Superyachts Directory

Big night on St Bart’s

There’s only one topic of conversation on St Barts and St Maarten this weekend. In case you’ve been asleep since Christmas Day, it’s the Abramovitch bash at his little place above Gouverneur Beach – 70-acres of prime beachfront real-estate that was once owned by David Rockefeller.

All week, to the incessant, but surprisingly engaging soundtrack of Radio St Barth FM, we’ve been star-spotting around the island and speculating – along with the world’s media – about the guest line-up and the Chelsea boss’s choice of live entertainment. Based on the widely circulated pics of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and his family, the smart money is on the Chilis for the exclusive 10 till 4 party and its 300+ guests.

And then there’s the appearance of Eclipse, the jewel in the crown of the St Bart’s New Year yacht sail-in. Even if we don’t make it into Mr A’s gig, we’re hoping for a closer look at the Terence Disdale designed Blohm + Voss-built Eclipse over the weekend – all 164 beautiful metres of her, complete with those three launches, two helipads and the much talked about mini-sub. Something tells me that with one of the tightest-controlled guest lists and the usual ultra-strict Abramovitch security machine in place there’s no way we’ll get aboard this time. We can but dream…

Realistically, if we want anything more than a long-distance view, it’ll mean sweet talking our way onto one of the usual superyacht entourage that have joined Eclipse off the island. Doable? It all depends on who’s here and what happens tomorrow. Who knows – if we can’t swing this we’ll have a ball putting on our own ‘island chic’ tomorrow night,  piling into the hired SMART and heading over to our Gustavia to celebrate over Mahi-Mahi en-papillote. Whatever happens, we’ve got New Year’s Eve covered and we’ll be seeing in 2012 in style.

In the meantime, we’ll keep our ears to the ground over the next 48. Look out for another posting when the hangover’s have worn off next week. And in the meantime, whether you’re celebrating on Eclipse, rubbing shoulders with the A-listers at the party of the year, or just chilling out at a comfy 26 degrees, have a great New Year’s Eve. More in 2012…