Isn’t she a beauty? I’m a sucker for classic yachts, and this has to be one of the prettiest I’ve seen. She’s Ilona of Kylesku, a 92-footer celebrating her 100th birthday this year. She came to my attention courtesy of Camper & Nicholsons, which was one of the sponsors of this month’s Superyacht Cup Palma sailing race and which used the yacht as the committee boat.
Fitting for a yacht her age, Ilona of Kylesku has an interesting past. She was launched in 1907 as Mauna Loa at J. Armour & Sons of Fleetwood, England. British textile baron Henry Calvert was her owner, naming her after the famous Hawaiian volcano that erupted that same year. Calvert loaned her to the royal family on a few occasions, and, as was the case with many private yachts, she was pressed into military service during World War I, as a minesweeper. She returned to private-yacht status in the 1920’s. When Calvert died in 1922, her captain since launch, Bob Rawlinson, bought the yacht.
Over the subsequent decades, Mauna Loa remained in various private hands, spending most of her time in Europe. She saw wartime service again during World War II, and some stories have her participating in the famous evacution at Dunkirk. Once the war was over, the machine gun that had been mounted on her foredeck was removed and her yacht-y good looks were restored. Even though she was badly damaged in 1984 by a violent storm in Palma, Spain, she was rescued and once again restored.
Unusual for any cruiser, classic or modern, Mauna Loa kept the name she was christened with until 2001, when she was renamed Ilona of Kylesku. One more major refit followed from 2002 to 2004, during which several lengths of wood planking were replaced, she was fitted with a fiberglass rudder, her skeg was modified, and her interior was redesigned more in keeping with the early-1900’s style.
The yacht remains that way today. Although her original steam engines are long gone, the twin Gardiner diesel engines that replaced them have been serving her well for a few decades.
To charter her, contact the Camper & Nicholsons office nearest you.
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