Christina O

Christina O and her tender
Career
Name:	1998–Present Christina O 1978–1998 Argo 1954–1978 Christina 1943–1954 HMCS Stormont (K327)
Owner:	John Paul Papanicolaou
Builder:	Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal
Laid down:	23 December 1942
Launched:	14 July 1943
General characteristics
Length:	325 ft (99.06 m)
Beam:	36 ft (10.97 m)
Speed:	19 knots
Crew:	30

Christina O is one of the world's longest private motor yachts at 325 feet 3 inches (99 m). She was originally a Canadian River-class frigate called HMCS Stormont and was launched in 1943. She served as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic and was present at the D-Day landings.^[1] After the end of the Second World War she was one of many surplus naval vessels and Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis purchased her for just $34,000. He spent $4 million to convert her into a luxurious yacht and renamed her Christina after his daughter.

The yacht was designed by Cäsar Pinnau and the children's room was designed and painted by the illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans.

Apart from Onassis's mistress Maria Callas and his wife Jackie Onassis other celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra have sailed on her. She was one of the most famous society venues of the mid 20th century: John F Kennedy first met Winston Churchill on board in 1957.

Christina O in her previous life as HMCS Stormont

When Aristotle Onassis died in 1975, he left the yacht to his daughter, who gave her to the Greek government for use as a presidential yacht in 1978. She was rechristened the Argo but was allowed to decay and was put up for sale at $16 million in the early 1990s, but found no takers. In 1996 a sale to an American fell through (he was later convicted of wire fraud in relation to his attempt to purchase the yacht). Finally in 1998 she was purchased by Greek shipowner John Paul Papanicolaou who had sailed on her as a child. He changed her name to Christina O and undertook a major refurbishment between January 1999 and April 2001. As of 2006 she is available to charter at between 45,000 and 65,000 Euro per day.^[2]

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; but on the other hand, 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 mosaic floor that rises at the push of a button to form a dance floor, and there is a helicopter platform on the promenade deck. In Ari's Bar, the barstools retain the original upholstery made from a very soft, fine leather made from the foreskin of a Minke Whale.^[3][4]

See also

• List of motor yachts by length
• Yacht

References

1. ^ "Canadian Participation on D-Day and In The Battle of Normandy". National Defence and the Canadian Forces. 7 June 2010. http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1394. 
2. ^ "Luxury Yacht Christina O – Caribbean/Mediterranean Luxury Yacht". CharterWorld.com. http://www.charterworld.com/index.html?sub=yacht-charter&charter=luxury-yacht-christina-o-691. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
3. ^ "The Mega Yacht of the Millennium". East Med. http://www.eastmedyachting.com/Christina.asp. Retrieved 15 January 2009. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "In Sails". Esquire Magazine. 1 January 2003. http://www.esquire.com/style/fashion-story/ESQ0103-JAN_GUIDE. 

External links

• Interior and exterior pictures of Christina O
• The Rebirth of Christina O – 2002 article from powerandmotoryacht.com about the restoration