The Rover was a steam-powered yacht built in 1930 by Alexander Stephen and Sons in Glasgow, Scotland for Lord Inchcape, then chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). Built as Stephen's Yard No. 527, she was 265inchesft5inchesin (ftin) long with a beam of 40inchesft1inchesin (ftin) and a tonnage of 2,115, and was considered "the most luxurious ever built on the Clyde".[1]
The yacht's figurehead was a likeness of Lord Inchcape's daughter, Elsie Mackay, who disappeared whilst attempting to fly the Atlantic in 1928.[2] With accommodation for up to 14 guests, the yacht was painted green and white at launch with a predominantly silver-coloured dining room.[3]
The Rovers staterooms featured en-suite marbled bathrooms. Dancing and games were staged on the open decks. Long-distance fuel tanks permitted long round-the-world voyages. During Cowes Week in August 1930, she was visited by the then King George V and Queen Mary.[4]
After Lord Inchcape's death aboard the Rover in Monte Carlo's Port Hercules harbour on 23May 1932,[5] rumours circulated that the Aga Khan would buy the yacht,[6] while a rumoured deal with King Carol II of Romania also fell through.[7] However, a year later she was bought, unseen, by American businessman Howard Hughes and renamed Southern Cross.[8] She was subsequently sold to Swedish entrepreneur Axel Wenner-Gren, under whose ownership she helped rescue survivors from the, the first ship to be sunk by Nazi Germany during World War II.[9]
The vessel subsequently served in the Mexican Navy as Orizaba until she was scrapped around 1960.
