The revamped Coral Sea Marina Resort is the latest stage in former Rich Lister Paul Darrouzet’s big dream for the former “grotty yachtie” hangout at Airlie Beach.
Paul Darrouzet, former mining magnate turned environmentally friendly hospitality czar, welcomes us aboard Norseman, his Italian-built superyacht, at the marina he’s built in Airlie Beach with ambitions to turn it into “the Monaco of the southern hemisphere”.
Nichols steers a course that takes us past the sumptuous reefs and sandbars that guard Hayman Island, and heads for the famous coves on the north-eastern side of Hook Island . Humphead Maori wrasse are large marine fish that are a virtue in this region: they prey on one of the reef’s worst enemies – crown-of-thorns starfish.
Octopus go even further in their sacrifice. According to our marine biologist, the male and female have sex just once. After the female is impregnated, it’s time for dad to die – by slowly starving himself, or by letting himself be killed and eaten by his one-night-stand. The largest superyacht in the marina during our visit is the US-built, Italian-owned Gran Finale at 45 metres – though the wharf it’s berthed at can accommodate anything up to 100 metres.Since the invasion of Ukraine, superyachts “owned” by Russian oligarchs have had a bad press, with a number seized or impounded. Yet the security-proofed superyacht section in Airlie Beach has never been busier.
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