Executive Traveler June2004
© Dale Leatherman 2004
This spring, course designer Greg Norman motored into the harbor of Great Exuma, Bahamas on his $70 million yacht, Aussie Rules, for the opening of his course at the new Four Seasons Great Exuma at Emerald Bay. He arrived a few days early so that he and his guests, including former U.S. Amateur Champion Hank Kuehne, could enjoy the scuba diving and fishing in the Exumas, one of the Bahamas’ most pristine regions.
The 228-foot “Great White Yacht,” a mother ship draped with six smaller vessels for fishing and diving and a helicopter on the aft deck, is one of Norman’s favorite toys and also the prototype for yachts sold by Norman Expedition Yachts. Aussie Rules accommodates 16 guests and 14 crew members and can cruise 8,000 nautical miles (from the North Pole to the South Pole) without refueling.
Though he loves the yacht, Norman spends much more time in the air than on the high seas – an average of 600 hours a year.
“Flying has always been a huge part of my professional life,” says Norman. “Without my jet and my helicopter I couldn't do what I do. I began leasing planes in the mid-80s to fly from tournament to tournament and have had a license since 1987. When we blew an engine and were forced to make an emergency landing in Latrobe, Pa., in 1990, I decided right then and there to buy my first jet.”
Contact me to read the entire story or to discuss second rights or a rewrite. daleatherman@cs.com