The schooner America was a technological marvel and a child star. In the summer of 1851, just weeks after her launching at New York, shecrossed the Atlantic and sailed to an upset victory against a fleet of champions. The silver cup she won that day is still coveted by sportsmen. Almost immediately after that famous victory, she began a decades-long run of adventure, neglect, rehabilitations, and hard sailing, always surrounded by colorful, passionate personalities. America ran and enforced wartime blockades. She carried ...
Read More
The schooner America was a technological marvel and a child star. In the summer of 1851, just weeks after her launching at New York, shecrossed the Atlantic and sailed to an upset victory against a fleet of champions. The silver cup she won that day is still coveted by sportsmen. Almost immediately after that famous victory, she began a decades-long run of adventure, neglect, rehabilitations, and hard sailing, always surrounded by colorful, passionate personalities. America ran and enforced wartime blockades. She carried spies across the ocean. And she was on the scene as yachtsmen and business titans spent freely and competed fiercely for the cup she first won. By the early twentieth century, she was in desperate need of a thorough refit. The old thoroughbred floated in brackish water at the United States Naval Academy, stripped of her sails and rotting in the sun. Refitting America would be a massive project-expensive and potentially distracting for a nation struggling to emerge from the Great Depression and preparing for a world war. But the project had a powerful sponsor. On a windy evening in December 1940, the eighty-nine-year-old America was hauled "groaning and complaining" up a marine railway at Annapolis: the first physical step in a rehabilitation rumored to have been set in motion by President Franklin Roosevelt himself. The haul-out brought the famous schooner into the heart of the Annapolis Yacht Yard, a privately owned company with a staff capable of completing such a project, but with leadership determined to convert their facility into a modern warship production plant on behalf of the United States and its allies. The Last Days of Schooner America traces the history of the famous vessel, from her design, build, and early racing career, through her lesser-known Civil War service and the never-before-told story of her final days and moments on the ground at Annapolis. The schooner's story is set against a vivid picture of the entrepreneurial forces behind the fast, focused rise of the Annapolis Yacht Yard as the United States prepares for and enters World War II. As wooden warships are built around her, America waits for a rehabilitation that would never happen. To bring this unique story to life, Annapolis sailor David Gendell delved into archival sources and oral histories and interviewed some of the last living people who saw America at the Annapolis Yacht Yard.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Last Days of the Schooner America: A Lost Icon at to cart. $24.72, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Lyons Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. Contains: Unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of The Last Days of the Schooner America: A Lost Icon at to cart. $24.73, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2024 by Lyons Press.
Add this copy of The Last Days of the Schooner America: A Lost Icon at to cart. $28.16, new condition, Sold by ShopSpell rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Califon, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Lyons Press.
Add this copy of The Last Days of the Schooner America: a Lost Icon at to cart. $37.95, new condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2024 by Lyons Press.
Add this copy of The Last Days of the Schooner America to cart. $39.01, new condition, Sold by Paperbackshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bensenville, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Rowman & Littlefield.
