The Malahne motor yacht is turning 82 this year. Even by human standards this boat is still a very cheerful and energetic boat, but still a grandmother. And like any grandmother, Malahne has stories to share with anyone who wants to listen, and the main character in them will be, of course, herself.
Life One. Child of the Great Depression.
Amazingly, despite the Great Depression following the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange in the autumn of 1929, the British shipyard Camper & Nicholsons experienced the next decade well. The shipyard successfully launched ten new large motor yachts, the largest of which was the 80.3 meter Philante in 1936. Later, after being refitted and renamed Norge, she was sold in 1948 to the Royal Norwegian Family, who still use her to this day.
The 50 «m younger sister Philante-Norge», named Malahne, was first launched at the shipyard in Gosport the year after in 1937. The design of the boat was invented by Charles E. Nicholson, and the first owner was William Lawrence Stephenson, co-founder of the Woolworth retail chain in the UK.
Stevenson was a passionate yachtsman. He first «picked up a racing fever» in 1930 after he bought and converted a William Fife J-Class boat called White Heather II. In 1932 and 1934 Stevenson financially supported the British team at the America«'s Cup. And in 1933 he ordered another J-Class yacht» from Charles Nicholson to compete in the America«'s Cup. White Heather II was scrapped and used to cast the keel of a new boat named Velsheda. For the second season, she won more than 40 races.
Velsheda and Malahne didn't just become Stevenson's property. They were both named after his daughters. The first few letters of Velma, Sheila and Daphne's names formed the name Velsheda and the last few letters were Malahne.
Before World War II, Stevenson often went to Malahne across the Atlantic to New York City. In 1937-1938, she went over the ocean again and again. When the war started, the boat was handed over for military needs.
As a patrol cruiser in the English Channel Malahne participated in the evacuation of troops from the French Dunkirk in 1940.
Later, the boat became a target for torpedoes during an exercise in Scotland.
Life Two. Hollywood
After the war ended, it returned to its private owners. The most famous of these was the film producer Sam Spiegel, to whom Malahne got involved in the 60s. During the 23 years that the boat was owned by Spiegel, he enjoyed Malahne's possession, having fun on board with Hollywood stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas and Jack Nicholson. The spiegel and Malahne are so firmly established on the Côte d'Azur that on July 9th 1965 the yacht even made it to the cover of Life magazine and became a kind of a yachting «face in the» French Riviera.
In addition, Spiegel often used his boat as a floating base during field surveys.
Malahne served as headquarters for «Lawrence of Arabia»'s film crew (1962) in Jordan, and for the film, the «last cruise on the Sheila (1973) was itself» a set.
Modern viewers can also remember the yacht of the newly baked four Gray during their honeymoon on the Côte d'Azur in last year's adaptation of the novel by EL James 50 shades«of freedom.
Life Three. Life is not like that.
In the early '80s, Malahne was changing owners and names again. In 1983, it was bought and renamed Adel XII by Saudi Sheikh Adel Al Mojil. In Italy, the Cantieri Navali Campanella hosted a global review. The new owner wanted to change the basic design of the boat, which resulted in its extension to 53.9 meters.
In the following years Malahne appeared here and there on both sides of the Atlantic, and then ended up in the brokerage market. A few more years before the early 2000s, it remained unclaimed.
In 2012, it was put up again for just €550,000.
The head of Edmiston & Company broker Nicholas Edmiston was among those who followed Malahne. He, a man who was involved in the restoration of classic Nahlin and Bluebird yachts, had a personal desire to see the restored Malahne too. Since 2009, Edmiston has been protecting the boat.
The search for a new owner was a success in 2013. He is the owner of another sister «Malahne» - small, elegant and renovated - 39-meter Fair Lady. According to the broker, he was «lucky to have someone who understood and appreciated his vision of Malahne and trusted Edmiston to put together a team that could bring the boat back to its former beauty.
Life Four. Returned by .
Edmiston introduced the client to Pendennis, a specialist in the era to which Malahne, a G. company, belongs. L. Watson & Co and Art Deco experts from Oliver Laws. This is how the best team of British professionals may have come together to work on the boat.
In September 2012 Malahne was brought from Spain to the Pendennis shipyard in Falmouth, UK. At that time it was a yacht with 15 guests and 18 crew. For almost six months, specialists studied the boat and selected all the elements that have survived from its original appearance. Everything that was related to the consequences of the rephrase was discarded.
At the same time, together with the naval architects Pendennis, the G. L. Watson were able to ensure that, in keeping with the spirit of the 30's, Malahne would meet current MCA LY3 standards (a«large yacht» classified by the Coast Guard Agency) and would be registered in Lloyd's Register, the largest classification society in the world, without interference.
The previous refit cut off much of the space in the once large two-level engine room, which was occupied by additional guest cabins, and the spacious owner's personal dining room on the lower deck was converted into crew cabins. In the new dining room on the main deck, the original layout included pipes for exhaust extraction from the engine. In general, the changes in the galley and crew quarters caused the most damage to the original layout of the yacht.
In the 30's there was still a fundamental difference between officers and crew quarters. Even on deck, they could be reached through different entrances. GL Watson & Co have completely redesigned this area on board, with 11 people living in seven cabins, not only the captain but also two senior officers having their own single personal quarters. Guests and the owner were offered six cabins, two of which were single.
For modern equipment such as air conditioning, refrigeration compressor, fire extinguishing system, electrical distribution system, laundry and desalination, all available niches in the narrow forward section were used.
Another challenge was working on the stability of Malahne. On the original boat, stability was achieved due to weight and rainfall. The use of new materials made the boat lighter, but at the same time there were many safety systems on board that did not exist in 1937. It was also necessary to work on connections of the renewed hull sections with the old ones: modern steel contains less carbon and is actually another material.
Representatives of G. L. Watson ensured that Malahne's aluminum superstructure was rebuilt to original drawings from the 30s. And Oliver Laws' decor expert Guy Oliver received the owner's TOR to make «Malahne look as if it had never been abandoned by the owners since it was built.
The designer, who had previously invented the interiors for the ceremonial halls at the residence of British Prime Ministers on Downing Street, has developed specially for Malahne such furniture that corresponded to the right period, and found true antique pieces of the 30s.
An original dashboard was found for the wheelhouse, which has been preserved on a 1934 Camper & Nicholsons yacht.
«Malahne's native» Naktose was lost during the Refit in 1983 and finding such an authentic replacement was a real gift to the restoration team.
Most of the finishes on board are handmade to avoid the effect of plastic. The Pendennis craftsmen have treated the wooden panels and other details to match the spirit of the 30s. The lighting and even the anchors on the boat have also been chosen with great attention to detail.
Arriving on a boat as stylish as the Malahne is also stylish, so now she is «accompanied by a luxury» 7.6m custom designed tender from Cockwells. The boat is finished in mahogany and styled in the 30's to match the «mother yacht». However, «vintage» does not mean «slow - the 258 horsepower» engine speeds up to 35 knots (Malahne herself cruises at 12.5 knots). Eight passengers can be brought ashore or returned aboard at a time.
Malahne also has a 6.5-metre Williams Jet, two Laser sailboats, kayaks, windsurf, wakeboard, water ski and other water toys. To capture everything that happens on board, Malahne has an in-house «GoPro» camera.
After 30 months of operation, the 50-metre Malahne was launched again on March 14, 2015. Thanks to this project, in 2016 Pendennis in Florence won the World Superyacht Awards in the category Best «Realignment.
Now Malahne can be chartered through Edmiston in the Mediterranean Sea (summer) or the Caribbean (winter). A week of such a holiday will cost you €145-165 thousand in summer and $145-165 thousand in winter.
According to the Superyacht Times, Megayacht News, GQ and Boat International.
