"We are only a Government department and not here to help you!" came the strident voice down the telephone. We were on the last leg of a six-month paper chase back and forth across the Atlantic as we sought to finalise the documentation for Rebecca to be registered as a British ship. Matters were extremely complicated as our purchase had been made through the American bankruptcy courts of a two-thirds completed schooner, resting majestically in her wooden boatshed in the outskirts of the small American seafaring town of Vineyard Haven on the magical island of Martha's Vineyard.
Now in mid-April 2001, the final touches were being put to her in preparation for her emergence from the shed, under the masterly direction of Ross Gannon, like a glorious butterfly, ready to slip into the welcoming arms of the sea in early May.
As we grappled with bureaucracy, the folk on the Vineyard prepared for the launching of the largest new vessel built on the Island for more than 150 years. Over the previous fifteen months, we had made many friends amongst this unique community of seafarers. Introduced by our Commodore (needless to say!) who knew we would fall in love with the Islanders because "they even feather their oars when they row across the harbour!" he assured us (a sight one rarely sees nowadays in the marine communities in the UK), we had indeed come under their spell and more particularly under the spell of the beautiful new schooner they had been building for two years.
Nat Benjamin, her designer, in his quiet unassuming manner, felt sure that Rebecca would find her own destiny one day, so showed no signs of surprise when we emerged as her solution in September 2000. It was the most wonderful experience to be totally involved with the completion of a new classic yacht. Her construction, using woods selected from the replaceable forests of Suriname including silver Bali and Angelique, leant her an exotic air.
The workmanship was breathtaking, attention to detail awesome, determination to stick closely to their tradition admirable. But the new British owners brought a style with them slightly different from the original concept - they wanted to finish her in the manner of a pleasure yacht, rather than that of an East Coast working schooner. This meant a great deal more varnish!
Launch day arrived - 8 May 2001. Dressed overall, bedecked with flowers, gleaming in the bright spring sunshine, Rebecca slipped down the rails with the champagne dripping from her bows, to the sound of the bagpipes, cheers of 600 well-wishers, a cannon salute around the harbour, the display of firehoses from the docking ferry, a symphony of sirens and hooters from boats in the harbour and a flypast of a World War II plane! There was a smile on every face but not a dry eye on the dock! The party that followed provided the opportunity for hundreds of Rebecca's admirers and followers to wait patiently along the pier, before removing their shoes and stepping quietly aboard to pay their respects to their friends the builders - not just Nat and Ross, but Todd and Cassin, Brad and Miles, Forest and Lauda, Ginny and Gretchen and many more.
Over the following three months, Rebecca was fully commissioned. The masts were stepped, with coins for good luck placed under both, the rig spliced and secured, the mast hoops leathered, the sails bent on to the spars and much, much more. Her maiden voyage in July was triumphant - a joyous occasion which celebrated the skill, artistry, knowledge and affection of all those gifted people who had been involved in her construction. As the wind filled her sails she slipped through the water gathering speed like a young mare straining at the reins.
Since then, much has been written in the yachting press about "the new kid on the block" as she could be described in her native tongue. She has shown her comfort and seaworthiness sailing south to the West Indies, where - for a bit of fun - she took part in the Sweethearts Regatta in the British Virgin Islands on February 14th 2002, winning the schooners division.
Riding high on her initial success, she was entered into the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta three months later, winning the Aschanti of Saba Trophy for first place in the Classics Class. There amongst the grand old ladies of the classic yacht world, she turned many heads and made many new admirers. Later that year, with a crew of four, she cruised up the coast of Maine, taking us in comfort and style around the sailing grounds for which she was truly designed and from whence her pedigree comes.
We feel honoured to have been a part of bringing this beautiful new classic yacht alive. It has been a truly wonderful experience to come to know some of the great seafaring community of Massachusetts and Maine and to discover that it is indeed only the 'Big Pond' that divides us from them when it comes to being 'boat struck' by a classic yacht.
