Rover (yacht)
History | |
---|---|
UK | |
Name | Rover |
Builder | Alexander Stephen and Sons, River Clyde, Scotland, UK |
Renamed | Southern Cross, Orizaba (1939) |
Fate | Scrapped c. 1960 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Steam yacht |
Tonnage | 2,115 Thames Measurement[1] |
Length | 266 ft 5 in (81.20 m) |
Beam | 40 ft 4 in (12.3 m) |
Draught | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
Installed power | 3,000 shp (2,200 kW) |
Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × four crank triple expansion engines. 3 x 60-kilowatt (80 hp) turbo-generators |
Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
The Rover was a steam powered yacht built by Alexander Stephen and Sons in Glasgow, Scotland for Lord Inchcape, then chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). Built as Stephen's Yard No. 527 she was 265 feet 5 inches (80.90 m) long with a beam of 40 feet 1 inch (12.22 m) and a tonnage of 2,115, she was considered "the most luxurious ever built on the Clyde.[2]
Description
The yacht's figurehead was a likeness of Lord Inchcape's daughter, Elsie Mackay who disappeared whilst attempting to fly the Atlantic in 1928.[3] With accommodation for up to 14 guests, she was painted green and white at launch with a predominately silver coloured dining room.[4]
The Rover had marbled bathrooms attached to every state-room with long distance fuel tanks to permit long voyages and world cruises. There were also expansive open decks for dancing and games. During Cowes Week in August, 1930, she was visited by the then King George V and Queen Mary.[5]
Later career
After Lord Inchcape's death aboard the Rover in Monte Carlo harbour, Monaco on 23 May 1932,[6] rumours circulated that the Aga Khan would buy the yacht[7] while a rumoured deal with King Carol II of Romania also fell through.[8] However, a year later she was bought by American business man Howard Hughes unseen and renamed Southern Cross.[2][9] She was subsequently sold to Swedish entrepreneur Axel Wenner-Gren under whose ownership she helped rescue survivors from the SS Athenia, the first ship to be sunk by Nazi Germany during World War II.[10]
The vessel subsequently served in the Mexican Navy as Orizaba until she was scrapped around 1960.[8]
References
- ^ A Shipbuilding History. 1750-1932 (Alexander Stephen and Sons): Chapter 10
- ^ a b "Lord Inchcape's Yacht Bought By American". The Straits Times. Singapore Government. 21 December 1933. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Lord Inchcape's Yacht Sold". Dundee Courier. British Newspaper Archive. 3 January 1933. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Lord Inchcape's New Yacht". Portsmouth Evening News. British Newspaper Archive. 4 July 1930. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
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ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ Stephen, Alexander, & Sons (1932). A Shipbuilding History, 1750-1932: A Record of the Business Founded, about 1750, by Alexander Stephen at Burghead, and Subsequently Carried on at Aberdeen, Arbroath, Dundee and Glasgow. A. Stephen & Sons Limited.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Lord Inchcape". Hartlepool mail. British Newspaper Archive. 24 May 1932. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Aga Khan to Buy Inchcape Yacht?". Edinburgh Evening News. British Newspaper Archive. 1 July 1932. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Wisner, Bill (December 1975). "The Golden Age of Yachts". Motor Boating. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Film Producer Buys Yacht". Avalon, California: The Catalina Islander. 5 July 1933. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- ^ Francis Carroll (2012). Athenia Torpedoed: The U-Boat Attack that Ignited the Battle of the Atlantic. Naval Institute Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-61251-155-9.