I am new to the forum. My father, Stephen S Lang, purchased a NY 40 in Essex, CT, in 1948. My father was given 6 months to live and wanted to fulfill one of his life's goals. Moving aboard with him was his wife, and son (that's me - 8 yrs old). We set off shortly from Essex, never to return ~ ending up in St. Pete, FL in 1950, where my mother demanded to move ashore like "normal" people - especially since my father hadn't died! Can you believe her guts, a non-sailor to set off on a NY40 with a man that could drop dead at any moment, and an 8 year old kid??! Vixen had been modified below for live aboard, and my cabin included the mast in the bulkhead. She had a true ICE box, gimbaled table and stove, etc. I remember her well, as you would imagine after living aboard for three years, always on the go.
This NY40 had the name Vixen III. She was flush deck, cutter rig, but no gaff. During a pass under a power line somewhere along a coastal channel, her mast was broken about 15' down and the rig permanently shortened. After we moved ashore in St. Petersburg, Fl, my father raced her on the infamous St. Pete - Havana race a couple of times, winning her class on one occasion that I can remember. After my father sold her in the early 50's, she hung around the St. Pete area for a number of years and the last I saw her she was moored in Bradenton/Palmetto area in pretty rough shape. I am guessing that was late 50's.
I have only a few pictures of her, and will need to try to find them. I still have her ship's clock in my office, something my father kept from his beloved boat. He lived for 11 wonderful years after his 6 month's "sentence", and I attribute this terrific boat for his everlasting peace. Any idea of which boat this could have been in an earlier life, or later, would be greatly appreciated.
BTW - I have re-mounted a fantastic photograph of H11 (visible sail number) of a NY 70, which I have found is that of Yankee. When I contacted the Herreshoff museum, they seemed uninterested and provided no information on this magnificent boat. She is under full sail probably somewhere in Long Island sound or up around Newport. The picture has been slightly watercolored, possibly by my grandmother - who was an artist and contributor to the Smithsonion.
Below is a piece that I wrote and have posted next to the photograph, from what I could find on this boat. Your verification, addition, etc., would be greatly appreciated. Steve Lang
This is Yankee with the distinctive H11 on her sail. She was designed by Nathanial (Capt Nat) Herreshoff and built at the Herreshoff yard in Bristol, Rhode Island in 1900. She was one of four identical boats built for one-design racing. They were the largest one-design yachts ever built.
These boats were designated New York Yacht Club 70’s, and were 106 feet long overall. Their “70” designation, like many Herreshoff designs, was the length of the waterline.
In those days, her composite hull (wood planking over steel frame) was rather new. The first year of use the NY 70’s gained a nickname of “leakabouts” because the hulls were not stiff enough to keep the wooden planking from “working” and therefore they leaked . . . a lot! The hulls were later braced with steel trusses to stiffen the hulls so they could carry such massive rigs without full time bailing by the crew.
Yankee was owned by Harvey Paine Whitney and H.B. Duryea. As was the standard of the day, Yankee was maintained and sailed by a professional crew, with the owners only aboard for day racing or a social sail with the ladies. Their normal sailing venues were in and around Newport, RI, and sometimes down into Long Island sound.
These huge boats were virtually day sailers in that they had absolutely no furnishings below, simply a cavernous hull often filled with the Egyptian cotton sails of the day.
The NYYC 70s were the first in a series of one-design yachts designed by Nat Herreshoff for members of the New York Yacht Club. Four NYYC 70’s were build in 1900, to be followed in succession by the famous NY 30's in 1905 (18 built), the NY 57s in 1907, the 50s in 1913, and the popular 40s in 1916 (24 built). I lived aboard a NY 40 as a kid from 1948-51, sailing her from her berth in Essex, CT, up and down the eastern seaboard.
Research continues into the history of Yankee and her owners. It is highly unlikely that these magnificent boats were sailed more than 10-15 years.
