SUMMARY |
- MADIZ, a large meter steel yacht built in 1902 at Ailsa Shipyards, on the river
Clyde, at Troon, Scotland. She is the oldest steel or iron vessel to be classed by Lloyds Register.
- During 2003-2006, MADIZ underwent a major refit, out of
which 17 months in Drydock, and was re-classed under Lloyds Register to her original Class
of +100A1, making her the only ship to ever do so.
- Madiz was designed by G. L. Watson, the pioneering
yacht designer, who created the first design office exclusively for yachts and who
designed some of the most successful Americas Cup yachts. It is the last surviving ship to
have been designed by him personally.
- In the 2nd World War, she served in the Royal Navy as a Royal Patrol Yacht, carrying King George VI, Queen Elisabeth and
the then Princess Elisabeth down the river Foyle on a victory tour of Londonderry.
- During this period MADIZ also participated in the
development of the Radar, by carrying out the trials for the calibration and development
of HF/DF (High Frequency Direction Finder,
a prelude to the radar).
It is interesting to note that, as available records show, MADIZ and the Norwegian Royal Yacht Norge, built in
1929, are probably the only ships still active that were involved in the Battle of the Atlantic.
- She is an elegant, good looking vessel and retains most of
her original deck equipment and unique paneling: the original Burma teak on much of the
deck and all the decks side panellings, Cuba mahogany in the original master bedrooms and
solid oak paneling in the reception areas.
- Madiz has been privately owned since 1964. During this period she was used
exclusively by her owners and was never chartered or otherwise used for commercial
purposes except once, at the request of Granada Television for the filming on her of
Agatha Christies Poiroit episode
“Problem at Sea”.
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