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.

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."

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.

More than 100 breathtaking photos transport readers back to the lavish, romantic world of yachting in its heydey at the turn of the century. Includes stories of sailing, racing and shipbuilding, and tales of peril and courage.

"A history of a racing sailboat storied for its exploits and victories, and of the man who built it-a young old Danish-American naval engineer, Thorvald S. Poekel"--

Offers an unparalleled insight into the era's professional racing and sailing events, yacht clubs, regattas, the opulence and scale of ships themselves, the people who ran them, the competition existing between famous yachtsmen, and many more.

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.