MY Shemara

MY Shemara is a motor yacht built in 1938 by John I. Thornycroft & Company to the order of Bernard Docker. Between 1939 and 1946 she served in the Royal Navy as HMS Shemara. As of 2015, Shemara is owned by Charles Dunstone, and is available for charter. She can carry 18 guests and 16 crew, is 64.09 m (210.3 ft) in length and 9.19 m (30.2 ft) in beam, and has a maximum speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[1][2][3][4]

Shemara in Venice in 2014
History
United Kingdom
Name: MY Shemara
Owner: Charles Dunstone
Builder: John I. Thornycroft & Company
Completed: 1938
Refit: 2010-2014
Identification: IMO number: 8749717
General characteristics
Type: Motor yacht
Length: 64.09 m (210.3 ft)
Beam: 9.19 m (30.2 ft)
Propulsion: Diesel-electric
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)

History

The English industrialist Bernard Docker commissioned John I. Thornycroft & Company to build a yacht to his specifications. The yacht was built at Thornycroft's yard at Woolston, Southampton. She was completed in 1938 and christened MY Shemara.[5][6]

MY Shemara was requisitioned by the Royal Navy at the start of the Second World War in 1939 and used as a training vessel for anti-submarine warfare. (See also Madiz, a similar super yacht that saw RN Service in WWII). It was during a training exercise with HMS Shemara that the submarine HMS Untamed was lost with all her crew. Shemara left Royal Navy service in 1946.[7][8]

Once returned to Docker's ownership, the Shemara became known for lavish parties with guests including King Farouk of Egypt. However in 1965, Docker put her on the market for £600,000, and she was eventually sold to the property developer Harry Hyams for £290,000. Hyams used the Shemara on a number of Mediterranean cruises, but she was largely left laid up in Lowestoft, and was not regularly used between the 1980s and 2010.[9][10]

In 2010 Shemara was bought by businessman Charles Dunstone, and a project was started to return her to her former glory. In order to achieve this, a new company, Shemara Refit LLP, was created. The refit was completed in 2014, and the yacht now has a contemporary interior while retaining many of her historic original features, including as much of her original steel and teak as possible. The ship's machinery was completely replaced with a new Rolls-Royce diesel-electric system comprising five main generators providing power for two electrically driven azimuthing pods and a bow thruster.[1][3][4][11]

  • HMS Shemara during World War II
  • MY Shemara in Southampton in May 2014
  • MY Shemara in Venice in October 2014

References
  1. "Shemara Yacht Charters". Edmiston & Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  2. "Shemara". Marine Traffic. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  3. Thomas, Tim (16 January 2015). "Superyacht Shemara: the 65m classic motor yacht is restored to her former glory". Boat International. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  4. Campbell, Stewart; Bonsor, Sacha (27 July 2015). "On board with Sir Charles Dunstone, owner of classic yacht Shemara". Boat International. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  5. Davenport-Hines, R. P. T. (2004). "11. Birmingham Small Arms 1918–44". Dudley Docker: The Life and Times of a Trade Warrior. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 231–233. ISBN 978-05-218940-0-5. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  6. "Info Page for Motor Yacht Shemara by JI Thornycroft & Co". CharterWorld.com. Charterworld Limited. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  7. "Submarine Losses 1904 To Present Day – Page 8". Submarine Losses 1904 to Present Day. Gosport, Hampshire, UK: Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  8. Helgason, Guðmundur, "HMS Shemara (FY 026)", uboat.net, archived from the original on 26 November 2017
  9. Howorth, Michael (September 2011). Linnington, Andrew (ed.). "Vintage vessel set to be saved in rebuild project". Nautilus International Telegraph. St. Albans, Hertfordshire UK: Century One Publishing. 44 (9): 8. ISSN 0040-2575. After a great deal of legal wrangling, the superyachtpassed to the ownership of reclusive property tycoon Harry Hyams of Oldham Estates for £290,000
  10. Thompson, Henrietta (23 July 2015). "Studioilse casts off with Shemara motor yacht". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  11. "Wight Shipyard Co". Wight Shipyard Co. Retrieved 26 November 2017.


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