For sale: A vintage superyacht with history, scandal and whale-skin barstools
Christina O is not just a yacht, she’s a front-row seat to the 20th century’s social and political history, and all the ghosts that came with it.
You can buy many machines with €52 million: a fleet of 13 new Bugatti Turbillons, two Cessna Citation Longitude private jets or one superyacht where Sir Winston Churchill first met John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy found her second husband, and Maria Callas once sang to a man who would eventually leave her for Jackie Kennedy. Confused? Well, allow me to introduce the witness to it all: Christina O.
Less superyacht, more floating palace of political history, sex and scandal, Christina O is one of the most storied superyachts in the world.
But she was not born into glamour. Built in the midst of the Second World War in 1943 by Canadian Vickers as a wartime anti-submarine frigate called HMCS Stormont, she served in the Arctic and Atlantic, as well as being present during the D-Day landings in Normandy. After the war, her fortunes changed dramatically when she was sold by the admiralty and picked up by the Greek self-made shipping titan Aristotle Onassis in the early 1950s for a reported $34,000, scrap value for the former frigate.
'Ever wondered what inspired the infamous yacht scene in Succession? Now you know'
With a floating canvas acquired, the scene was set for Onassis to create one of the most decedent displays of wealth the post-war world had ever seen. A yacht that would go on to host the likes of Maria Callas, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra.
The works that transformed HMCS Stormont into the 99-metre Christina, which Onassis named after his daughter, reportedly cost him $4 million in the 1950s, which is approximately $55 million in today’s money. Much of that went on extravagant — and eccentric — interior details such as the on-board ‘Ari’s Bar’, which is made from the timbers of a sunken Spanish galleon, complete with whale-foreskin-upholstered barstools. Such materials might struggle to pass muster these days but, well, it was the 1950s.
Onassis spared no expense on other areas, too. Installing a mosaic swimming pool on deck, with a floor that could be raised to convert the space into a dance floor, as well as a lift, a spiral staircase, and even a surgical operating theatre with radiography equipment. The ex-King Farouk of Egypt once referred to the yacht as 'the height of opulence'.
When it came to toys, Onassis equipped her with no less than five fast launches, including a glass-bottomed boat for underwater observation, a Fiat 500, and a five-seater Piaggio P.136L-2 seaplane. That same aircraft crashed in 1973, killing Onassis’s 24-year-old son Alexander.
Christina’s wood-paneled state rooms, ornate open fireplaces and elegant lounges soon became a home-from-home for everyone from Hollywood’s A-listers, to political heavyweights. Churchill was said to have first met John F. Kennedy while sipping on a cocktail in Ari’s Bar. The charismatic, cigar-chuffing Prime Minister enjoyed eight voyages on Christina between 1958 and 1965 and was apparently the only guest for whom Onassis relinquished his own suite. The on-board library is named in Churchill’s honour.
Ari's bar, with its whale-skin stools.
After Onassis died in 1975, Christina was left to his daughter, Christina, and second wife, Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Both declined the inheritance, and the yacht passed into the hands of the Greek state, where she was renamed Argo, but fell into disrepair. She was found partially submerged at a naval base near Piraeus and picked up in a government auction by Greek shipping magnate John Paul Papanicolaou — better known as 'Big John' — an Onassis family friend. A substantial $50 million rebuild was completed in 2001, after which Big John added an ‘O’ to the name in tribute to its original owner.
Christina O has operated as a luxury charter yacht ever since, accommodating 34 guests across 17 cabins named after Greek islands. Renovated and renewed she may be, but her hold on Hollywood has never loosened. Her screen credits include The Crown and comedy Triangle of Sadness, while in real life, she played host to Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, who celebrated their 1956 nuptials aboard. Heidi Klum was married on Christina O in 2019 and Rupert Murdoch even chartered her for a family reunion off the Amalfi Coast. Ever wondered what inspired the infamous yacht scene in Succession? Now you know.
But now the time has come for Christina O to find a new custodian. Listed for sale with both Morley Yachts and Fraser, the asking price has been reduced from €80 million to the current €52 million. A bargain for those looking for a yacht overflowing with character, perhaps, but price aside, Onassis has set an outrageously high bar for her future owners to try and live up to.
After all, Christina O is not just a yacht, she’s a front-row seat to the 20th century’s social and political history, and all the ghosts that came with it.
