January 28, 2003 

The Many Adventures of the M/Y Zein
The History of Princess Grace's Honeymoon Yacht

M/Y ZEIN

Although the M/Y Zein looks as young and chic as the princess who honeymooned aboard her in the 1950’s, she is nonetheless what the French would call une femme d’un certain age. Born in 1928 just before the crash that ended the exuberant Roaring Twenties, she has lost none of the glamour of her youth, thanks to periodic facelifts that have banished her scars and wrinkles. Her story is as gallant as it is glamorous, including a stint chasing submarines during World War II. Combat took its toll on the old girl, but her benefactors - from Aristotle Onassis and Prince Rainier of Monaco to John Issa, executive chairman of SuperClubs - always made sure she was kept in the style to which she was accustomed. Now, as the M/Y Zein, she plies the waters of Negril for SuperClubs Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa, happy once again to play elegant hostess to carefree, perfect parties.

The M/Y Zein has had many names and many owners since an Argentinean gentleman named Santiago Soulas commissioned her in Southampton. She weighed in at 298 tons, 147 feet long, with a 23-foot beam and a draft of 12 feet, and Mr. Soulas named her the Monica after his daughter. He kept her for four years before selling her to a Greek gentleman named Zarch Couyoumdian who changed her name to Rion. He kept her for only two years, but in 1938, she was acquired by Sir George Tilley, chairman of the Prudential Insurance Co, who enjoyed her until 1939, when the British Government conscripted her for the war effort.

The War Years

Although well endowed with major war ships in World War II, the Royal Navy was short on smaller vessels for coastal and harbor patrols, and any ship greater than 100 feet was likely to be requisitioned. Many a yacht was snatched from Mediterranean and Caribbean playgrounds including Rion, which was taken to a shipyard at Tynemouth and stripped of all her furnishings and paneling. These were placed in storage for later retrieval.

Parts of the forecastle, bridge and after deck were strengthened to carry a 12-pound quick firing gun on the forecastle, twin 40 mm Oerlikons on either side of the bridge and a depth charge rack on the stern holding eight charges, each carrying 500 pounds of TNT. The corporate crew quarters were taken out and hooks were welded to the deck to secure hammocks. The forward suite became the operations and sonar room. Another suite became the radio room, and the after suite served as the ammunition magazine.

On October 21,1939 - coincidentally, the 134th anniversary of Admiral Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805 - she was commissioned into the Royal Navy with a crew of 20 under the command of Lt. T. Brydon, RNVR. She sailed at dusk in company with another converted yacht, HMS Sundowner, bound for Portsmouth to join FY Squadron 83, a group of 15 vessels tasked with patrolling the entrances to the Solent and the waters off the Isle of Wight.

Since the Germans were focusing resources more on the war in the air than the war at sea, the Channel was fairly calm. On patrol off the Nab Tower, however, Rion was strafed by a Dornier 110 returning from a bombing raid on the Royal Air Force Station at Tangmere. She took some slight damage to her superstructure but suffered no casualties.

Rion next saw action on May 26, 1940, during Operation Dynamo, when she was dispatched with seven other ships of her squadron to the beaches of Dunkirk to assist in evacuating the British Expeditionary Force. She made three runs from Dunkirk to Dover (39 miles), carrying 300 soldiers each time out. On her third run a near miss from a bomb off her starboard bow killed 14 soldiers and one sailor and caused shrapnel holes in the hull. Sent to Portsmouth for repairs, she was refitted with paravanes, and continued her submarine chasing and sweeping duties in the channels from Portsmouth to Southampton.

Rion’s finest hour came on the night of November 22, 1940, when she made a daring capture of a German E boat. Accompanied by HMS Shemara and HMS Valera, she was patrolling south of St. Sutherland Head, Isle of Wight, when at 2:44 AM a radar contact was obtained 10 miles to the southwest. Lt. Brydon ordered a turn and increased speed to intercept. Valera was ordered to fire a flare, which showed a German E boat rolling in the swells and unable to maneuver. Rion and Shemara opened fire from astern of the boat, whose bow armament was unable to train on them. Small arms fire was returned by the boat, but when a shell from Rion hit her bridge the Germans surrendered. Rion came alongside and a boarding party of four, led by Chief Petty Office J. Mayes, put out the fire, aided by two German sailors. Rion then escorted the E boat to the naval base in Portsmouth Harbor. Lt. Brydon was promoted to Lt. Commander and transferred to a frigate in the Western Approaches, but Rion was to see action once more, possibly sinking a Nazi submarine.

A confirmed submarine contact was made on the night of March 23, 1941, when Rion was patrolling, under the command of Lieutenant J. Penter, off the Nab Tower with HMS Wilna. Numerous depth charge runs were made, and although a large oil slick was seen at dawn, it was insufficient evidence to confirm a kill.
Her port engine irreparably damaged, Rion was decommissioned on June 3. Three months later she was recalled to duty as an annex to the Royal Naval Hospital, moored in Hasler Creek Gosport, stripped of armaments and refitted with three-tier bunks, a large red cross painted on her sides and upper deck. Here she remained until the end of the war, renamed HMS Noir. In October 1945, she was decommissioned and, 17 months later, taken to her original builders (Camper & Nicholson in Southampton) to be restored to her former state. On September 16, 1947, she was returned to Sir George Tilley.

Postwar High Life on the High Seas

On the death of Sir George Tilley in 1951, HMS Noir was acquired by a Panama-registered charter firm owned by Aristotle Onassis, and renamed Arion. When his daughter Christina was born to him, Onassis built a larger vessel, which he named for her. The Arion later became the property of Prince Rainer and Princess Grace of Monaco. The royal couple honeymooned aboard the now named Deo Juvente II, cruising the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia. They kept the ship until 1958, when she was purchased by a Monegasque businessman and renamed Daska.

In 1960, she moved to The Bahamas as the property of Crest Shipping, where she operated in the charter business. In 1965, she changed hands again but continued chartering in the Caribbean as Angela for Cove Shipping, registered in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Montego Bay. Her name changed back to Daska in 1983, but she was seized by the Jamaican Government for nonpayment of taxes. She languished in Montego Bay until 1985, when John Issa, executive chairman of SuperClubs, acquired her in a government auction. She was given a complete refit in Tampa, Florida, and in 1987, began promotional cruises for SuperClubs up and down the East Coast, now named Zein for one of John Issa’s twin daughters.

She arrived in Negril for the opening of Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa and has remained here ever since, except for biannual voyages to Jacksonville, Florida for refitting. New engines were installed in 2002, enabling this fine and historic grande dame to bring pleasure to Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa’s guests for many years to come.

Builders: Camper & Nicholson, Southampton, England
Launched: 1928
Registry: British (Cayman Islands)
Length: 147 Feet
Beam: 23 Feet
Draft: 12 Feet
Tonnage: 298 Gross
Engines: Twin Deutz (650 BHP each)
Speed: 10 Knots
Fuel Capacity: 6,000 Gallons
Crew: 10


SuperClubs, the world’s only Super-Inclusive resort group, every SuperClubs holiday is Super-Inclusive - accommodations; all meals, SuperSnacks and premium brand cocktails; unlimited use of all sports facilities, including equipment rental and instruction; entertainment; recreational activities; full-service weddings; hotel taxes; and airport transfers - with absolutely no tipping allowed.