Boat International – August 2019

NORTH

ATLANTICOCEAN

When I was younger I raced in the
Olympics for quite a while and won some
championships in high-performance
sailboats.Then in 1997 I acquired a
22-metre Reichel/Pugh design
calledZephyrus IV, followed by the
26-metre Zephyrus V. But after all
thisracing, it became more about
family. My wife was very close to
herbrotherin Maine, so in 2000 we
boughtaplace on Islesboro. I asked my
friend, Jeff Rutherford, to find a 15-metre
boat I could sail with my children. He
uncovered an 18-metre Herreshoff,
Joyant, in Falmouth on Cape Cod and we
trucked it to his shop. That was the
beginning of my relationship with
antique boat restoration.
I still don’t know why, but I seem to
have a thing for boats that
need rescuing. Restorer
Elizabeth Meyer convinced
me to buy Cangarda. The
restoration took four years, but
Cangarda is the last American-
built steam yacht – she’s 38 metres, 90
tonnes and operated by her original
seven steam engines.
Then,whenIwasinSaint-Tropez,
Iwasdrinkingwithfriendsandthe
directoroftheInternationalYacht
RestorationSchoolsuggestedItakeover
the 1885 Coronetproject.Hemademean
interestingofferandIagreed.It’sbeen
a10-yearrestorationwithfourmore
yearsahead,butsheisahistoricalpartof
ournation.Whenshe’sfinished,Ihave
adreamofsailingaroundCapeHorn.

This month:

Robert McNeil, owner

of 38m Cangarda

My Life in Boats

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF OWNERS; ADOBE STOCK

Interview Grace Trofa

OwnerofEros

Length:35m

Year: 1939

Location:Newport

Kim Schindelhauer

Yacht: WinWin

Length: 33m

Year: 2014

Location: Palma

Where have you been cruising lately?

In April we boarded the boat in St Thomas and

spent a week hitting Norman Island, Peter Island,

Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke and St John.

The whole family loves CocoMaya restaurant near

The Baths on Virgin Gorda

Are there still obvious signs of hurricane damage?

Yes. One of the more sombre moments was walking

through Caneel Bay Resort, which was totally

devastated by the recent hurricanes. Walls were

completely blown down, and we saw a high-water

mark inside hotel rooms that was at least 12

feet above sea level. There was still clothing and

toothbrushes in the rooms. What was clearly once

a wonderful resort was just destroyed

Do the kids have a great time on board?

They love their time on the boat, and really get

into the watersports. We even had a cornhole

tournament (look it up!) at a plywood bar

on Jost Van Dyke

How often do you race Eros?

Eros participates in three to four classic yacht

regattas per year. Antigua in the spring, the rest

in New England in August. I love the strategy and

the camaraderie of being part of a team of 25

Is she hard to maintain?

Maintenance is a full-time endeavour for the crew.

Whenever we’re not on charter,

they are deep into a wide

assortment of engineering and

maintenance assignments

Where are you

heading next?

As we speak she’s on

her way up to Bristol,

Rhode Island

Congrats on your win at The Superyacht Cup!

Thank you. It feels very good. We won it in 2016

with WinWin and 2010 with Scorpione Dei Mari

so this is the third overall victory. We’ve also

been class winners for four years in a row

What makes WinWin so successful?

I think we have a great team sailing the boat

• and, of course, the boat itself is fantastic.
  She was delivered with a pinhead
  mainsailand we changed that
  toasquare-top and we
  also changed the weight
  in the keel two years
  ago, but they’ve
  been the only two
  modifications we
  have made
  You obviously love
  sailing in Palma...
  Sailing is always good
  here. It traditionally

provides the right wind, around 12 to 14 knots.

It’s also challenging because you have gusts

from the shore and it can come from all

directions so you have to read the wind well

Are you always on the helm?

If I’m not steering the boat, the boat is not

leaving the harbour. That is very important.

I want to steer the boat. I know I’m often sailing

against super professionals, but nevertheless

we still managed to beat them – and that

makes the feeling even better

What are your cruising plans this summer?

We’ll probably stay around the Balearics and

maybe pop over to Sardinia. We are busy with

the new hotel, Palacio Can Marques (in Palma),

so we have to find the time to use WinWin.

But it’s so important. We love to use her, it’s

the most relaxing thing in the world to sail

WinWin. But even when we’re cruising, we’re

still trimming the boat properly – we are always

sailing properly

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