On The Water: A string of luck — bad and good — from Long Beach shipyard

Long Beach

Until recently, I thought yachtsmen who commissioned a vas to beryllium built astatine agelong defunct Fellows & Stewart gait were successful for immoderate atrocious luck.

The Joe Fellows Boat Shop was established successful 1896 by English migrant Joe Fellows, his concern manager, Victor Stewart, and the well-known naval designer Joseph Pugh. In 1917, the Terminal Island-based constitution astatine Pier 206 was incorporated arsenic Fellows & Stewart, Inc. Here is immoderate of their work.

Ida May

The 46-foot Ida May, was built successful 1926. Her archetypal owner, Willard Van Brunt, president of the John Deere Company, died successful 1935 aft falling connected his yacht and breaking his hip. Bad luck.

The vas was past purchased by Stan Laurel (of Laurel and Hardy fame). Her astir devoted owner, Jonah Jones, was 1 of the founding fathers of the Long Beach Yacht Club and president of the Tuna Club successful 1947. Jones, who owned the yacht for 40 years, was Howard Hughes’s attorney. Hughes fished connected board, arsenic did Ernest Hemingway, Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Gloria Swanson, Dick Van Dyke, Cecille DeMille, Babe Ruth, Zane Grey,  and Liberace.

Content

Ezra Fitch of Abercrombie & Fitch fame commissioned Content, a 52-foot F&S yacht, successful 1930 and died connected committee the aforesaid twelvemonth successful Santa Barbara. More atrocious luck.

In September 2017, “Content” came for a sojourn to our section waters aft spending 4 decades successful Canadian waters adjacent Ladysmith, British Columbia.

Owners Catherine and Eamonn O’Nolan had planned to instrumentality the vessel to Europe, a travel that would person taken respective months. For reasons that are unclear, they ended their voyage successful San Diego that aforesaid twelvemonth and Content remains there.

Charade

Catalina Island Yacht Club subordinate and movie prima Rudolph Valentino had “Charade,” which was besides called “Phoenix,” built successful 1926. He died that aforesaid twelvemonth astatine the property of 31 of peritonitis aft utilizing the vessel lone 3 times. Still much atrocious luck.

In November 2019, I visited Charade and her existent owners Neil Burcroff and Nick Richardson successful land-locked Owosso, Mich. The boat’s restoration was progressing slowly.

Last week, portion with a radical visiting Valentino’s gravesite, I mentioned Charade, and different F&S vessel, Ranger, erstwhile section mariner Lesley Scheller reminded maine that her uncle Jack Morehart had owned Ranger and donated her to the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM).

Ranger disproves my mentation of atrocious luck — successful fact, she conscionable mightiness beryllium a fortunate charm for her owners.

Ranger

Built successful 1917, she was made to the specifications of James Jump, a founding subordinate of the Catalina Island Tuna Club and Catalina Island Yacht Club. Jump and past his lad Robert owned the vessel until astir 1940. Under the Jumps’ watch, celebrities Humphrey Bogart, Zane Grey, John Wayne, and Errol Flynn fished from Ranger.

Wilfred Horton and generations of his household were the adjacent trustees of Ranger — for much than 3 decades. LBYC’s 1967 Commodore Don G. Horton acquired 42-foot Ranger successful 1959, and joined LBYC that aforesaid year.  In his commodore year, Ranger was the flagship and greeted the Queen Mary arsenic she entered Long Beach. The Horton household adventures could capable a book.

From 1984 to 1987 Jack Morehart owned her, fished from her, restored her, and she was his favourite spot to instrumentality a nap.

“She was designed to food Hemingway ‘Old Man and the Sea style’,” Morehart’ girl Marcia told maine successful a telephone telephone wherever she shared stories of however her begetter continued the aged benignant sportfishing techniques connected board. Marcia Morehart, an creator painted a bid of paintings marking milestones successful the boat’s history.

The boat’s wood mast and roar accommodate a stabilizing sail, that helps erstwhile successful the midst of warring a fish. The archetypal anchor winch and her 1917 kerosene moving lights are inactive connected board, proving that each proprietor felt the work to support her history.

With much than 100 years of history, a flagship rubric astatine 3 yacht clubs and 1 museum, this is 1 fortunate boat.