United Kingdom

Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson

Film producer Simon O'Gorman’s search for the superyacht <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> stems not just from a passion for storytelling, but in something far more personal: a childhood spent onboard. His grandfather, Sir John Brayley, purchased the superyacht in 1965, leading to Simon spending his first few summers running along the deck and being out on the blue waters of the Mediterranean. The superyacht was eventually sold in the 70s, but for Simon, was never forgotten. Now a film producer and screenwriter, Simon has been hunting down the 49-metre superyacht in hopes of locating her and her lost history.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/391489/image/large-0734771282f3ce4aaf60afc1a52368ad.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/391489">A vivid pastThe story starts in 1929. <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>, then named <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Alice</a>, was built by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5634" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson (Company)">Swan Hunter &amp; Wigham Richardson</a> under commission of millionaire Sir Richard Ashmole Cooper. Responsible for her sleek, elegant hull is <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/94" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Cox & Stevens (Company)">Cox &amp; Stevens</a>, who did both the naval architecture and exterior design. Her interiors feature richly furnished and decorated staterooms, numerous saloons, a dining space, library, smoking room, as well as a cinematograph and photographic studio and workshop, including specially-designed electrical lighting. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/383512/image/large-377379ed0c079fc3f50464672ae413ac.jpeg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/383512">Sir Cooper owned the superyacht until 1941, when she was commandeered by the Royal Navy as a patrol boat. Her clipper bow was removed, giving her a much more militaristic look; a machine gun was mounted on her foredeck.At the end of the war, the 49.37-metre motor yacht was bought by Sir Edmund Crane, who changed her name from <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Alice</a> to <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>. Sir Crane and his wife Kitty were quite the socialites and spent many days hosting, cruising and entertaining. One notable guest was American-British Lady Astor, who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament in Britain.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/391488/image/large-ad7c6cd2e7bc4145ba144e155a778e18.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/391488">In 1959, an Australian millionaire under the name William Buckland purchased the superyacht. Owning a similar superyacht in his homeport of Sydney, Buckland saw <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> cruising along the French Riviera and, upon finding out she was for sale, immediately purchased the superyacht. Buckland spent the next five years cruising around the Mediterranean with his wife, until his death in 1964. The superyacht was put up for sale and sat moored in Southampton with <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/6" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Camper & Nicholsons (Company)">Camper &amp; Nicholsons</a>, until it was recruited for a movie, The Woman of Straw&nbsp;starring Sean Connery, that would see it relocated to Palma de Mallorca.In 1965, a Welsh industrialist named Sir John Brayley was getting ready to retire, and, upon hearing <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> was up for auction, he drove down to Southampton and placed a bid. Sir Brayley equipped her with a captain and crew, and spent some time fixing her up and cleaning her out, as the superyacht had been sitting docked for quite a while. Ready to set sail, Sir Brayley took his superyacht on her first trip north to Port Barry, near Cardiff.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/383503/image/large-b88d5b2f1b1c974c23ae7adc195336d0.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/383503">A search of personal importanceIt is here that the story gets more personal. Sir Brayley spent lots of time onboard <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> with his family, including grandson Simon. Spending the first five summers of his life onboard the superyacht, “my great grandparents came down for lunch onboard, and my grandfather would entertain old school friends and show off the superyacht”, Simon recalls. “My grandfather was a local boy done good.”Sir Brayley moored the superyacht in London during the first year, where he entertained his friends, including the Prime Minister, as well as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Burton was in the process of purchasing <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1737" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Kalizma50.29m (164'12&quot;)Ramage & Ferguson1906">Kalizma</a>, but asked if Sir Brayley would consider selling <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>. “My grandfather would say, ‘she’s not for sale, I’ve haven’t enjoyed her enough!’“ Simon recalls. Burton based a lot of his refurbishments onboard <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1737" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Kalizma50.29m (164'12&quot;)Ramage & Ferguson1906">Kalizma</a> on <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>’s interiors.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/391485/image/large-9f5f7b079ca740a655910ccf9a6799f5.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/391485">After her time in London, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> sailed down to the Mediterranean, and to her new home-base in Malta. “My mother, my father, my step grandmother, my cousins all piled aboard and went cruising around the coast of Italy, Mallorca and France.” Simon shares, “Even at that young age, I have solid memories of being onboard.”&nbsp;In 1970, when Simon’s grandfather's health deteriorated, he decided to sell the superyacht. “I remember a black limousine pulled up by the boarding ladder and these immaculately dressed men in black suits, dark glasses - almost like a movie - arrived.” The men were representatives from the Japanese consortium. A personal tour from Simon’s grandfather and a few handshakes later and the superyacht was sold. “We were very sad because we knew it would be our last time onboard.”Unknowingly, these memories would lay the groundwork for Simon’s search for the superyacht 50 years later. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/391487/image/large-18358f47487255434e1db536d985162f.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/391487">Cruising the Japanese coastOnce sold, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> was soon underway to Japan. With the closure of the Suez Canal between 1967 and 1975, the superyacht instead made her way around the Cape of Good Hope, before heading through the Indian Ocean and making her way towards her new home in Hiroshima, Japan.Throughout his research, Simon has managed to find captains and crew who were onboard during the long journey. “They said it was a really wonderful trip, despite having engine troubles along the way, causing a three-week delay whilst waiting for parts to be flown in.” The weather made the journey more arduous, but <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> showed her strength: “The captain said she was a phenomenal superyacht at sea; some of the weather they encountered was so rough, with waves breaking over the bow and going down the stack, but she was built to the same technical standard as advanced naval ships.”&nbsp;Upon arrival in Tokyo, the captain was asked to stay with the superyacht. Together they spent another four years cruising up and down the Japanese coast, with most trips being centred around business deals and sweeteners. <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>’s interiors were kept perfectly intact, but the decision not to refurbish her eventually led to her suffering from the tropical weather. While her hull was made of steel, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>’s deck, railings, doors and windows were made from wood, for which the Japanese climate proved too humid. While her owners were wealthy enough, they decided to sell rather than undergo a refit.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/391486/image/large-006155ce88790e2815dd48f7c6f7b74d.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/391486">It was this sale that has caused much of the mystery as to where <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a> was. Her new owner made an unexpected move: he took the motor yacht out of the water and placed her in the middle of a water park in Hiroshima. Simon notes how “Japan went through a phase where they were fascinated by water parks. Anything to do with water and fun, they became experts at it.” Placing her in the water park, in a city previously defined by devastation, the superyacht brought an opportunity for joy. “She became a focus for courting couples, dates, English tea or lunches. You could go aboard and dress like an English lady or gentleman and be served tea.” She was so well-loved that the park was renamed in her name: ‘Hiroshima <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>’.Eventually the park was sold for redevelopment and the superyacht was dismantled, with various of her parts used to decorate the shopping mall that replaced the park. “It’s a bit strange, in a way, to think my family owned the superyacht that now sits spread out across a mall” Simon shares.While the superyacht has been decommissioned and will never return to sail the seas, Simon is keeping her alive by sharing her story. “There are so many details of <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9286" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Natalie49.37m (161'12&quot;)Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson1929">Natalie</a>’s story that still sit uncovered,” Simon notes, “but her story is one of love and joy, both on and off the water.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/391490/image/large-da49bbb19da41f650b7a6f023c1aebae.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/391490">If you have any information regarding Natalie’s history, please reach out to Simon O’Gorman:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:simondkogorman@gmail.com" target="_blank">simondkogorman@gmail.com</a>