coast, in Auckland
Harbour and in the Bay of Islands, and Down Under makes for an extremely
attractive alternative to the more crowded locations in the Mediterranean and
Caribbean. When Australia’s Alan Bond defeated Dennis Conner to win the
America’s Cup in 1983, and then lost it back to Conner in 1987, the world’s
yachting community began to turn its attention to this part of the Southern
Hemisphere. Slowly, superyachts began appearing in local waters. When the 2000
Sydney Olympics closely followed the Louis Vuitton Cup regatta and the New
Zealand America’s Cup defenses in Auckland, an unprecedented number of vessels
larger than 100 feet made their way to the region and word began to spread
north. Still, an estimated 95 percent or more of recreational vessels in excess of 100 feet worldwide have never ventured south of the
equator, with the main obstacles being the travel distance and corresponding
cost and the lack of internationally standard facilities for yachts over 100
feet. But some of those obstacles are falling away. Accompanying the growth in large-yacht visitors in the nineties
was the acknowledgement of the need for an infrastructure upgrade to accommodate
those vessels. Both the private sector and the state and federal governments of
Australia have subsequently made substantial investments. A recent audit of
superyacht-oriented facilities either completed or under construction in
Australia showed an asset value well in excess of $1 billion
nationwide.
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