Rover (yacht)
The Rover was a steam-powered yacht built in 1930 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, and was considered "the most luxurious ever built on the Clyde".[2]
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| 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 |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
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, the yacht was painted green and white at launch with a predominantly silver-coloured dining room.[4]
The Rover's staterooms featured en-suite marbled bathrooms. Dancing and games were staged on the open decks. Long-distance fuel tanks permitted long round-the-world voyages. 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's harbour, Port Hercules in 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 businessman 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
- "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.
- "Lord Inchcape's New Yacht". Portsmouth Evening News. British Newspaper Archive. 4 July 1930. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- 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.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "Lord Inchcape". Hartlepool mail. British Newspaper Archive. 24 May 1932. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- "Aga Khan to Buy Inchcape Yacht?". Edinburgh Evening News. British Newspaper Archive. 1 July 1932. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- 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.
