Curator’s Log February 2012
INGOMAR: The Most Successful Campaign Since the Schooner AMERICA

Don’t miss the April 28th, 5th Classic Yacht Symposium featuring construction of the new schooner INGOMAR. It is the latest chapter in a story that goes back over a century.

The year 1899 brought a big change in the life of Morton F. Plant. He had followed his railroad magnate father in business, but in 1899 Henry died, writing Morton out of control of the $22M estate.  A lawsuit awarded him $14.6 M and a new lifestyle. The first $3M built a pleasure dome at Avery Point, Groton, CT (now a U CONN satellite campus), and fame followed as a developer, yachtsman, baseball team owner, and for trading his 5th Avenue New York mansion with Cartier’s for $100 and a $1M black pearl necklace. Most importantly he had Herreshoff build ten yachts including a pair of 28-foot steam launches, the first NY 40, the 127-foot steel centerboard schooner INGOMAR and the 130-foot steam yacht PARTHENIA.

When approached by Plant to build a schooner for racing in Europe, Capt. Nat had not designed a schooner since the 1866 SADIE (1) and as L Francs Herreshoff writes in Capt. Nat: Wizard of Bristol;  "… (he) very much disliked the rig and said it was too complicated and costly, and that it had too much wind resistance”. Capt. Nat and the Company however did have recent experience building the fast and lightly built America’s Cup defenders with features more advanced than the British contenders. Unlike the spartan interiors of the defenders INGOMAR was fitted with solid mahogany companionways, hatches and skylights, a luxurious all butternut and mahogany cabin, a ladies cabin upholstered in green plush with many mirrors and artistic hangings, and a circular main saloon with red plush transoms.

Because of the priority given to the 1903 Cup Defender RELIANCE, INGOMAR was built in the North Shop (without the marine railway). Launching on greased ways she hit the water at 10 mph, performed a graceful circle in the harbor and returned running her stern gently into the North wharf with no damage. 

Though built to race overseas Plant gave her a summer tryout- winning almost all her races. Encouraged by the results planning started for the 1904 season in Europe. Charlie Barr and many of the winning RELIANCE crew signed on for the campaign. The centerboard was removed and her draft was increased by adding a slab of lead to the bottom of the keel.

Experienced English yachtsman Brooke Heckstall-Smith sailed in the after guard for most of INGOMAR’s 1904 races and was impressed with her features (2):
• Wheel and foot-brake rather than a tiller as used on Brit boats.
• Very large high main and foresail with small topsails with light Oregon pine spars; spars much smaller than Brit racing schooners.
• Light but extremely strong working gear. Uncluttered decks.
• Riveting and finish of hull were "magnificent".

But it was in the racing that she proved her mettle. INGOMAR's record of 17 trophies in 22 races in the summer of 1904 was the most successful campaign of an American vessel in European waters since the schooner AMERICA in 1851.

John Palmieri
Curator

1 Nat, aged 18, made the sail plan and all the drawings for the boat that had been modeled by his father and blind older brother John.
2 Brook Heckstall-Smith, All Hands on the Mainsheet. London. Grant Richards. 1921.