Aussie mega yachts shrink

Back in 1995 when the late Sydney-based media mogul Kerry Packer decided to spend a few million of his multi-billion dollar fortune converting the North Sea oil rig supply ship Arctic P into a luxury private gin palace, he created one of the 10 largest privately-owned boats in the world.

Arctic P had been built in 1969 and had survived a quarter of a century in the world's toughest conditions without incident. Packer told his mates that any boat that could put up with that sort of treatment was what he wanted.

Shipwrights swarmed over the 288ft vessel and converted the utilitarian supply ship into a luxury plaything that could take Packer and his lucky guests anywhere in the world, and through any weather, in absolute comfort.

When it was relaunched, there were only a handful of private mega yachts that were larger (although many were far better looking). Arctic P remains probably the ugliest mega yacht in the world.

Casino owner James Packer inherited Arctic P from his father and keeps up the family tradition of having it move between Australia, Tahiti and the Med as the seasons change -- but he has lost his father's boasting rights.

This year Arctic P is rated as only the 34th largest privately-owned boat in the world and is dwarfted by the largest, Russian businessman Roman Abramovich's 557ft Eclipse. And while Eclipse is the biggest, there are now dozens of private yachts over 300 feet and a number over 400 feet.

The only other Australian-owned yacht among the top 100 this year is shopping complex billionaire Frank Lowy's 242ft yacht Ilona, named after his late mother. Ilona was built for Lowy from the keel up and the final cost was rumoured to be over $50 million -- a sum that wouldn't get half a new mega yacht built these days.

Ilona was the first super yacht to feature a couple of innovations that are now virtually standard on really big boats. Tired of the hammering his helicopter took from the weather when lashed to the deck of his previous boat, Lowy had a hanger built into the aft deck of Ilona so the chopper could be lowered out of sight and protected when not in use.

The mega yacht also had underwater lights installed all around her hull below the waterline so that, when they were switched on at night, the yacht appeared to be floating in air. The underwater lights are now a standard item on mega yachts.