Comanche skipper Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant buy trophy beachfront at Hyams Beach

Yachties Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant — who took line honours in the Sydney to Hobart last year in Comanche — have bought a $4m “trophy beachfront” holiday home at Hyams Beach.

The couple, who reside in the seven-bedroom Kurraba Point mansion ‘Shellcove’ purchased for $13.5m in 2004 on Sydney’s lower north shore, are already renovating the three-bedroom Cyrus St property that they’ve snapped up off-market from Vaucluse eye surgeon Ilan Sebban and wife, Shira, a writer.

The July 1 sale is still short of the Hyams Beach record price of $4.8m, when the Canberra-born but now Jersey-based businessman and philanthropist Graham Tuckwell — with an estimated net worth of $683m — and his wife, Louise, purchased a beachfront on a 1,378 sqm block a few doors along in May, 2018. Though that had two homes on the block.

Amid the COVID-19 travelling restriction period, prominent buyer’s agent Simon Cohen was known to have been scouting for a beachfront property for a mystery client in the tightly held south coast village of just 143 homes, famous for its well-publicised “whitest sand in the world”.

The local real estate agent, Craig McIntosh, principal of The Holidays Collection, was tight-lipped, but sources said that he had helped identify a willing seller.

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But it was only after its recent settlement, when CoreLogic reported a July 1 sale of the Sebban home to a company linked to Cooney and Grant, that the cat was out of the bag.

On a wide 1433sq m block, the home has panoramic ocean views taking in Point Perpindicular lighthouse and the famous stretch of sand all the way to the HMAS Creswell navy base.

When the property last traded seven years ago for $2.6m, it was described as “arguably the trophy beachfront property in the village with an extra-wide frontage, elevated position and of course private beach access”.

There are two bathrooms, two rumpus areas, a large open-plan kitchen, dining, lounge and a single garage.

All the living areas and a wide deck around the front of the house capture the amazing views of Jervis Bay.

Entry to the property is secluded and well treed along the rear boundary.

Despite residing over the Bridge, Cooney and Grant have close ties to Sydney’s east.

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In June 2018, the Wentworth Courier reported that Cooney had bought a luxurious $8.67m six-bedroom duplex on the waterfront at Darling Point for his university student daughter, Julia, then aged 20.

And last year he bought a block of land on the Point Piper waterfront for $22.5m before later selling it for a similar figure.

Cooney had sold his wireless telecommunications business TCI to Service Stream for $45 million in 2006.

Originally published as Comanche skipper Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant buy ‘trophy beachfront’ at Hyams Beach

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