Made in maine 46 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine jor media attention at the time, sparking a quote so familiar it seems trite. “What are the costs for operating such a yacht?” de- manded one reporter. Morgan quickly re- torted, “Sir, if you have to ask that question, you can’t afford it.” For Bath Iron Works, the Corsair IV was a crowning achievement, unequivocally de- livering Newell, Main, and Thibault’s prom- ise to capitalize on BIW’s legacy and provide yachts at a cost for American millionaires. The $2.5M yacht, dubbed the “Princess of the Sea,” was a thing of beauty with her clipper-ship bow and teak interior. But for all the press coverage of Corsair’s size and accommoda- tions, there were rarely more than a half- dozen guests aboard. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang, was an annual guest while the Morgans cruised in Europe. And while the yacht had none of the gold faucets and marble floors report- ed in the press, claims that the Corsair IV housed no bar were entirely true. Morgan was a teetotaller. If making money was J. P. Morgan’s vo- cation, then yachting was his avocation– he rarely mixed the two. The legendary American financier was quoted as saying, “You can do business with anyone, but you can only sail with a gentleman.” He guard- ed the privacy that the yacht afforded him jealously. Once when a group of photogra- phers edged up to the ship’s side to try for pictures of the financier, Morgan threat- ened to turn a hose on them if they did not leave instantly. ARAS In 1931, Newell secured a contract from Hugh J. Chisholm Jr., the Oxford Paper Company king and railway magnate. Bath Iron Works would build the Aras II to re- place the Aras I built by the original BIW in 1924. The 243-foot-long motor yacht was an impressive sight, bearing a black steel hull with a 36-foot beam and 14-foot draft. Aras (“Sara” spelled backward, Ch- isholm’s mother’s name) was powered by two large eight-cylinder Winton diesel engines. Throughout the 1930s, Chisholm and his family cruised New England ev- ery summer, escaping the harsh northern winters on cruises to Havana, Cuba, and the Caribbean. CAROLINE II One of the last major yachts to be built by Bath Iron Works during the 1930s was the Caroline II, designed for Eldridge R. John- son. At 279 feet in length and with a 2,400- ton displacement, the Caroline II was the second largest private yacht built in Amer- ica at that time. She was four decks deep, equipped with an elevator, and capable of carrying a crew of 50. Johnson was a wealthy industrialist and the founder of Victor Talking Machines Company, often regarded as the first true media conglomerate of the 20th century. In 1929, Johnson sold his company to RCA. Caroline II was his retirement project–but she was more than just a pleasure craft. Twenty scientists sailed with Johnson in 1931 in search of the “lost civilization” on Easter Island. The following year, he sailed for the Yucatan to join a scientific expedi- tion, returning to America with an orange- colored throne belonging to a king said to have ruled in Central America more than 1,000 years before. These floating palaces of luxury and their millionaire owners were a constant source of gossip and speculation among the press and the public during the hard years of the Depression. From Paducah to Dubuque, lo- cal papers filled their pages with wire ser- vice stories about famous guests, wild ex- travagance, and long cruises. Caroline II was even rumored to be the chosen hon- eymoon yacht for Edward Windsor VIII and Wallis Simpson. For Vanda owner Er- nest Dane, this public scrutiny posed a true danger. Dane received ransom notes from people who threatened to kidnap his two- year-old grandson. It was the same time as the Lindbergh kidnapping trial. Dane went public, telling reporters he’d put his grand- son under constant guard. Johnson eventually sold the Caroline in 1938 to William B. Leeds, the tinplate heir, who refurbished the yacht and renamed it the Moana. Leeds was close friends with Errol Flynn and Ernest Hemingway, who were frequent guests upon the Moana. Leeds made lengthy cruises in the Carib- bean, California, Hawaii, and the South Pacific. Besides being a sportsman adven- turer, he also used his new yacht to carry food, clothing, and medical supplies to the inhabitants of the Pitcairn Islands and the leper colonies of the Society Islands. Watery Graves The era of America’s luxury yachting came to an end as World War II approached. The Vanda, Hi-Esmaro, Corsair IV, Aras, and Caroline would be soon shrouded in cam- ouflage, hulls painted a dull gray, luxurious staterooms transformed into military crew quarters. But where did fate take them? The Navy acquired the Vanda from Er- nest Dane in 1942 and assigned her the name USS San Bernardino. She served as a weather station ship and was used by Admi- ral King to scurry among the Pacific Islands when he was Chief of Naval Operations. The Navy decommissioned the ves- sel in 1946. Charles Francis Coe, publish- er of the Palm Beach Post, bought the Van- da but put her back on the market within the year, where she was snapped up by so- Caroline II was even rumored to be the chosen honeymoon yacht for Edward Windsor VIII and Wallis Simpson. TheAraswasbuiltforOxfordPaperCompanymagnate HughChisolmJr.andlaterbecametheHarryTruman’s presidentialyacht.Seeourstory“DreamBoat,”May2014, atportlandmonthly.com/dreamboat. TheCarolineIIwassumptuouslydesignedforEldridge Johnson,featuringfourdecksandanon-boardelevator. courtesy Michael L. Grace