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![]() MV Rosenkavalier
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A Brief Review
By: Polco Yachts Limited
A glorious 65-year old classic motor yacht from the golden era of private yachting now returned from several years in Japan and Thailand with an attractively refurbished interior and European owners with a passion for the yacht.
At 218' (66.4m) "Rosenkavalier" is a very substantial yacht and she combines an elegance of exterior line with airconditioned accommodation in classic style which is ideal for twelve guests plus two staff.
The various salooons including the Library and the beautiful Main Saloon are complemented by the most attractive After Deck with a full dining table and the ultimate cunshioned 'fan-tail'. Altogether a delight to watch and to be aboard.
-----Polco Yachts Limited
![]() Some Technical Specifications
![]() L.O.A. 218' (66.4 m)
GUESTS 12
CABINS 9
CREW 16
![]() more at www.polco.net
![]() Rosenkavalier: The Legend
(from 1929 to the present)
By: best-yachts.com
![]() To say that ROSENKAVALIER is the greatest surviving classic motor yacht of the 1920's is no exaggeration. Designed by Cox & Stevens and built by the Friedrich Krupp Shipyard in Kiel, Germany, she is still powered by her original Krupp Diesel engines.
ROSENKAVALIER was delivered to her first owner, the flamboyant American millionaire, Max Fleischman of Santa Barbara, in 1929 and proudly named HAIDA. Decades later; the yacht is on her fourth name and ninth owner.
Fleischmann used the yacht to enjoy his many interests, including big game fishing, making frequent trips up and down the length of the American Pacific coast.
To withstand the hardy Pacific weather Cox & Stevens had specified an original hull plate thickness of 16 mm.
Having previously owned 22 yachts, Fleischmann wrote a congratulatory letter to the Krupp yard in August 1930, stating that following two extensive trips he found her the most satisfactory yacht he had ever owned. Praise indeed for this beautiful "Queen of the Sea".
During World War 11 HAIDA was acquired by the US Navy in October 1940 and converted for coastal patrol duty. renamed USS ARGUS and designated "PY14" she worked in service out of San Francisco until her decommissioning in 1946. Even now the original foundation of the canon which stood on her foredeck of those six war years can still be seen.
Subsequently her new life as a civilian took her to Alexandria. Egypt where her new owner, Maurice Adda, an Egyptian cotton magnate and very close friend of King Farouk, renamed her SARINA. She remained in Alexandria until King Farouk was overthrown, at which time Adda based her in Cannes for use as a floating home, office and tax haven. Flying a Honduran flag for convenience, SARINA remained in Cannes until the early 1960's when she was moved along the coast to the Principality of Monaco to start cruising once again.
Larry Green, the American licence holder for Renault in the United States, became her new owner in 1968 and kept her for just one year before selling her to the British Member of Parliament Loel Guinness.
![]() During the ten years that Guiness devoted to SARINA she cruised the Mediterranean in summer months and each winter gradually underwent a systematic restoration programme in a shipyard. Slowly, and where possible following original plans, she was returned to perfect condition throughout.
Reluctantly, due to poor health, Guinness sold his beloved SARINA in 1978 to film producer Robert Stigwood. All guest accommodation was once again refitted, this time in the luxurious style of an English country house. A satellite communication system was installed with a second funnel cleverly added to disguise the satellite dish.
Stigwood then embarked upon three years of glamourous Hollywood entertaining, taking SARINA not only to the usual yacht havens of the Riviera but also to destinations in London, Scandinavia, Egypt, New York and Mustique.
1981 brought another new owner to this classic yacht along with her current name of ROSENKAVALIER.
She was once again redecorated, this time in art deco style, and her dummy funnel was removed. Her new owner, a wealthy recluse, purchased her to explore the Greek Isles. Under his ownership no expense was spared on maintainance, including care of the original Krupp engines and generators and she continued to draw attention and envy year after year at her mooring in the International Yacht Club of Antibes and in the port of Monaco.
However by early 1988 her owner found less and less time to use ROSENKAVALIER so once again she was listed for sale. She was purchased by the Hiroshi lsaka family of Yokohama and Japan became the new home for this beautiful old lady. This meant another long sea voyage, including passage through the Philippines. Leaving Monaco in late 1988, she embarked on the 9,000 mile trip to arrive in Yokosuka early in 1989.
ROSENKAVALIER was later based in Singapore and put into a shipyard to undergo a major interior refit, again putting her back to true classic style.
The refit almost complete, her current owner, Andreas Dion Liveras, a Greek Cypriot businessman and avid yachtsman, took delivery of ROSENKAVALIER in March 1992 as she was, lying in Phuket, Thaïland.
Mr Liveras quotes "I looked at ROSENKAVALIER, fell in love with her and bought her. The 6,000 mile journey back to Greece was completed in just 25 days and I felt as though I was in heaven".
Three months later ROSENKAVALIER looked once again ready for a new life. She had been completely repainted, new deckheads installed and all machinery had been serviced or reconditioned.
She left Piraeus in late July bound for Italy for her first ever charter, where appropriately a royal family were the honoured guests on board this serene lady.
Mr Liveras continues "My dream now, after the experience of the last journey, is when I can find time, to continue around the world in my newly found paradise. Since 1993 she has been chartering sucessfully in the Mediterranean and Caribbean to royal families and wealthy known names. In 1995 and 1998 she was refurbished, the boat deck teak was renewed. The tenders were positioned forward above the wheelhouse giving a new spacious deck restoring her to her formal glory and will remain so as long as Mr Liveras owns her.
more at www.best-yachts.com
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