Poirot's magnificent century-old motor yacht Madiz.
With all due respect to the incomparable David Suchet, the real protagonist of the 1989 television adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic short story "Problem at Sea" is not the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, but the magnificent motor yacht Madiz, on which took part the longest part of the episode.
"Problem at Sea" is set in the 1930s on a luxury passenger ship as it cruises leisurely in the eastern Mediterranean over calm waters and under a strong summer sun. As it is based on a short story by Agatha Christie as is natural to her short stories, it is not long before one of the passengers dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving Poirot and his companion Captain Hastings to unravel the mystery and uncover the killer.
As well as being based on a brilliant play, the TV adaptation of the story captures Poirot's world in exquisite detail thanks in large part to the magnificent Madiz which is a bona fide period yacht.
Built on the banks of Scotland's River Clyde in 1902, the yacht was built for the ultra-rich and successful Scottish businessman James Coats, essentially the Jeff Bezos of his day. 147.5 feet long and powered by three six-cylinder steam engines producing 91 horsepower each, the vessel, originally named Triton, was launched on February 27, 1902. Coats is said to have been very proud of his yacht, sailing on it at every opportunity.
The Madiz was designed by G. L. Watson and is the last surviving ship designed by him personally. Built by Ailsa shipyards in Troon, Scotland on the Clyde.
The yacht was originally named Triton. After the death of the first owner James Coats it was bought in 1913 by Sir George Bullough, owner of the Scottish island of Rùm. He renamed it Rhouma. During World War I, Rhouma was recruited for use as an auxiliary patrol yacht. Between the wars, she had been lengthened and an upper deck of cabins added, and her engines converted to run on oil fuel.
In World War II, she served in the Royal Navy as a Royal patrol yacht and carried King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth II.
Released from government service, the vessel underwent a number of further ownership and name changes until 1970, when she was purchased by Iranian/Greek businessman Konstantinos (Kostas) Keletsekis and renamed Madiz.
By this point it was completely worn out, the tired but still elegant yacht was long overdue for a refurbishment, resulting in Keletsekis spending a fortune to rebuild it from scratch. The original coal-fired locomotives were replaced with much cleaner and more efficient marine diesel engines from MTU Mercedes Maybach, while the hull and mechanical systems were extensively and lovingly restored to a high modern standard.
Most importantly, Keletsekis is said to have hired some of the best marine craftsmen in the world to preserve and restore the original interior fittings, including the original deck fittings, opening skylights, teak decks, many of the original interiors furniture and all original interior trim, painstakingly hand-carved from massive slabs of Cuban mahogany and French oak.
Between 2003 and 2006, the Madiz underwent a major facelift.
In 2006, she broke a record in the shipping industry by being the only ship in the world to be in the "+100A1" category with Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 100 years after her date of construction.
Now owned by Prince Trading Corp. based in Liberia and with the mechanical improvements made in 2009, M/Y Madiz is available for charter in the Mediterranean.
A wonderful yacht with a huge and beautiful history.
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