“Super yachts” rarely impress me. Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich’s megayacht, “Eclipse,” may be the largest private yacht now sailing but it is, to my eye at least, a bit boring. It may be over 550 feet long and cost a bazillion rubles, but so what?
The new Schooner Elena on the other hand is both breathtaking and a resurrected bit of history. The first Elena was built for New York’s Morton Plant in 1911 by Nathaniel Herreshoff. She was beautiful and the fastest yacht of her day, winning races for years including the 1928 Trans Atlantic King’s Cup from New York to Santander.
This year a new Elana has been built by Factoria Naval de Marin using the origianl 320 hand-drawn plans supplied by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and information from the family-run Herreshoff design office in Bristol, Rhode Island. From the photos of her sea trial, she is a wonder to behold.
For more photos of the new Elena click here.
For the original New York articles about the lauching of the original Elena in 1911 :
PLANT’S ELENA LAUNCHED.; New Steel Racing Yacht, Product of Herreshoff, for N.Y.Y.C. Fleet.
I would like to know if there is a way to find Elena’s full history. Where is she now? Is there a schedule as to where she will be racing in 2012? Thank you for any help you can give me. Elizabeth
The new schooner Elena appears to have been sold in 2010. She now appears as the Elena of London and is listed as available for charter by Charter World for a princely sum. As of May of this year she raced in St. Barts. She also has a Facebook page though it is inactive.