LAKE COUNTY — A yacht that spent the better part of 34 years in Nevada”s Lake Mead came to Clear Lake Monday. The 53-foot yacht, the Rendezvous, was the flagship of the Las Vegas Hilton when it was better known as the Lady Hilton, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It was purchased by Barron Hilton in 1978 and traveled Lake Mead with casino and convention clients. It was sold and readied for a four-day, 700-mile ride to its new home on Clear Lake. The yacht was the largest on Lake Mead at a time when most major hotel casinos used the party boats to impress high rollers, according to the Review-Journal. It spent 32 years in the same slip on the lake. The yacht is the largest boat on Clear Lake and sat on dry land for more than one year. The Rendezvous and the Clear Lake Queen are the two largest boats on the lake. Director of Water Resources Scott De Leon said the Rendezvous was thoroughly cleaned and decontaminated at Lake Mead. It has been in Red Bluff since October. The yacht, belonging to Bob Braito, has a quagga sticker and was inspected by biologists at the Department of Fish and Game as well as receiving certification from inspectors for the county. Department of Water Resources issued a written authorization for the Rendezvous based on the inspections and amount of time out of the water.
