Christina O

Christina O is a private motor yacht that once belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. At 99.13 metres long, she was the 45th largest yacht in the world as of 2018.[1]

Christina O cruising in the South of France in 2018
History
Name:	1998–present Christina O 1978–1998 Argo 1954–1978 Christina 1943–1954 HMCS Stormont (K327)
Builder:	Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal
Laid down:	23 December 1942
Launched:	14 July 1943
Identification:	IMO number: 8963818 MMSI number: 248383000 Callsign: 9HA2344
Status:	Active
General characteristics
Displacement:	2250 tonnes
Length:	325 ft (99.06 m)
Beam:	36 ft (10.97 m)
Draft:	14 ft (4.27 m)
Speed:	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Capacity:	34
Crew:	39

History

Originally the boat served as a Canadian anti-submarine River-class frigate called HMCS Stormont, launched in 1943. HMCS Stormont served as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic and was present at the Normandy landings.[2]

Onassis purchased the Stormont after the end of World War II, as it was one of the many surplus naval vessels. Purchasing the ship at scrap value of US$34,000, Onassis then spent an additional US$4 million to convert the vessel into a luxurious superyacht, named after his daughter Christina. Upon Onassis' death, she donated the yacht to the Greek government as a presidential yacht, renamed Argo.[3]

Allowed to decay, the vessel was purchased in 1998 by fellow Greek shipping magnate John Paul Papanicolaou, an Onassis family friend who secured it in a government-sponsored auction. He spent $50 million to retrofit the ship, and restored the name of the vessel in memory of his departed friend, Christina.[4]

Today, Christina O features the coupling of unique style with modern comfort after a complete refit in 2015, and various improvements in 2017.

Yacht conversion

Christina O in her previous life as HMCS Stormont

HMCS Stormont was purchased as war surplus from the Canadian government for $34,000 in 1947 and converted to a yacht in Germany. The conversion made full use of the navy ship's size and powerful naval engineering systems to create large, ornate interiors and elaborate luxuries: such as a mosaic swimming pool that drained and rose to deck level to create a dance floor. Christina O set a new standard for lavish personal yachts, especially as she was rebuilt amidst the austerity of post-war Europe.[5]

The yacht was remodelled by architect Cäsar Pinnau, and the children's dining room was designed and painted by the illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans. After her marriage to Onassis two decades later, Jacqueline Onassis selected the pastel color scheme and decor in all of the cabins.[3]

Papanicolaou hired Naval architect Costas Carabelas to spearhead the vessel's 1998 refit, who engaged interior architect Apostolos Molindris, the firm Decon to manage construction and the Croatian shipyard Viktor Lenac to carry it out.[4]

Notable passengers

Apart from Onassis' mistress Maria Callas and his wife Jackie, he entertained celebrities such as Winston Churchill, Richard Burton, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Rudolf Nureyev, Greta Garbo, Frank Sinatra and John F. Kennedy.[6][7]

Ownership

When Aristotle Onassis died in 1975, he left the Christina O yacht to her namesake, who gave the vessel to the Greek government for use as a presidential yacht in 1978. Rechristened the Argo, she was allowed to decay and was eventually put up for sale at US$16 million in the early 1990s. She went unsold. In 1996, an attempted sale to American Alexander Blastos fell through when his deposit check bounced;[4] he was later convicted of wire fraud as a result. In 1998 she was purchased by Greek shipowner John Paul Papanicolaou, an Onassis family friend[4] who had sailed on her as a child. He reverted her name back to Christina O, in tribute to the late Christina Onassis, who had died in 1988, and undertook a major refurbishment between January 1999 and April 2001 that cost over $50 million.

Amenities

Christina O has a master suite, eighteen passenger staterooms, and numerous indoor and outdoor living areas, all connected by a spiral staircase. Compared to a typical 21st-century superyacht, her staterooms are small and Christina O lacks the indoor boat storage that is now standard; however, the number of living areas is large, and the amount of outdoor deck space is very generous. The aft main deck has an outdoor pool with a minotaur-themed mosaic floor that rises at the push of a button to become a dance floor. The bar stools in Ari's Bar retain the original upholstery crafted from a very soft, fine leather made from the foreskins of whales.[8][9]

See also

• List of motor yachts by length
• Yacht

References

1. "Top 100 Largest Yachts". Super Yachts. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
2. "Canadian Participation on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy". National Defence and the Canadian Forces. 7 June 2010. Archived from the original on 3 July 2004.
3. Roger Lean-Vercoe & Peter Boulton. "Iconic yachts: Christina O". Boat International.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) Article and pictures of Christina O's exterior and interior.
4. John Lassiter (August 2002). "Megayachts: The Rebirth of Christina O". Power & Motoryacht. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
5. Dan Conlin, "Christina O: From Snowy Nova Scotia to the Sunny Mediterranean, How a Canadian Frigate Became the World's Most Famous Super Yacht", The Marine Curator: Artifacts, Images and History from the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic 5 July 2013
6. Roger Lean-Vercoe & Peter Boulton. "Iconic yachts: Christina O". Boat International.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) Article and pictures of Christina O's Exterior & Interior
7. "Christina O", the mega luxury pleasure yacht of Aristotle Onassis Archived 8 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine Embelezzia Luxury & Style - 2013
8. "The Mega Yacht of the Millennium- Cristina O' Greatest Boat Flooring". World Surface. 18 May 2014.
9. "In Sails". Esquire Magazine. 1 January 2003. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009.