The Alan Jones farewell party continued on Friday with a long lunchtime cruise on Sydney Harbour packed with the radio host’s powerful friends.
Jones describes his closest allies as members of the ‘pick and stick’ club and many of them had gathered to salute the man who chose them for that role.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott and his onetime chief of staff Peta Credlin as well as One Nation MP Mark Latham were among the political identities to score invitations.
The Alan Jones farewell part continued on Friday with a cruise on Sydney Harbour packed with the radio host’s powerful friends. Among guests were Jones protege Jake Thrupp (in sunglasses), Mark Latham (far right) and Sony Music boss Denis Handlin (far left)
Jones, who retired from radio last month, was accompanied on the cruise by long-term staff and more recent additions to his circle of friends including young protege Jake Thrupp (in sunglasses)
Former prime minister Tony Abbott was seen boarding the Alan Jones cruise at Rose Bay Wharf on Friday afternoon
Alan Jones picked a perfect Sydney winter day for a long harbour cruise with his closest allies
Retired Test cricketers Brett Lee and Shane Watson were joined by footballers Kurtley Beale and Craig Wing on board celebrity accountant Anthony Bell’s $15million superyacht Ghost II.
Also in attendance was Jones protege and aspiring media commentator Jake Thrupp, who has increasingly been at the retired radio king’s side.
Barrister Margaret Cunneen, SC, Sony Music boss Denis Handlin, public relations queen Deeta Colvin and Sydney Olympics boss Rod McGeoch also joined the party which left from Rose Bay Wharf.
Gift bags from Peter’s of Kensington, a major sponsor of Jones’s old breakfast program, were loaded on board the yacht. Society jeweller Nic Cerrone added further sparkle.
Jones spent the days after he retired from radio relaxing on his Southern Highlands farm before returning to the city.
They 79-year-old was spotted in Sydney for the first time since he quit radio when he was photographed tutoring 23-year-old Thrupp in tennis earlier this month.
Gift bags from Peter’s of Kensington were seen being loaded onto Anthony Bell’s superyacht
Politician Mark Latham (left) walks to board Ghost II at Rose Bay Wharf with barrister Margaret Cunneen, a former NSW Crown prosecutor now working in defence
Jones hugs former rugby league and rugby star Craig Wing on Friday. Former federal Labor leader Mark Latham is pictured far right and Sony Music boss Denis Handlin far left
Thrupp, originally from Queensland, is one of a handful of Jones’s staff to remain on his personal payroll in the wake of his departure from the airwaves.
The part-time student at Sydney University has embarked on an impressive broadcasting career of his own since linking up with Jones.
Thrupp was one of many staff in Jones’s ‘in house family’ who the broadcaster paid tribute to on his final program.
Jones thanked his many former staff at length, several of his producers having worked for the breakfast host since the early 1990s.
Jones briefly described Thrupp as ‘immensely talented’ and credited him and a colleague for their work on his social media platforms.
Brothers in arms: League and union great clasps hands with a guest on Alan Jones’s cruise
All aboard: Guests piled onto Anthony Bell’s Ghost II for the Friday afternoon cruise
Peta Credlin, former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott’s chief-of-staff turned media commentator, arrived at Rose Bay Wharf ready to party on Anthony Bell’s yacht. Bell is pictured right
He has occasionally appeared on Jones’s Sky News show and launched his own weekly podcast on which he has interviewed Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, tennis star Mark Philippoussis and NSW government ministers.
Jones finished his 35 years in radio on May 29, signing off his last shift by telling his listeners, ‘Together in spirit always, but for now goodbye.’
‘All the best to everyone out there, thank you for your company and we’ll see you somewhere I’m sure.’
Former rugby league and rugby star Craig Wing steps aboard Ghost II with his model wife Johanna Chow Chuen
Staff tended to guests’ every need as Ghost II cruised around Sydney Harbour on Friday
Jones announced last month he was retiring on the advice of doctors, leading to an outpouring of tributes and congratulatory messages from some of those who joined him for Friday’s cruise.
Among those to call in were Abbott, Credlin and Latham.
Not sighted on Friday’s harbour jaunt were former 2GB colleague Ray Hadley or erstwhile station owner John Singleton but several long-term staff members were invited.
Jones has been replaced in the breakfast shift by former drive announcer Ben Fordham.
Jones chose a smart casual ensemble for his day out on the water with his ‘pick and stick’ crew
Anthony Bell’s Ghost II (pictured) is among the most impressive yachts on Sydney Harbour