30 Boating New Zealand
transpired that the owner had lived in the area all her life. She knew
a lot about the Gardiner family and used to travel in Laughing Lady
as a child. Incredibly, her father had been the NYT food critic – and
she produced a photo album with a magniicent selection of 8x10-
inch glossy images.”
he images provided detailed information about Laughing Lady- and most remarkably, they showed that Pam’s interpretation and
extrapolation had been spot on!
A inal piece in the puzzle came – of all places – from Norway.
“I received a random email, out of the blue, from a chap who said he
had plans for Laughing Lady. I said that’s impossible – the plans had
gone up in lames. Well, he said, I bought a folder of Lüders concept
drawings on eBay 10 years ago – and it contained many plans,
including those for Laughing Lady. And he sent them to me.”
If uncovering the details of Laughing Lady’s original design was
tough, inding the mahogany to complete the restoration proved
equally challenging.
Honduras mahogany is a CITES-protected timber and unobtainable.
At 3,318 acres it is America’s largest private island. It’s been owned
by the Gardiner family ever since an English settler – Lion Gardiner –
bought it from the Montaukett Indians in 1639 for “one large dog, one
gun, some powder and shot, some rum and several blankets.”
The legendary privateer William Kidd buried treasure on the island
in June 1699 – with the permission of the island’s proprietor.
For her trouble, Kidd gave Mrs Gardiner a length of gold cloth,
captured from a Moorish ship of the coast of India (a piece of which is
now at the East Hampton library), and a sack of sugar. He threatened to
kill the Gardiners if the treasure wasn’t there when he returned.
In 1989, the island was estimated to be worth US$125 million.GARDINER’S ISLANDTOP After a little TLC, the old
Volvos are good as new.
ABOVE Much of the
mahogany came from old
dining room suites. Gardiner’s IslandNew York CityLong Island