Historic Anthony Quinn’s boat sold as scrap

As she once was

LA LÍNEA (Cádiz) – This boat used to belong to Anthony Quinn. Before that it belonged to the Nazi secret service in World War 2. Now the rusted hull has been sold for scrap, after it sunk in La Línea. The hull can’t say a word, but if it could it would tell us about espionage at wartime, of Anthony Quinn’s escapades in or near these waters, where the film star spent many a holiday. Then there are the adventures of all the people, stars, and crooks and otherwise, who rented Sir Anthony over the years. Such a boat deserved a better end: she sank at the Alcaidesa Marina after a long, tiring life; then the ignominy of being sold for scrap. Sir Anthony’s last owner chartered her out as a recreational item in the area, and was featured in several websites for that business – some still have her picture and description online. When she was last up for sale, the price was €48,000, not long after her half sinking. Her scrap value was a great deal less.

As she became

Sir Anthony had been moored at the marina last December, when, in a storm on September 23^rd, she broke loose and acquired a hole in her hull. She stayed afloat for some time; askew, lopsided, but afloat. Then she sank, holding her stories close to her breast, never telling.

Sir Anthony was a classic Dutch craft of the last century. Built in 1940, she was used during WW2 as a spy vessel by the Nazi Secret Service, one of a group of four similar vessels kitted out under the orders of Admiral Wilhelm Franz Canaris. She was assigned to intelligence gathering – and would presumably have sailed the waters in or about the Straits, such a hive of espionage and counter-intelligence at that time.

One can imagine this having captured the imagination of the Mexican-born Quinn, who acquired her in 1950 as a private cruiser, for the fortune of 3 million dollars. Legend has it that Marlon Brando bought another one, principally because his rival star wouldn’t let him use Sir Anthony. But the story can’t be confirmed and may only be yet another spin from the Hollywood press. In any case, Quinn bought her just before he began shooting Viva Zapata! under Elia Kazan, which featured Brando in the lead. The film would give Quinn his first Oscar in a supporting role, while Brando was nominated – but didn’t get one – for the lead part.

Sir Anthony was kept in her 1950s livery, and was chartered featuring photos and scripts and other paraphernalia that once belonged to Anthony Quinn. At 23.20m in length, she could accommodate 42 passengers on two decks. The price of $8,000 per day included cocktails and ‘mood music’; she would set sail from Marbella and Puerto Banús in the heydays of those places. At one time she was for sale at €350,000.