Owner of yacht which Natalie Wood died on 28 years ago puts it up for sale claiming it's 'haunted' by West Side Story star

The owner of the yacht where Natalie Wood spent her final moments has put it on the market after claiming the actress still haunts the decks. 

Ron Nelson bought The Splendour in 1986, five years after the West Side Story actress mysteriously drowned off the coast of Catalina Island.

But now, 28 years later, he has revealed the force of Wood's spirit is too strong, forcing him to get rid of it altogether. 

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Haunted? The new owner of The Splendour claims Natalie Wood still haunts the yacht 33 years after she died

 

Mystery: Wood drowned in November 1981 after being on the yacht with her husband Robert Wagner

The numerous 'supernatural' incidents include a number of 'weird falls', he told the National Enquirer.

'It’s just like my feet came out from under me and I fell,' he explained. 

Another time a being sat on his bed: 'Something sat down on the bed and then left.'

And during the recent Hurricane Ana, The Splendour became suspiciously waterlogged, he said. 

In 2011, Nelson, a former United Airlines flight attendant, admitted to Hawaii's KITV.com that 'there's been a lot of strange things that have happened on the boat.'

He even had the yacht blessed by two Hawaiian kahunas - a kind of shaman - to clean teh boat's spirit.

The Splendour moored in a harbour in Honolulu, Hawaii

 

 

Incidents? Ron Nelson, who bought the boat in 1986, claims he has had a number of 'weird falls' on board

 

'Ghost': Nelson said he was lying in bed one night and a spirit came and sat on the bed then left

But despite his efforts, he says, it is unbearable.

He hopes a museum will buy The Splendour to preserve it.

The stateroom contains many of the same tiles, the same blue bed remains in exactly the same spot and the initials WW are still etched into the captain's seat.

Nelson bought the boat from Robert Wagner, Wood's husband.

He carried out small renovations, before taking two friends on a trip to Catalina Island, where the actress died. He said it was a 'last goodbye to Natalie'.

Afterwards, they made the two week trip to Hawaii where he has spent 10 years restoring the boat. He said he was now almost ready to begin chartering voyages.

 

Hurricane: The boat became waterlogged after the recent Hurricane Ana - the last straw for spooked Nelson

 

Blessed but still haunted: Nelson got two Hawaiian shaman to cleanse the boat but it is 'still haunted', he says

He said he tried to keep his makeover as close to the original as possible, and has kept the stateroom with the blue bed, dubbed 'Natalie's Room', and most of the tiles.

The initials WW are still etched onto the captain's seat, just as they were when Wagner and Natalie owned the boat.

Nelson said the 60ft boat's history was one of the reasons why he bought it, and told Hawaii's KITV.com said: 'I have read pretty much every article ever written about her death.'