The Vagrant was constructed in the Bath Iron
Works shipyard in Maine - USA in 1941 for North American multimillionaire Horace
P. Vanderbilt and was bought by Fab Four in 1966. At the time, the Vagrant was
considered one of the ten most luxurious yachts in the world. A symbol of such
class lies within the gold covered crest which is located on the bow of the
vessel. Besides The Beatles there were yet other famous owners such as the
North American singer Donovan and the Greek tycoon Goulandris.
By the end of 1977 it suffered
an accident in Grand Canary, having washed up on the shores of “Las Alcaravaneras”,
where it stayed there for quite some time. It was then purchased by
Madeiran-born João Bartolomeu de Faria who patched it up and had it sent to
Madeira where it finally arrived here in October 1979. After many years of
reparation it was finally inaugurated by the regional president Alberto João
Cardoso Gonçalves Jardim on October 10th 1984. On December 22nd 1988
João Bartolomeu received the prestigious “Estrelicía Dourada” (Bird of
Paradise) Award in recognition for his contribution to tourist development on
Madeira.
Due to the
work being done in the coastal zone of Funchal, the yacht was most
recently
removed from the site where it had been operating as a bar and
restaurant for
the past 30 years and temporarily sent to a dry dock in
Caniçal. The regional government has plans to turn the vessel into an
artificial reef, but before being taken to the ocean to be sunk the exact
location is yet to be confirmed.
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