jk rowling yacht

Why a yacht docked in Halifax is getting extra attention

Yachts along the Halifax Waterfront often garner attention, but one currently docked has people doing a double take.

The Samsara, which is docked near Bishop's Landing, is reportedly owned by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

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People were stopping by Sunday to get a look at the yacht and see if anybody was on board. Crew members could be seen at times.

According to the website ' SuperYachtFan ', the Samsara was sold to Rowling in 2023 and is valued at $150 million US.

CTV News has reached out to Rowling's PR team for more information.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our  dedicated provincial page .

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'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling's yacht docks in Charleston harbor

by Bryce Jacquot

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — The yacht owned by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling is docked in Charleston's harbor Wednesday.

Rowling's yacht, called the Samsara, came to the Holy City from the port of Savannah, Georgia, according to global ship tracking website MarineTracker .

The Samsara left Savannah Saturday, June 8 around 1:00 p.m., and arrived in Charleston Sunday, June, 9 around 8:50 a.m., MarineTracker's voyage information shows.

Superyachtfan.com, which is a database about yachts, their owners, and private jets, lists the Samsara at a value of $150 million, with an annual running cost of $10-$15 million.

READ MORE: "'Harry Potter' house in Massachusetts has magical Halloween vibes"

The yacht was crafted in 2015, built by Oceanco, and designed by Espen Oeino, according to Superyacht fan .

It has 20 cabins in total and can get up to 20 knots in speed.

Rowling's "Harry Potter" series have sold over 500 million copies worldwide, according to Scholastic Media Room .

The series was later adapted into eight films, which grossed over $7.7 billion worldwide at the box office, according to IMDB .

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'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling's yacht visits US Southern states

Rowling's mega yacht, the samsara, recently docked in florida, georgia and south carolina.

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The mega yacht reportedly owned by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling recently made a few stops at U.S. ports, causing local buzz along the way.

The writer's yacht, a vessel called the Samsara, was first spotted earlier this month off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida , according to Fits News. It then docked in Savannah, Georgia, until June 8, before making its way up the coast to Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.  

Mega yacht Samsara is moored in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, June 14, 2024. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital / Fox News)

It is unclear whether Rowling was onboard the super yacht during its travels to the Southern states. FOX Business has reached out to the author's publicist for further details.

According to Superyachtfan.com, the Samara is 290 feet long and was built in 2015 by Oceanco. The vessel has seven cabins for holding up to 14 guests, along with another 13 cabins for housing up to 27 crew members.

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The luxury boat is worth an estimated $150 million and costs between $10 million and $15 million to operate annually, according to the site. 

The 290-foot Samsara is reportedly owned by author J.K. Rowling, and has an estimated value of $150 million, with an annual running cost of $10 million to $15 million. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital / Fox News)

For those wishing to take it for a spin, the Samara is available for charter at YachtCharterFleet.com for around $1,179,000 per week. The site states that the yacht has a movie theater, swimming pool, elevator, beach club, gym and helicopter hangar.

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Samsara also has an array of toys for guests to choose from, including Jet Skis, a Flyboard, a Kite Surfer, a seabob, wakeboards, kayaks and WindSurfers.

J.K. Rowling arrives for the U.K. premiere of the film "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" in London on Nov. 13, 2018. (Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Rowling is the world's wealthiest author , with an estimated net worth of around $1 billion, according to a recent report by The Sun. However, she was famously booted from the Forbes billionaire list in 2012 after her charitable giving led to her net worth falling below that mark.

Copies of J.K. Rowling's latest book, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," on display at a bookstore in New York on Aug. 3, 2016. (Volkan Furuncu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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Rowling began writing the "Harry Potter" book series in the 1990s as a struggling single mother. Since then, she has sold more than 600 million copies globally, and the eight films based on the series have raked in more than $7.7 billion, according to IMBD.

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Luxury Yacht Registered to Famed Author Arrives in St. John’s

A super yacht, reportedly belonging to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is in St. John’s Harbour.

The 88.5 metre luxury yacht Samsara arrived today after recently docking in Halifax.

The vessel previously operated as a luxury charter, offering accommodations for 12 guests in seven suites, but was reportedly sold to Rowling last year.

The vessel is valued at $150 million dollars US according to online sources.

There is no word on whether the yacht is carrying the famed author, but it generated great interest from Potter fans and others alike while docked in Halifax.

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J.K. Rowling Is Selling Her $20 Million Yacht (With Interiors By...Johnny Depp)

The mega best-selling Harry Potter series didn't just make J.K. Rowling famous—it made her rich enough to afford her very own luxury yacht. Although Rowling's yacht doesn't really resemble the giant pirate ship that brought the Durmstrang students to Hogwarts ahead of the Tri-Wizard Cup, it was previously owned by Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp , which is...close enough. Rowling bought the vessel , which Depp had named Amphitrite as an homage to then-wife Amber Heard, about a year ago for £22 million ($29 million) but is reportedly selling it at a loss with an asking price of €17.8 million ($20 million).

The yacht, which can accommodate up to ten people, has some pretty eye-dropping features, including a plush master bedroom suite with a king size bed, a formal dining room on the deck, and a cozy salon with ten large windows perfect for watching the sun set over the ocean . There's also top-of-the-line tech equipment and audio-visual equipment in case you feel like having a daylong Potter movie marathon. The bottom line: This boat is way nicer than the ones that Hogwarts first-years take to get across the lake. And how was there not a character named Amphitrite in Hufflepuff House?

This isn't the first time that Rowling has parted with some of her assets. In 2012, she sold the eight-bedroom Victorian mansion in Edinburgh where she had written the last four Potter books, for $3.6 million. Although Rowling's net worth was once estimated to be worth $1 billion, she has given away so much of her money to charity that she dropped off of the Forbes "world billionaires" list the same year that she sold her home. Her favorite causes are kid-related, most notably her own organization, Lumos (named for the Potterverse "let there be light" spell ), whose goal is to take poor and disabled children out of institutions and reunite or place them with families.

So far, no bidders have stepped forward to buy the yacht. But think about it—wouldn't a yacht be such a great place for a Quidditch match? Or a Yule Ball? Sadly, the decor was designed by Depp, and Rowling didn't change it, so there aren't any talking paintings, nearly-headless ghosts, or Rooms of Requirement on board. You can probably bring your own butterbeer, though...

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