Old Timer Memory
Somethin' nagging at me about power boats... then I remembered...
Circa 1960 we were living in Falmouth, Mass. Our next door neighbor was the captain of the Andrew Mellon's Yacht Cassiar, docked in the Wood's Hole Yacht Club, and we were invited aboard for a ride. (Mellon... owner of Gulf Oil). The boat was built in the 1940's and the story goes that Mellon was a confident to FDR. On our ride around Martha's Vineyard, we spent some of the time in a lower deck room, which was Mellon's study. On a small desk, was a red telephone (regular phone) which connected a radio phone that went to the White House. Fascinating to me at the time, as I had never been close to "big money". The "red phone" was one a number of similar phones, given to Mellon by Roosevelt, to connect him to power magnates, duriing WWII.
The Cassiar was a 64' mahogany sport fishing boat, kept immaculately clean and ready by a crew of 6. At dock, she shone like a jewel.
A few years later, maybe in the later '60's the Cassiar was replaced by another larger Yacht... originally named the Cassiar, but quickly renamed "The Queen of Diamonds". That was was a more modern steel yacht ... 134' in length.
Richark K Mellon had two replica's of the original Cassiar built in 1968.
All apropos of nothing except some fading memories.
Pics of the 1940 Cassiar here in Boating Magazine 1950... Towards the bottom of the web page.
The WoodenBoat Forum
