Originally ordered for the Italian navy but was purchased before completion by the Duke of Westminster, who finished her as a yacht. Westminster used her only a few years before she changed hands twice in short order. Ultimately, she was acquired by Irishman A. E. Guinness, heir to the brewing fortune that bore his family’s name. Guinness had taken her into the Pacific in the late 1930s and when war broke out in Europe in 1939, she was in Alaskan waters. Reluctant to cruise further or return to Ireland, he elected to lay her up in Seattle for the duration of hostilities. At the end of the war she was stranded in Portage Bay for 14 years, barred by King County from sailing pending the payment of back taxes.
Windjammer
In 1969, Windjammer owner and founder Michael Burke flew to Greece to purchase the schooner directly from Aristotle Onassis. He bought her, sight unseen, in exchange for a freighter. Windjammer then set about refurbishing Fantome, which became the flagship of their fleet of six vessels.
Loss
On 24 October 1998, Fantome departed the harbor of Omoa, Honduras for a planned six-day cruise. Hurricane Mitch, then over away in the Caribbean Sea, was expected to pose a risk to Jamaica and possibly the Yucatán Peninsula. Captain Guyan March decided to play it safe by heading for the Bay Islands and wait for the storm to pass. By dawn on the following day, however, Mitch seemed to change course. Fantome immediately changed course for Belize City, where it disembarked all of her passengers and non-essential crew members. The schooner then departed Belize City, first heading north towards the Gulf of Mexico, in order to outrun the storm. Storm predictions proved extremely difficult, as the steering currents in Hurricane Mitch were very weak. When word reached Fantome that Mitch would most likely hit the Yucatán before she could get out of harm's way, March changed course for the south. It was too early to know that he was heading directly into the storm's path. The plan was to make for the lee side of the island of Roatan. In case Mitch made landfall in the Yucatán or Belize, by being on the southern side of the island, it would provide her with enough protection to hopefully keep it from getting damaged by large swells and high winds. However Mitch, now a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 180 mph, took a jog towards the south, directly towards Roatan. As Mitch moved in on Roatan and Honduras, Fantome made one desperate attempt to flee to safety, now heading east towards the Caribbean. Mitch's forward motion picked up, though, and Fantome was unable to outrun the storm. Around 4:30 p.m. on 27 October 1998, with Mitch having weakened but still at Category 5 intensity, Fantome reported that she was fighting winds in seas. They were just south of Mitch's eyewall. Radio contact was lost with Fantome shortly after that. On 2 November, a helicopter dispatched by the British destroyer discovered life rafts and vests labeled "S/V Fantome" off the eastern coast of Guanaja. It was all that was found of Fantome. All 31 crew members aboard perished and a memorial service was held for them on December 12, 1998.
