Back in the early years following the ending of WWII, most large yachts that had been requisitioned for use in those difficult times were returned to their owners in a rundown state. Many were sold for scrap yet a few of the more notable were rebuilt/refitted to survive another day.
Austerity and luxury are terms which do not sit comfortably with each other and those owners looking to build a new yacht were extremely limited in their choice of yards still operating on a near normal basis. The alternative was to consider the purchase of a former naval craft that may be suitable for conversion to a yacht. Most naval craft were kept in good working order if they hadn't been subjected to use at the battle front and they could be acquired for a very low price.
Enter Mr. Felix Benitez-Rexach, an engineer and businessman of Puerto Rican origin who became a multi-millionaire through the development of ports and shipyards in the Dominican Republic. He was also responsible for the construction of the Hotel Normandie in Puerto Rico that was fashioned on the lines of the great French liner of the same name. He was also the designer/builder of many bridges in the country as well as the Avenida Jorge Washington in Santo Domingo. He met the French singer Lucienne Dhotelle, known as La mome Moineau "'Little Sparrow") in 1928 and they were married the following year.
The first was the former US patrol craft /submarine chaser PC-1222, which was purchased in 1947 and converted to a yacht by one of Felix Benitez-Rexach's shipyards at San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. It was reported that the conversion cost US $1million and was completed in 1948. This motor yacht was named Gosse, measured 53.25-metre. by 7.04-metre and powered by twin Hoover-Owens diesels with a total output of 3500 horsepower providing a top speed of 18 knots and cruising at 14 knots. Her original builder was the Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Corp.of Camden NJ, USA.
Gosse was registered as owned by Madame Lucienne Benitez-Rexach until sold in 1959 to John Kallimnios of Venezuela and re-named Mar Jan. It was later sold to another Venezuelan in 1967 the year it was last reported.
The second yacht was acquired in 1949 as Madame Benitez-Rexach required a larger vessel for entertaining.This was the former Canadian frigate HMCS Annan originally built in 1942 by Canadian Vickers at Montreal PQ. The vessel became the USS Natchez in December of that year upon completion. Sold to Louis Moore of Miami FL in 1947 it was re-named Juan Pablo Duarte of the Dominican Republic Navy in 1948. It ran aground in 1949 at Puerto Plata in November 1949 and was removed from service owing to damage sustained.
Later sold to Felix Benitez-Rexach, repaired, converted to a yacht and re-named Moineau from 1950-1952. Length overall was 99.66-metre and the vessel was a sister to Aristotle Onassis' Christina. Whereas Christina cost around US $4 million to convert the figure for Moineau was about half that. Moineau was fitted with twin Canadian Vickers steam turbines with an output of 5000 horsepower. The yacht was reportedly sunk in 1957, ending the saga of the yachts of Lucienne Benitez-Rexach.
Lucienne died in in 1968 at the age of 60 while Felix died in 1975 at the age of 89.
To read more stories like this one and to never again miss another issue of the SuperYacht Times newspaper, subscribe here.