One can find them all over the world, abandoned ships; from star boats and lightnings; to schooners and square riggers. The legacy of the sea. Even the majestic “J” class could be found for years in the mud. The last Oracle IACC is to be broken up. “Independence” the 12 meter was cut up many years ago; as was Thomas Lawson’s “Independence” was launched in May and cut up in September.
The first plank is on Coronet. The deckhouses are in place.
The framing is complete. Preparation for planking will start I expect. Finally the shape looks finished. She is the antithesis of the AC 72’s.
Back in the year 1929, Stephens Brothers in Stockton, California, built 14 yachts. One of them was the 61-foot Vida Mia, a motoryacht of grand scale and a symbol of extraordinary wealth in her day.
Today, you can own her for a buck.
That’s right: Just one U.S. dollar will get you this 84-year-old classic. She has been abandoned at the Kewalo Basin Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, since 2009, according to harbormaster Charles Barclay. He’s offering her up for $1 to anyone with a plan and the means to get her out of there and start her restoration, which would cost at least six figures. Among other issues, her wooden hull is peeling varnish and rotting.
“I want someone to be the angel for this boat and return it to the glory it used to have,” Barclay told KITV News.
If nobody steps up to buy Vida Mia, she’ll be totally scrapped. What a sad day that would be, since her history is storied. She is said to have hosted everyone from Elizabeth Taylor to Louis Vuitton to John Travolta.
Are you the one who wills save Vida Mia? Give Barclay a call in Hawaii at (808) 594-0851.
Mc Millen Yachts in Newport Rhode Island has restored some of the finest yachts ever built. His crew are as good at it as any group anywhere.
Today was a field trip, reunion, with some of my college sailing teammates. We visited “Coronet” at IYRS in Newport and then headed to Bristol to the Herreshoff Marine Museum for an in depth review of the Reliance Project. a one sixth scale model of “Reliance” the largest cup defender ever built.
I hope those who read might click on the link to the “Reliance Project” and find out for yourself what is happening.
We cannot thank Dyer Jones and the Herreshoff Museum enough for taking the time to show us everything that is going on with this very exciting project.
The “Coronet” project started by Elizabeth Meyer. As I have sated before, whatever you think of her, you cannot deny her vision. The project never really had traction until Bob McNeil assumed responsibility. I have visited since the beginning and time moves slowly. It is easy to loose track of where it all started. I have not yet found the photograph of “Coronet” while she was still in the water tied to the dock at IYRS; but you still have a sense of change.
“Coronet” is an ongoing project at IYRS, here in Newport, but funded entirely by Bob McNeil of San Francisco. The photographs are fairly self-explanatory. What strikes me each time I visit is just how massive each piece is. Today, work is aided by a very nice gantry; when the boat was first built obviously this was not available and the boat was completed in a fraction of the time that this restoration will take.
Here is a link that will take you to the photos of the “accident” that sank “Amorita” in september 2007. She will be re-launched after an 18 month restoration.
More progress on the “new” Coronet. The deck beams are set on the forward frames that have been set. The trunnels have arrived. Trunnels are usually made of Locust and are in fact a very good and clever way to secure planking and other things on a hull. The quality of the work on the Coronet makes it a work of art.
