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SS Themis

On March 13th I took a bike ride downtown to Demen's Landing, which is my 2nd favorite park area, with the Vinoy just a small walk further north.  I noticed this little boat in the Marina and was curious as to whether I could determine her owner.


It is the Themis, named after the Greek Goddess of Justice.  She just happens to be owned by Ron Motley.  OK, you probably have never heard of him.  I hadn't.  Further study revealed that he was the fellow who beat Big Tobacco.   Ron Motley is  a lawyer nationally known for his role in winning the largest civil settlement in history - the tobacco industry agreed to pay $246 billion to 46 states as a penalty for health costs related to smoking. 

He was portrayed by Bruce McGill in the movie The Insider, who also starred Russell Crowe.  



The aluminum-hulled Themis with teak decking was built in 1998 by Trinity Yachts. With an 18,750-gallon fuel capacity, the Themis has a cruising range of 6,800 nautical miles, and a top speed of 24 knots, according to a description on Trinity Yachts' Web site.

The above pictures were taken by me.  The following were not.







These are some pictures of the inside of the ship.  Yeah, Mr. Motley saw me taking pictures and invited me aboard for a mint julep and to discuss his past success in asbestos litigation and currently families of the victims of 9/11.  OK, that part about inviting me aboard isn't true, but the rest is.  I got the pictures from the website for the Themis.  

The ship is based in the Caymen Islands and recently had a tax bill of over $280,000 for docking for 6 months in Charlotte, South Carolina.  If I could I would have told him to get a good lawyer and fight it.   

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