Dancing Hare (formerly Lady Ghislaine and Lady Mona K) is a superyacht built by Amels in 1986.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Cayman Islands | |
| Name |
|
| Port of registry | Cayman Islands |
| Builder | Jon Bannenberg/Amels |
| Launched | 1986 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Operational |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Motor Yacht |
| Length | 55 metres (180 ft) |
| Beam | 9.2 metres (30 ft) |
| Draft | 3 metres (9.8 ft) |
| Installed power | 2,102 kilowatts (2,819 hp) |
| Propulsion | Twin Caterpillar 3516 DI-TA |
| Speed | 16.3 knots (30.2 km/h; 18.8 mph) (trial) |
| Range | 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) |
Built for Emad Khashoggi, it was then purchased, also in 1986, by Robert Maxwell, who died by drowning while cruising on the yacht off the Canary Islands. It was then owned by an Arabian businessman who sold it in 2017. The new owner, Anna Murdoch, had it refitted and renamed Dancing Hare.
Design
editBuilt in 1986 for Emad Khashoggi by Amels of Makkum, Netherlands, it was the first of series of Jon Bannenberg designed super yachts.[2] The yacht exterior includes a flared bow, lozenge-shaped ports, vertical windows and mullions and a sculpted mast complex.[2]
Robert Maxwell
editKhashoggi, also developer of the Château Louis XIV and the Palais Rose, abandoned the project for the yacht and in 1986 sold the vessel to Robert Maxwell who named it Lady Ghislaine after his daughter Ghislaine. In 1991, it was the base for Maxwell in New York City, moored on the East River as he negotiated with the unions over his purchase of the New York Daily News.[3][4][5]
Maxwell's death
editOn 5 November 1991, at the age of 68, Maxwell was on board Lady Ghislaine, which was cruising off the Canary Islands. Maxwell's body was subsequently found floating in the Atlantic Ocean. He was later buried in Jerusalem. The official verdict was accidental drowning,[6] though some commentators have surmised that he may have committed suicide[3] or been murdered.[7]
Subsequent owners
editAfter Maxwell's death the yacht was purchased by an Arabian businessman, who sold her in 2017 to Anna Murdoch, at one time the wife of Rupert Murdoch. It was only after the sale the new owner discovered the yacht had previously been owned by Maxwell.[8][5] After a refit at the Balk Shipyard in Urk, Netherlands, over the winter, the vessel was renamed Dancing Hare in May 2018.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Lady Mona K". superyachttimes.info. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Lady Mona K". superyachts.com. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
- ^ a b Chester Stern (with Iain West) (1996). Dr Iain West's Casebook: The Chilling Investigations of Britain's Leading Forensic Pathologist. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-87788-6.
- ^ Wiltshire, Laura (13 February 2020). "Superyacht with Epstein connection docks in Wellington". Stuff.
- ^ a b Preston, John (2021). Fall: the Mystery of Robert Maxwell. London: Viking, Penguin, Random House. pp. 147, 288. ISBN 978-0-241-38867-9.
- ^ Eichel, Larry (14 December 1991). "Maxwell's Legacy Of Money Troubles Maxwell's Own Daily Mirror Newspaper Now Routinely Calls Him 'The Cheating Tycoon'". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ Goodman, Geoffrey (2003-11-24). "Was Robert Maxwell murdered?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- ^ MacLean, Malcolm (26 September 2017). "Amels motor yacht Lady Mona K sold". Boat International. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ Miranda Blazeby (25 June 2018). "Amels motor yacht Dancing Hare completes seven-month refit". Boat International. Retrieved 9 September 2019.