O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 4 3 made in maine burgess yachts; navsource By Michael L. Grace Where does a Bath Iron Works yacht go to drop her final anchor? On the brink of disappearing forever, Bath Iron Works was brought back to life by Wil- liam S. “Peter” Newell in 1927, and a yacht named Vanda made it happen. Bath Iron Works had slid into decline when the venerable shipbuilding compa- ny was put up for auction in 1925. A spec- ulator and scrap metal dealer from New York bought Bath’s key industry for a ham- mer price of less than $200,000. Equipment was sold off; ship-fitters, joiners, welders, and carpenters were out of a job; and the plant gathered dust for two years. In 1927, it changed hands again and was put to use making paper pie plates. Determined to save Bath from this hu- miliating fate, Newell believed BIW could make a comeback building premium yachts of top-notch American design, craftsman- ship, and quality. His enthusiasm con- vinced naval architect Archibald Main, born to shipbuilding on the banks of the River Clyde in Scotland, and L. E. Thibault, a leading Bath businessman, to join Newell in relaunching Bath Iron Works Corpora- tion in 1927. Luck was on their side: The great Phila- delphia shipyard William Cramp & Sons was facing liquidation. Meanwhile, Ernest B. Dane, a summer visitor to Seal Harbor as well as a prominent Boston investor and president of the Brookline Trust Company, was looking for someone to build his new- est yacht. Newell had landed his first con- tract: the Vanda yacht. Starry Starts: VANDA & HI-ESMARO Newell spread the word among old BIW Vanda,named for a tropical orchid, departs Bath to large crowds in 1928. SuchisthelegendofJ.P.Morgan’sBath-Iron-Works-built CorsairIVthatBritishentrepreneurNeilYoungcommand- edYantaiRafflesShipyardtobuildhima21stcentury replica.Nowoneoftheworld’slargestluxurymotoryachts, Nerocanbeyourstocharterfor$475,000perweek. TolearnwhathappenedtotheoriginalCorsairIV,readon.