It’s all getting a bit much with regards to the “optional extras” one can add to one’s superyacht. Just ask Chelsea Football Club owner, Roman Abramovich, whose costs for his new boat, Eclipse, have doubled in the last three years to a cool £724m.

That’s R8.7 billion. For a boat. I have no doubt it includes GPS and parking sensors..

ECLIPSE

Apparently it’s got things like 6-disc CD-shuttles and DVD players.

Timesonline tells us:

EVER since Diana, Princess of Wales, was snapped in an amorous clinch with Dodi Fayed in a yacht off the French Riviera, celebrities have been seeking ways to enjoy their holidays while avoiding the glare of the paparazzi.

Even Helen Mirren’s advancing years failed to stave off photographers who caught her in a bikini in Italy last year.

Now Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch, appears to have come up with a novel solution to protect his privacy.

In a move that could eventually be copied by all discerning billionaires, Abramovich has installed an anti-paparazzi shield on his newest vessel, the world’s biggest and most expensive private yacht.

The high-tech system on Eclipse, a mega-yacht measuring up to 557ft, relies on lasers to block any digital camera lenses nearby.

The boat, which has reportedly more than doubled in cost to £724m since it was commissioned three years ago, glided out of port in Hamburg last week on its maiden voyage. On board were 150 engineers and maritime experts who will put it through its paces over 10 days. One witness described the boat as “a great white castle on water”.

The yacht — the fourth in Abramovich’s private fleet — drips luxury. It boasts two helipads, two swimming pools — the larger of which doubles up as a dance floor when drained — and 6ft-wide home cinema screens in all 24 guest cabins.

The master suite features a retractable roof, allowing the Chelsea football club owner and his girlfriend, Daria Zukhova, a former model, to sleep under the stars.

Mindful of a rise in piracy on the high seas, the yacht has a hull and windows capable of withstanding a missile attack and a mini-submarine for emergencies. Once it leaves the Blohm + Voss German shipyard, it will be fitted with a missile defence system in France.

Abramovich, 42, has been making regular trips to Hamburg to oversee construction and has demanded modifications that have led to its cost rocketing from £317m.

He is due to take delivery of the yacht on December 22 — treating himself to the ultimate Christmas present.

[read more here]

Yes, yes I think you can refer to that as the “ultimate Christmas present.”

I think it would also apply to those spoilt people who you struggle to shop for. You know the ones that lead to the question, “what do you buy the man/woman who has everything?”

Now you know the answer : “ECLIPSE”

[thanks si]