The ''Titilupe'' is a small motor yacht used by the
Royal family of Tonga as a
Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
. It is officially assigned to the
Tongan Maritime Force
The Tongan Maritime Force is the naval arm of His Majesty's Armed Forces of Tonga.
History
The TDS was founded on 10 March 1973 by King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, who also commissioned the first craft on that date. The first craft was VOEA ''Nga ...
; division of the
Tonga Defence Services
His Majesty's Armed Forces (HMAF) is the military of Tonga. It is composed of three operational components and two support elements (logistics and training groups).
The mission of HMAF is to: "Defend the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Tonga".
Th ...
.
Under
Sālote Tupou III
Sālote Tupou III (born Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu; 13 March 1900 – 16 December 1965) was Queen of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965. She reigned for nearly 48 years, longer than any other Tongan monarch. She was well known for her height ...
, the yacht's earlier predecessor was the 108-ton schooner ''Hifofua'', which was sold in Fiji in the early 1970s after the death of the Queen. Following the sale of the ''Hifofua'', the ''Sprucebank'' was used as the Royal Yacht, for some ten years. In the late 1980s,
Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (born Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi; 4 July 1918 – 10 September 2006) was the King of Tonga, from the death of his mother, Queen Sālote Tupou III, in 1965 until his own death in 2006.
Immediately prior to his death, ...
bought a new yacht, and in honor of
Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita, it was named ''Titilupe''.
Design
The yacht has a glass-reinforced plastic hull, and glass superstructure, its painted white with blue stripes in the upper parts of the hull and superstructure.
Photo of the Titilupe
/ref> It also has a very shallow draught, and is prone to rolling, its therefore only used in coastal waters. Despite its small size, it can carry a crew of up to four, a captain, helmsman, engineer, and steward. Its equipped with a separate two berth cabin in the bow, as well as a wardroom with a dining area that can be transformed into two extra beds.
Use
The yacht was used by Koen van Exel mainly for fishing, but as his health declined, it was used as an auxiliary patrol craft, and hydrographic ship.George Tupou V
George Tupou V ( Tongan: Siaosi Tupou, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 194818 March 2012) was the King of Tonga from the death of his father Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006 until his own death six years later.
...
.
References
{{Reflist
Military of Tonga
Motor yachts
Survey ships
Patrol boats