JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, was so enthralled with Johnny Depp’s luxury yacht after vacationing on it that she bought it. Depp sold her the 157-foot boat, christened the Amphitrite, for $28.9 million back in January, according to the Daily Mail. Which makes us wonder what the hell happened so quickly to make her want to offload the yacht for a $9.2 million loss? Did Rowling find a chunk of Depp’s finger somewhere in one of the cabins? Or did she simply tire of the emo pirate-chic aesthetic in which Depp heavily blanketed the interior?
Burgess, a charter service that oversees the renting out of such luxury yachts, describes the Amphitrite as “a yacht like no other. Behind her elegant 1930s gentleman’s yacht exterior lies an utterly modern charter yacht with state-of-the-art technology and limitless luxury. Feel the romance of a bygone era in her lavish, bohemian interior, pieced together with vintage velvet, Art Deco furniture and objets d’art.” Uh, sure. The exterior is indeed grand and stately, evoking an air of yesteryear, but once you get inside, your eyes will bleed from Depp’s “lavish” decor.
Depp spent about $7 million renovating the inside of the ship back in 2008. All five guest cabins were drenched in patterned velvet, an abundance of teak and mahogany and enough blinding, gilded trimmings to make a Rothschild fumble a monocle. Depp originally named it Vajoliroja, a pun on the Jolly Roger (when spoken), when giving it to ex-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, but renamed it Amphitrite when giving it to soon-to-be-ex-wife Amber Heard. (We’re hazy on proper yacht gifting etiquette, but it would seem re-issuing a vessel to your new partner wouldn’t be quite kosher.)
While the boat’s “subtle pirate theme” is a massive understatement, the interior is also eerily reminiscent of rooms at Hogwarts, so perhaps that’s what drew JK Rowling to the ship in the first place? Maybe there was a sorting hat for when guests embarked which directed them to their appointed state rooms?
The twin CAT-diesel powered boat will steam along at a maximum of 13.5 knots, thanks to the 960-horsepower, and has a range of 2,240 nautical miles. It’ll sleep ten guests and nine crew, and features a salon, and plenty of entertaining spaces, with three different decks. It also has water skiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, kayaking and snorkelling “capabilities,” and a suite of top-notch electronics. All of which are undercut by that damned interior. For the price, think this is worth it?
