Another West Coast Classic Yacht Discovered in Europe

Over the past week or so, we’ve shared a couple of stories about some West Coast classic yachts that are currently being restored in Europe. Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show organizer Randall von Wedel was touring Europe and discovered the cutter Grisette in the Chantier du Guip shop in Brest, France. Also in France, he then visited the former Sausalito classic Pursuit in the Saint-Guénolé Classics Restoration shipyard. Recently we heard from reader Howard Clayman of SV Ciao Mano who discovered another West Coast classic in France, the S&S schooner Santana, which spent a good amount of time on the USA’s West Coast before also heading for a life overseas.

“On a recent trip to the south of France, I regularly took time to wander in marinas nearby and discover some of the beautiful boats at the docks,” Howard writes. “In Antibes I ran across the historic yacht Santana, which once belonged to Humphrey Bogart. Having grown up sailing in California, I had heard many stories of her and the special relationship Bogie had had with her.”

We last wrote about Santana in 2014 when her stewardship was passing from the Kaplan family to Wendy Schmidt (philanthropist and wife of former Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt), who was taking her to the East Coast with plans to race her actively. Paul and Chrissy Kaplan had raced the1935 S&S schooner extensively on San Francisco Bay for 15 years after completing an extensive refit. Prior to that we shared a letter in which a sailor from Lake Isabella reminisced about watching Santana race in the beer cans at Balboa YC during the 1950s and ’60s, adding, “Bogie was a big celebrity at the time, but never acted like it. He always rubbed elbows with other racers at the bar afterward.”

Santana is again undergoing a refresh in France, where Howard says he admired her from the dock, and spoke with the “young man who was sanding her brightwork but who didn’t know the history of the boat.”

But that wasn’t the end of Howard’s historic sailboat tour.

“A few days later in Marseille I found the Pôle Voiliers de Tradition. This is a collection of about 20 traditional yachts docked in a row adjacent to the Société Nautique de Marseille. Among the beautiful yachts that caught my eye was the Bermudan yawl Leopard Normand, a Sparkman & Stephens design from 1965.

“I’m sure this is a favorite pastime of Latitude 38 readers when they are traveling or sailing in foreign ports, but discovering these treasures certainly was a high point of the vacation.”

Each old boat that survives has a story to tell, particularly the beautiful classics of old. That’s part of why sailors love them. And we love sharing the stories of their discovery.