Sail Number: N /15 (M /3)
Type: Marconi rigged yawl
“Galatea” Specifications:
LOA: 72′0″ / 21.94m – LOD: 72′0″ / 21.94m – LWL: 55′ 0″ / 16.76m – Beam: 12′ 6″ / 3.81m – Draft: 9′0″ / 2.74m – Sail Area: – Hull material: Mahogany Planks and Iron Deck Beams and Floors and Frames are Webbed Together with Rivets and Iron Gussets. – Designer: Axel Nygren – Built by: Stockholm Boat Building – Year Built: 1899 – Restored By: Everett Marine Co-op – Original Owner: Gustaf Wiklander – Current Owner: Judd Tinius.
Historical:
Owners Commments (2006) – Designed by Axel Nygren and built by Stockholm Boat Building, she is basically a 12 meter before the 12 meter rule became officially recognized around 1906. In 1927, she was shipped to San Francisco by Cyril Tobin and rated an M boat, homeported in Newport CA.
She has been owned by Jascha Heifetz, Dick Powell, Joseph Menkovitz, and Richard M Stockton, who had her refitted and re-rigged in the 1940s as a more “modern” yawl. Recently she has been owned by Archie and Margaret Williams, founders of the NW Cruising Club, who cruised her to Mexico and Hawaii, and Rick Galer of Friday Harbor who has raced her in the Swiftsure Race, (in which she has a colorful past!)
She came to Judd Tinius, shipwright and owner of Everett Marine Co-op, in 2002, and is currently undergoing a major refit/restoration: 10 new planks, resealed teak decks, new black iron frames, new mast and rigging, new butterfly hatches and deck fittings – originally mahogany and now teak, etc. Interior work, decks and refastening are also on the list.
We plan to put her out for race charter in the Caribbean and Europe. With recorded speeds of 16 knots, she should make an impression. Everett, WA
John Blaich comments – Corona del Mar resident who, about once a month, will write histories of interesting boats that graced Newport Harbor.
This traditional yawl was based in Newport Harbor from 1935 to 1938. She was owned by the famous violinist Jascha Heifetz, who moored the yacht fore and aft off his leased home near the Harbor entrance at 212 E. Balboa Blvd. Galatea was also kept in the mooring area off the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Heifetz was a member of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club and the Catalina Island Yacht Club at Avalon.
Galatea was designed by A. Nyrgen and built in Stockholm, Sweden in 1899. Her dimensions are 68 feet overall, 44 feet length on the waterline, 12 feet, 5 inches in beam with a draft of 9 feet. She was steered with a long, beautifully-carved tiller. There was also extensive wood carving on the teak bulkheads below. Heifetz enjoyed the rhythm and quiet of sailing. He frequently sailed to Avalon, Catalina. There was a very large insurance policy on his fingers that did not allow him to pull on lines of make them fast. However, he frequently and enthusiastically helped with the rigging in a limited way.
In 1955, when Irvine Terrace in Corona Del Mar was subdivided, one of the streets was named after Heifetz’s yacht. In 1998, an oil painting of Galatea was presented to the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum and is shown periodically. The oil painting was created by muralist Richard W. DeRosset of San Diego. He is a very versatile marine artist and has done many commissions for private collectors, museums, and commercial clients. DeRosset has done three revious paintings of famous yachts for the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum.
Known Racing History:
2009 – Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta
2007 – Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta
Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):
Owner: (1899) – Gustaf Wiklander
Owner: Cyril Tobin, commodore St. Francis Yacht Club. Converted to a Marconi rigged yawl.
Owner: (1935-1938) – Jascha Heifitz, world renowned violinist, married silent motion picture actress Florence Vidor. Catalina Island Yacht Club member. Participated in the first annual Newport Harbor Race Week (1937). “I like California because the people do not stand on ceremonies like they do in the East.” Sails often to Catalina with his wife, from their Summer home in Balboa. Ten-day leisurely cruise to the Santa Cruz Islands to celebrate Mrs Heifetz birthday. Their guest included Miss Patricia Zeigfeld, Miss Susanne Vidor, and Warren Newsmark. Along for the cruise was George Johnson and guest onboard their vessel the 68-foot auxiliary schooner OCEAN WAIF.
Friends: Mr. and Mrs. Nick Potter
Friends: Mrs. R. Polk and Louis Briggs.
Friends: Mrs. Florence Wellington, John S. Wellington
Friends: W. Steve Irwin
Friends: Peter Rudolph
Friends: Pauline Polk
Friends: Patricia Zigfield
Friends: Warren Newmark
Owner: (1938) – Dick Powell – For his first anniversary to his wife Jane, Mr. Powell bought Heifitz yacht and renamed her Galatea. In return Jane bought her husband a sports roadster, with a custom built engine.
Friends: Humphrey Bogart
Friends: Cary Grant
Friends: Spencer Tracy
Owner: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, producer and director
Owner: Richard M Stockton
Owner: Archie and Margaret Williams, founders of the NW Cruising Club
Owner: (2002) Judd Tinius, shipwright and owner of Everett Marine Co-op.