''Dancing Hare'' (formerly ''Lady Ghislaine'' and ''Lady Mona K'') is a

superyacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...

built by Amels in 1986. Built for

Emad Khashoggi Emad Khashoggi ( ar, عماد خاشقجي, born 25 March 1968) is a French-Saudi businessman and the head of COGEMAD. He initiated the Château Louis XIV development project in Louveciennes, France. Biography Emad Khashoggi was born in Leban ...

, it was then purchased, also in 1986, by

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

, who died by drowning while cruising on the yacht off the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. It was then owned by an Arabian businessman who sold it in 2017. The new owner, Anna Murdoch, had it refitted and renamed ''Dancing Hare''.

Design

Built in 1986 for

by Amels of Makkum,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, it was the first of series of

Jon Bannenberg Jon Bannenberg, RDI (1929 – 26 May 2002) was an Australian-English yacht designer. Biography Bannenberg was born in Sydney, Australia, and educated at Canterbury Boys High School and later at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In the earl ...

-designed super yachts. The yacht exterior includes a flared bow, lozenge-shaped ports, vertical windows and mullions and a sculpted mast complex.

Robert Maxwell

Khashoggi, also developer of the Château Louis XIV and the

Palais Rose Palais () may refer to: * Dance hall, popularly a ''palais de danse'', in the 1950s and 1960s in the UK * ''Palais'', French for palace **Grand Palais, the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées **Petit Palais, an art museum in Paris * Palais River in t ...

, abandoned the project for the yacht and in 1986 sold the vessel to

who named it ''Lady Ghislaine'' after his daughter Ghislaine. In 1991, it was the base for Maxwell in New York City, moored on the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

as he negotiated with the unions over his purchase of the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

''.

Maxwell's death

On 5 November 1991, at the age of 68, Maxwell was on board ''Lady Ghislaine'', which was cruising off the

. Maxwell's body was subsequently found floating in the Atlantic Ocean. He was later buried in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The official verdict was accidental

drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer a ...

, though some commentators have surmised that he may have committed suicide or been murdered.

Subsequent owners

After Maxwell's death the yacht was purchased by an Arabian businessman, who sold her in 2017 to Anna Murdoch, at one time the wife of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

. It was only after the sale the new owner discovered the yacht had previously been owned by Maxwell. After a refit at the Balk Shipyard in

Urk Urk () is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the Zuiderzee, an inland sea that would become part ...

, Netherlands, over the winter, the vessel was renamed ''Dancing Hare'' in May 2018.

References

{{reflist

External links