Golden Age of Newport Yachting


Book Description

Newport is known as the yachting capital of the world, and it reached its zenith during the period between 1917 and 1946. Many of the nation's captains of finance and industry skippered legendary yachts that formed an argosy of splendor that has never been eclipsed. Vincent Astor sailed off to World War I as an officer on his own yacht, the Noma, contributing to the war effort, while Harriette Goelet, a determined widow, captained her own vessel and became one of the first yachtswomen entitled to fly the New York Yacht Club's burgee. Howard Hughes anchored in the channel, forcing a Fall River Line steamer into the bank. Notables from around the world, such as Sir Thomas Lipton, flocked to Newport once the America's Cup found a home there in 1930. Join yachting historian Bob MacKay as he reveals the rare images and stories behind the age of extravagant magnificence.




Golden Age of Newport Yachting, The: Between the Wars


Book Description

Newport is known as the yachting capital of the world, and it reached its zenith during the period between 1917 and 1946. Many of the nation's captains of finance and industry skippered legendary yachts that formed an argosy of splendor that has never been eclipsed. Vincent Astor sailed off to World War I as an officer on his own yacht, the Noma, contributing to the war effort, while Harriette Goelet, a determined widow, captained her own vessel and became one of the first yachtswomen entitled to fly the New York Yacht Club's burgee. Howard Hughes anchored in the channel, forcing a Fall River Line steamer into the bank. Notables from around the world, such as Sir Thomas Lipton, flocked to Newport once the America's Cup found a home there in 1930. Join yachting historian Bob MacKay as he reveals the rare images and stories behind the age of "extravagant magnificence."




The Golden Age of Yachting


Book Description

The Golden Age of Yachting presents a panoramic view of yachting, providing an insightful introduction to the pleasures, craft, and history of the sport, with emphasis on the era of the great steam yachts. It is a meticulous account based on accurate knowledge and detailed research. Most yachting histories have been so much influenced by the nationality of the author that the British and American versions are quite different, but L. Francis Herreshoff was equally familiar with both sides. He has given a much more factual account of the international races than can be found in other writings. This book will appeal to the large group of amateur and professional seamen who strive to keep alive the traditions and lore of sail. The book was first published by Sheridan House in 1963 under the title An Introduction to Yachting and reprinted in 1980. The title of this new paperback edition, The Golden Age of Yachting, more accurately reflects the treasures found in this magnificent volume.




Rogues and Heroes of Newport's Gilded Age


Book Description

Newport, Rhode Island, was the summer playground of the Gilded Age for the Astors, Belmonts and Vanderbilts. They built lavish villas designed by the best Beaux Arts-style architects of the time, including Richard Morris Hunt, Charles McKim and Robert Swain Peabody. America's elite delighted in referring to these grand retreats as "summer cottages," where they would play tennis and polo and sail their yachts along the shores of the Ocean State. The coachman had an important role as the discreet outdoor butler for Gilded Age gentlemen--not only was he in charge of the horses, but he also acted as a travel advisor and connoisseur of entertainment venues. From the driver's seat, author and guide Edward Morris provides a diverse collection of biographical sketches that reveal the outrageous and opulent lives of some of America's leading entrepreneurs.




Wicked Newport


Book Description

Take a trip with Larry Stanford through 350 years of Newport's hidden, dark history. Founded by a small band of religious freedom seekers in 1639, Newport, Rhode Island, subsequently became a bustling colonial seaport teeming with artists, sailors, prosperous merchants and, perhaps most distinctively, the ultra-rich families of the Gilded Age. Clinging to the lavish coattails of these newly minted millionaires and robber barons was a stream of con artists and hangers-on who attempted to leech off their well-to-do neighbors. From the Vanderbilts to the Dukes, the Astors to the Kennedys, the City by the Sea has served as a sanctuary for the elite, and a hotbed of corruption. Local historian Larry Stanford pulls back the curtain on over 350 years of history, uncovering the real stories behind many of Newport's most enduring mysteries, controversial characters and scintillating scandals.




Vencedor


Book Description

Impeccably researched and colorfully told, Vencedor is a fascinating account of not just a racing sailboat storied for its exploits and victories, but of the man who built it: Danish American naval engineer Thorvald Julius Schougaard Poekel. Vencedor would distinguish itself in a series of highly competitive races between the United States and Canada on what has been called “the great unsalted sea”—the Great Lakes—that led to the creation of Canada’s Cup, one of the most prestigious yachting events in the world. Vencedor, a 65-foot sloop, was built by the Racine Boat Manufacturing Company, which had hired Poekel away from the renowned Herreshoff Boatyard in Bristol, Rhode Island, where he had been the chief draftsman, working alongside Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and his brother. Under this magnetic and revealing account of a bygone era and heated competition lies a mystery. During Poekel’s nine-year tenure with the Herreshoffs, the company made some of the fastest and most famous yachts in the world. Although “Capt. Nat” signed almost every construction plan alone, the name “T. Sch. Poekel” appears on several. In Vencedor, Thorvald Poekel’s great-grandson, gives credence to the theory that his ancestor really was an unsung Herreshoff hero.




A Season of Splendor


Book Description

"A Season of Splendor takes you on a spectacular journey through this Gilded Age, the period from roughly the 1870s to 1914, when old-money bluebloods and patricians confronted the nouveau riche - railway barons, steel magnates, and Wall Street speculators - and forged an uneasy and dazzling new social order in New York City. Together, their extreme wealth, elaborate parties, marble mansions, shocking excesses, and delicious scandals transformed the social, architectural, and sartorial landscape."--BOOK JACKET.




Murder at Marble House


Book Description

“Delightful...Fans of Victoria Thompson or Deanna Raybourn are sure to enjoy dipping into this historical series.”—Library Journal With the dawn of the twentieth century on the horizon, the fortunes of the venerable Vanderbilt family still shine brightly in the glittering high society of Newport, Rhode Island. But when a potential scandal strikes, the Vanderbilts turn to cousin and society page reporter Emma Cross to solve a murder and a disappearance. . . Responding to a frantic call on her newfangled telephone from her eighteen-year-old cousin, Consuelo Vanderbilt, Emma Cross arrives at the Marble House mansion and learns the cause of her distress--Consuelo's mother, Alva, is forcing her into marriage with the Duke of Marlborough. Her mother has even called in a fortune teller to assure Consuelo of a happy future. But the future is short-lived for the fortune teller, who is found dead by her crystal ball, strangled with a silk scarf. Standing above her is one of the Vanderbilts' maids, who is promptly taken into police custody. After the frenzy has died down, Consuelo is nowhere to be found. At Alva's request, Emma must employ her sleuthing skills to determine if the vanishing Vanderbilt has eloped with the beau of her choice--or if her disappearance may be directly connected to the murder. . .




Gold Bars


Book Description

We finally have a business book for boaters. It covers all of the steps to begin chartering. He discusses the pros as well as the cons. The captain obviously has time on the water and is genuinely interested in helping his readers get started. His enthusiasm and sense of humor are obvious in this informative book. I reference it often. Want to charter? Get this book.




Bonanza Rich


Book Description