Publisher: Mystic Seaport
Publication Date: 2006
In 1949 Henry Nevin’s yard on City Island in New York (since redeveloped for housing) completed a new yacht to the designs of Olin Stephens. Bolero had been commissioned by the Brown family primarily for cruising, but she soon began to win races, and to achieve fame for her sheer beauty. Bolero was described as “ a nautical Marilyn Monroe”, and her owners were hailed socially as “the Bolero Browns”. Various owners had her from 1956, not all as resourceful as the Browns in caring for this 72ft thoroughbred. Rousmaniere records her triumphs., decline from the late 1970s and eventual restoration at huge expense, with a useful chapter offering a ‘protocol of classic yacht restoration’. The observation that “one third or one half of the way into the project, all the money you’ve spent has been flushed down the toilet, and you need the rest to make the boat decent again” will find many echoes among CA members, as will the warnings of the financial hazards of classic yacht restoration. The book is generously illustrated with historic photographs of Bolero , her contemporaries and those who built and subsequently restored her, mostly from the extensive picture archives of Mystic Seaport Museum where it was published. Sources of information are cited in footnotes to each chapter. Read this book if you are tempted to bring back a classic yacht from dereliction; it may help you to sober up. - JCR.
