 Mariette | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name |
|
| Builder | Herreshoff, Bristol |
| Launched | 1916 |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 165 tonnes |
| Length | |
| Beam | 7.20 m[2] |
| Draught | 4.20 m[2] |
| Propulsion | |
| Boats & landing craft carried | |
| Capacity | 8 passengers[2] |
Marietteis a classic two-mastedgaffschooner, designed and built byNathanael Greene Herreshoff in 1915 forHarold S. Vanderbilt. She now sails out ofAntibes,France, under the French flag.
Mariette was built as "Project 698" byNathanael Herreshoff, at hisBristol, Rhode Island yard, for prominent yachtsmanHarold S. Vanderbilt.[2] She was part of a series of seven large schooners built between 1903 and 1905 by the Herreshoff shipyard.Mariette and hersister-shipVagrant are the last of this series still in service. The ships are smaller versions of the earlierEleonora andWestward, also by Herreshoff.[3]
Skipper Jacob F. Brown sailed onMariette until 1927.[2] She was then sold to Francis B. Crowninshield, from a family with a sailing tradition, whose first ship wasCleopatra’s Barge. In homage to this ship, they renamedMariette toCleopatra’s Barge II. The rigging was modified into aBermuda rig. WriterJames A. Michener was a regular guest aboard, and mentions the ship in his novelChesapeake (1978).
In 1939,Mariette was requisitioned for service with theUS Coast Guard and used for patrols.[3] Crowninshield was given his ship back in 1946, in a state of disrepair, and sold her.
In the following years,Mariette had several owners and various names. At some point, she was owned by Walter Boudreau under the nameJaneen.[4] From 1979 to 1990, she belonged toAndrea Rizzoli, who had her restored at the Beconcini shipyard (Cantieri Navali Beconcini) inLa Spezia, Italy. In 1982, she was used as a charter in the Caribbean.[3] In 1995, Thomas J. Perkins, fromSan Francisco, purchased her and restored her original rigging. The same year,Mariette collided with the 6-metreTaos Brett IV[2] during the Nioulargue race, killing one of the sailors.[3]
He sailed in various Mediterranean races until 2005. He then soldMariette to a French skipper, base inAntibes.
