A story of any rarity yacht often involves changes of owner, renaming and reconstructions. Only a real yacht can stand a test of time and in her 80 or 100 years look as good as the day she was launched with a bottle of champagne broken on her board.
The story of a yacht now called Atlantide began in 1930 at the Philip & Sons shipyard in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. At the time she was called Caleta and had been commissioned by a remarkable yachtsman of the age Sir William Burton. He used to be the helmsman of Shamrock IV in J class at the 1930 Cup of America. Sir William participated in all regattas of 12-metre-long yachts on the East and South Coast that finished in Cowes in August. The new Caleta had to accompany her owner and provide him and his guests with comfort during breaks in races, and also carry the necessary equipment and food for the participants of the regatta.
Like all yachts built at the time Caleta too had passed the test of war: in 1939 she was commandeered by the British Royal Navy. In 1940 she joined a special division that consisted of small vessels carrying British expeditionary forces as well as Allied forces from the French town of Dunkirk – the operation that went down in history under the name of Operation Dynamo. Together with Glala and Amulree Caleta took an active part in the evacuation of troops in spite of the fierce bombing by German planes. On the night of May 31 - June 1 around 35 war squadrons from the transport warship ALC5 had been evacuated; the ship had been taken in tow. Towage under non-stop enemy fire twice nearly failed, but the courage of Caleta crew made it possible to avoid casualties, as well as the sinking of both ships.
After the war Caleta was bought by a Greek shipowner and renamed Ariane. There was another happy chapter in her history: she featured in the movie Tender Is the Night, shot in Antibes and starring Ingrid Bergman. At the time the yacht was called Corisande, her 3rd name already. As for her current name, she got it from her next owner, Count Nicolo delle Rose, who bought the yacht in 1980 and renamed her Atlantide.
In 1998 Atlantide was bought by American industrialist Thomas Perkins from San Francisco. He was the one who made the yacht undergo a massive redo, with an aim to improve her looks and performance. The hull had been reconstructed on Malta at the Manoel Island Shipyard; as for the superstructure, its renovation had been carried out by such renowned companies as Camper and Nicholson, Gosport and Norfolk C&C Designs. General interior and exterior design went under the control by Ken Freivokh Design – the very studio that took part in the Maltese Falcon project.
Brought to active life once again in 1999, Atlantide accompanies her owner’s fleet. In essence, she’s doing the same job that she was meant to do when built, which is rare for such a long-living yacht…
By Evgeny Belov
Type: Motor yacht
Length: 37 m (122 ft)
Width: 5,5 m (18 ft)
Draft: 2,13 m (7 ft)
Displacement: 180 tons
Engines: 2 x 8cyl Gardner 8L3B
Material: steel hull, teak superstructure
Built by: Philip & Sons, Dartmouth
Date of construction: 1930
Date of reconstruction: 1999
Photoreport
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