James Coats was immensly wealthy, head of the great cotton firm of Paisley. He was a retiring, whimsical man, a great philanthropist, an avid yachtsman, and sponsor of many scientific expeditions. Here are some links about his life:

• An article about his philanthropy and strange manners
• An image of his castle "Dunselma" which he never stayed in.
• Another one of his yachts, the sailing ship "Gleniffer".
• The Coats family home, "Ferguslie" and the Coats firm, today.
• A photo of "Coats land" a piece of Antartica named after James Coats Jr. and his brother who were the sponsors of the expedition.
• A photo of the expedition ship "Scotia", returning from the Antartic expedition. Madiz (then named "Triton") was there to celebrate the arrival and can be seen imediately behind it (cleaner  image below). There is also some footage of the same event on this page (Madiz is seen at the beginning).

Triton was designed by G.L. Watson and built to Lloyd's Register class +100A1 by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co., Troon, completed and launched on 27 February 1902. The Lloyd's Register of Yachts, 1903-4 gives her dimensions in feet as length 147.5 (length between perpendiculars 147.0), breadth 22.5 and depth 13.1. She was 289.92 tons gross, net 58.39 tons and her Thames measurement was 337.

She had six and a half bulkheads and two decks, with the upper fitted out in teak. She was fitted with triple expansion 6 cylinder 10", 16" & 26" - 18" engines with 91 nominal horsepower by Dunismuir & Jackson, Govan. Her sails were made by Lapthorn & Ratseys in 1902. Her call sign was T.J.G.P. and official number 115677.

Sir Bullough, later a Baron, was a larger than life character, 6' 8" tall, immesly rich and owner of the Ise of Rum, a shooting estate, home of Kinlock Castle, where he held many grand parties and gatherings. He purchased Madiz to replace his previous yacht and renamed her "Rhouma". A lot is written about his extravagant lifestyle. Here are some links:

• A brief history of Kinlock Castle
• An article about his life style
• An article about the nature on the Isle of Rum
• A rather biased article on his sexuality

Her registered tonnage was 140.01 net tons, 318.50 tons gross and her new Thames measurement was 361.

The above images are from a "British Pathe" news reel named "Royal Visit to Ulster", dated 26/07/1945, when Madiz (then named Hiniesta) was assigned as "Royal Patrol Yacht" (Click here for related video). She carried King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Elisabeth (the current Queen) on a Victory Tour (More...)

During the war Madiz was employed mostly in the research and development of the HFDF (High Freequency Direction Finder - or "huff-duff" as it was popularly known) which was instrumental in the winning of the Battle for the Atlantic. Here are some links:

• The "Huff-Duff" explained
• The grave of one who served on her during the war.

Registered to Camper & Nicholson Ltd., port of Registry Southampton. Renamed HINIESTA.

Mr. Keletsekis was Greek, born in Iran and long time President of the Greek community there. He was a highly respected business man in contracting works, shipping and commercial shrimp fishing and a scholar or Russian, English and ancient Greek literature.