THE ROYAL YACHT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12071, 15 September 1902, Page 6

THE ROYAL YACHT.

HIS MAJESTY'S FLOATING PALACE. The Victoria and Albert represents the highest development of ship construction at the outset of the new reign, and her dimensions, when compared with those of her predecessors, enable- one. to realise the immense advance that ha« been made during the last sixty years in marine engineeri-Hg For the new craft is a steel-built twinscrew vessel. 439 feet long, with a displacement of 4700 tens, and she has already exceeded her official speed of 20 knots, being in this respect superior both to the Hchr-n----zollern and the Standart, the ocean homes of the Emperors of Germany and Russia. It Las been a tradition with all the Royal yachts that they should be designed solely for the comfort and pleasure of the Sovereign. Although,' therefore, they are manned by the Royal Navy they are not intended to be turned to account its combatant vessels in ca.se of need, and the elaborate batteries of guns which are to be seen upon the foreign yachts just mentioned are represented on the Victoria and Albert by nothing more impressive than a j tiny saluting battery, with which the salu- j tations of the ports and the ships in bar- | bour are acknowledged. This gives a. key- j note to the life of the crew, for they do \ no navy drill, they have no undress "uniform, and although they keep watch and ward, and take their turns at the wheel or in maiming the pinnace, they enjoy many of the privileges of the civilian crew j of a. private yacht. I Even in a heavy sea it would be difficult to imagine, as one strolls carelessly along the central corridor, that one is not pacing the floors of some bijou palace ashore. On one side are the apartments sacred to the King. A dressing-room and bathroom are en suite, end there are ample wardrobes for the variety of uniforms, military, naval, and mufti, which ate always put on board i when the yacht is made ready for sea. ! For ordinary wear at sea the King slips into his suit of yachting blue, but this may have to be exchanged for the uniform of an admiral when entering harbour, and lounge suits for motoring, civilian evening dress for the dinner-hour, and a, dozen other changes have to be provided for. Within immediate reach is His Majesty's \ study, which is furnished as far as possible according to the pattern of his business I rooms ashore. Here a morning cannot, in ! the nature of things, pass by without seri- i ous attention to the business of State, and i the idea of the. Sovereign being able to put I out to sea and to leave bis correspondence i to accumulate until his return is a, pare i delusion. At every possible point the J yacht's pinnace hurries ashore to the near- I est telegraph office, and even in mid-Chan- j nel Signor Marconi's invisible hand comes ! to the rescue. ! On the opposite side of the main corridor i a similar space has been allotted to Queen j Alexandra, the sitting-room in her case i being fitted as a boudoir. This is the first ; occasion that Tier Majesty has enjoyed of i carrying out her own artistic ideas, as the . old Osborne was in many respects a make- \ shift so far as its interior economy was concerned. The dainty hangings of chintz are traditional, but the g3*arning whiteness | of the enamelling, picked out with narrow j borders of gold leaf, impart to the suite an i air of lightness and elegance that appeal j with peculiar force to the sensibilities; of ; the Queen. No long trip in the new yacht j has yet been made by Her Majesty, but the | arrangements were carried out under her personal supervision, and the decorative fea- j tures of the luxuriously-simple drawing- ; : room, which is in immediate reach of the I personal apartments, were indicated by her, : the original formula,, which was to repro- • duce the main elements in the scheme- of \ the old yacht, having been abandoned. The : drawing-room is intended for the use of the j Royal party and their guests, the suite in j attendance being furnished with a sitting- j room of their own astern, and, although I this apartment is directly over the screws, the vibration is singularly small when the j lack of cargo weight is taken into account. | Above the Royal apartments, on the tipper deck, is the, huge diniug-saloon, with ; a length of 150 feet, and accommodation j for 50 guests. This is the number to \ which His Majesty likes to limit his dinner j patties. It is the number for. which the dining-room at Marlborough House is designed ; it is the number, also, that can be j seated in the State dining-room at Windsor. The refrigerating plant and the ice pantry I permit of a choice cuisine,- and the floral ! decorations are always as perfect as if { ashore. His Majesty has a tiny smoking- i chamber of his own. .and since the vessel j Mas decorated it has been found possible j to erect upon the promenade deck a couple j of pavilions, with ample areas of plate | glass, within whose shelter the Royal patty i may enjoy the view of coast and sea without exposure to keen winds. All available | top hamper East been omitted from the ! promenade deck, which may be u.v..d with i ease for all kinds of deck amusements, of j which the supply is complete. As an ex- j ample of the care wherewith every item of comfort has been thought out it may be j added that special arrangements have been j provided for the custody of the cycles not only of the Royalty and the suite but also j of the crew, who are nowadays addicted to ' this convenient method of stretching their; legs when they get. shore leave. There is i also a. dark room for changing and developing photographic plates and Alms, although ! the snapshots which Her Majesty and the i Princess Victoria are accustomed to secure j on every possible occasion are usually j brought ashore to be developed by profes- j sional hands. Within some necessary limitations the I ; whole ship's company is permitted the luxury of the weed. If by any mischance a I fire should develop the crew would at a. I signal proceed with instantaneous precision j to their lire stations, and the appliances for j fire-extinction are so elaborate that there is j little, risk of serious disaster. All round the hall there are national emblems, beloved of the British mariner, bom oak leaves to dolphins, Royal arms to stars i , and roses. And over all there gleams the I motto of the craft, the emblem of the Star of India—"Heaven's Light our fluid--'*—tit ; motto for the monarch of the main. 1