MY ''Meserret III'' is a luxury

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

built by

Peene-Werft Peene-Werft is a German shipyard with headquarter and shipbuilding facilities in Wolgast. It has been part of the Bremen Lürssen Group since May 2013. Background The shipyard was founded on 20 June 1948 by the Soviet military administration ...

Wolgast Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast that can be ...

in 1992. It is one of the world's largest yachts. The was formerly known as ''Leander G''. She is owned by Mehmet Omer Koç.

Design

''Meserret III'' was designed by Claus Kusch, who had previously designed two yachts named ''Katalina'' for the original owner, Brigadier Sir

Timothy Landon Brigadier James Timothy Whittington Landon, KCVO (granted to him as an Omani citizen), (born 20 August 1942, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada; died 6 July 2007, Winchester, Hampshire, England) served in the British and Omani armies and ...

. Her steel hull has a

bulbous bow A bulbous bow is a protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability. Large ships ...

, a classic canoe stern, together with a helicopter deck and topped by a three deck

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

- six decks in total. She has a range of communal guest areas including a Main Saloon and Dining room on her Main Deck, a Boat deck saloon, Jacuzzi Deck, Observation Deck and Study, a Fitness room, a Dive Room and Swim Platform. There are 10 suites in total, consisting of two Master suites with office/study and a forward facing saloon, 3 double guest cabins with en-suite bathrooms and 5 twin guest cabins with bathrooms. In all, she can accommodate 22 guests as well as a crew of 23.

Commission

The yacht was ordered in October 1990 by Brigadier Sir Timothy Landon from the former

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

shipyard Peene-Werft at

to replace his yacht ''Katalina'', his second of that name. After shipping to a

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

shipyard for outfitting, the arrangement of the interior accommodation was undertaken by Pauline Nunns Associates, and interior decorator Heinz Vollers of Hamburg. Part way through outfitting, Landon decided to keep his existing ''Katalina'', reportedly due to ill-health, and sold the yet-unnamed vessel to Sir Donald Gosling, who took over the final stages of the build at what was described as an excellent price. Gosling (who coincidentally had later owned Landon's original yacht ''Katalina'' of 1992) named the yacht after the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

HMS ''Leander'', the first Royal Navy ship in which he served. She was refitted in 1998 and 2001. Under Gosling's ownership, ''Meserret III'' habitually flew the British

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on ...

as Gosling was a member of the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

, but the Red Ensign is flown when chartered (see photograph). Gosling sold the yacht in February 2016 through broker Peter Insull to an unnamed private buyer, who removed the yacht from the charter market.

Chartering

During her ownership by Gosling the yacht was available for charter, certified with accommodation for up to 12 guests, serviced by 23/28 crew. ''Meserret III'' remained one of the most expensive British-owned yachts on the charter market, until the launch of the 280-foot Greek-built '' Annaliesse''.

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

and the gossip columnist Taki have previously chartered ''Meserret III''.

Royal charters

Following the decommissioning of the Royal Yacht , she was used by members of the British Royal Family. In summer 2007, she was chartered by then Camilla,

Duchess of Cornwall Duchess of Cornwall is a courtesy title held by the wife of the eldest son and heir of the British monarch. The current title-holder is Catherine, wife of William, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. Duchesses of Cornwall Until her husband' ...

for a holiday in the Mediterranean. In February 2008, she was chartered by

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and the Duchess of Cornwall for their royal tour of islands in the Caribbean.

References

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