Because of careful attention for six decades by Dr. George Gilbert, her only previous owner, the 1954 Newbert & Wallace lobster yacht ALBATROSS only needed deck, cabin top, and cockpit sole resheathing when she came to a new owner last year.
The journey from concept to reality was a long one for David and Rosemary Lesser and their yacht’s designer, Paul Gartside, but patience and clear communication brought LA VIE EN ROSE to fruition. She was launched at Jespersen Boat Builders in Sidney, British Columbia, in 2012.
A typical Thanksgiving Day on Puget Sound is windy, rainy, and chilly. But in 1925, on the eve of the feast day, a clear night allowed the full moon to light up the shore at Woodmont Beach, which is roughly 12 miles south of Seattle, Washington. Federal agents, acting on a tip, had set up a stakeout, and they were not misled: soon the sound of unmuffled twin marine engines—straight eight-cylinder 300-hp Sterling Dolphins—broke the silence.
CAPRICE and GHOST were part of the 28-boat Sound Interclub fleet built by Henry B. Nevins during the winter of 1925–26. The class raced on Long Island Sound for more than a decade before being eclipsed by the larger International One Design.
John Lisicich bounds into Bruce Bronson’s boatshop—literally bounds, like a kid running into a bike shop on his birthday—and hails his friend with unrestrained joy. “Happy Wednesday! Happy Happy Wednesday! How ya doin’?”
VERA LEE—née FANCY STUFF—is one of a handful of Bunker and Ellis–built wide-body lobsterboats. She was transformed into a luxury powerboat. Built in 1974, FANCY STUFF was restored and re-outfitted by Jarvis Newman and Ed Gray at their boatshop on Great Cranberry Island, Maine.