HMCo #457s Osprey

"Use 9" rule for lengths & butts.
Use 7 1/2" rule for depths.
Floors 4'-2" for #457." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.090.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"NEWPORT, R.I., Aug. 24 [1896]. --- There was a race of half-raters in the outer harbor to-day for a gold cup given by Mrs. Oliver H. P. Belmont between W. K. Vanderbilt, Jr.'s, Osprey, a Herreshoff boat, and H. O. Havemeyer, Jr.'s, Ideal, a [W. P.] Stephens boat. A six-mile course, from Brenton's Cove to and around a buoy off Jamestown, to and around Bishop Buoy, and back to the start, waa sailed.
The wind was southwest at first, but it changed twice later, so that every leg was a reach. There has been a great deal of rivalry between the owners of these two boats, and a large crowd followed the race, Mr. and Mrs. Belmont being out in the launch Defender. The Osprey went in stays in crossing, and then passed the line, and was recalled, so that she lost 1 minute and 20 seconds on the start. The Ideal made the first in 8:42, and young Vanderbilt in the Osprey, was 24 seconds behind. On the second leg the Ideal increased her lead, and on the last leg the Herreshoff boat was again walked away from." [Ideal won by 5:02 minutes.] (Source: Anon. "Race For Half-Raters. Havemeyer's Ideal Beat Young Vanderbilt's Osprey." New York Times, August 25, 1896, p. 6.)

"PROBABLY the youngest yachtsman in this country is Master William Kissam Vanderbilt Jr., son of William K. Vanderbilt, owner of the palatial yacht Valiant. There is little doubt in the minds of those who have watched the interest taken in boats by this young man that in the near future he will rank among the foremost yachtsmen of the world. There are undoubtedly many boys of lesser years who sail boats, and do it well, but the title 'youngest yachtsman' is due to Master Vanderbilt from the fact that he is a 'deep-water' sailor, the ocean and large bays alone furnishing room enough to suit him. One day last summer in Newport harbor Master Vanderbilt was to race his half-rater against that of young Harry Havemeyer. When they had reached the starting point in Benton's cove Master Vanderbilt insisted on laying the course out to sea, but to this Havemeyer would not agree. Young Vanderbilt could not understand why Havemeyer wanted such tame sailing, though finally there was a compromise on a course in Narragansett bay.
Master Vanderbilt is quick to learn and afraid to try nothing with his boats, yet he will not needlessly run into danger. During the summer season he is almost continually afloat. Last season he chartered the crack sloop Jessica, in which he made many cruises, always taking a large party of friends along. The sloop was furnished magnificently and only the best of everything was ever taken on board. In addition to the Jessica, Master Vanderbilt owned a half-rater, in which he raced until he saw that his boat was not so fast as certain others, when he laid her up, and to-day she is high and dry at Bliver's yard, in Newport, where she will probably end her days. This boat was called the Osprey, and, like the Jessica, she flew the private flag of the Valiant. The Osprey is a Herreshoff boat, and Master Vanderbilt got to be such an adept in handling her that he could take her through narrow openings that would have staggered older sailors and dart her around the wharves so skillfully as to excite the envy of all who saw him.
Master Vanderbilt won only one race with the Osprey. It was held under the auspices of the Jamestown Yacht Club, but on special occasions, when he wanted his boat to win, she would prove an utter failure. The event which ended the life of the Osprey, was the outcome of the match race between her and Harry Havemeyer's Ideal, the prize being a gold cup offered by his mother, Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont. It was a ten-mile triangular race and one of the yachting events of Newport's last season, being witnessed by many society people, including Mr. and Mrs. Belmont and several of Master Vanderbilt's young lady admirers. In this race the Ideal proved to be the better boat of the two, and at the finish line was five minutes ahead of the Osprey. Master Vanderbilt was hugely disgusted with the action of his boat, and after that he devoted his time to sailing the Jessica, but as none of his young friends had sloops that could compete with her, it was tame sport for him.
He is now at school at Southbridge, Mass., preparing for Yale College, but the coming season he will again be on hand and it is understood that he will this time try his luck with one of the Herreshoff thirty-footers, a class which proved so popular last season, and which will do much racing this year. Master Vanderbilt means to have a winning boat, and will keep at it until he succeeds in getting one that can leave everything in its wake." (Source: Anon. "The Youngest Deep-Water Yachtsman." San Francisco Chronicle, March 7, 1897, p. 15.)

"There is good reason to believe that young Mike Vanderbilt, age eleven in 1895, did not ever himself sail the high-strung racer OSPREY. This half-rater, ordered by his father, William K. Vanderbilt, was a brilliant, rather giddy, sailing machine only 14' 5" on the water. The man considered by many to be the richest citizen of the nation paid the Herreshoffs only $1000. The Builder's List indicates that the railroad magnate intended from the start to have T. C. Zerega campaign the boat. This well-known racing yachtsman could hardly have found much time to entertain a pre-teenager on board a craft as tricky as this little half-rater, even if his father had signed the check. [Note: Much of the above appears to be mistaken. Osprey was ordered for and reported to have sailed by W. K. Vanderbilt II, and not for his younger brother Harold Stirling (Mike) Vanderbilt. The Builder's List (a.k.a. Construction Record) does not list T. C. Zerega as having ordered this boat, but T. (F.?) Yznaga).]" (Source: Streeter, John W., editorial note. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 200.)

"... It was on the sea that the young [William Kissam] Vanderbilt conjured his fondest memories of early childhood adventures and time that he shared with his beloved parents. His first craft, learning under the tutelage of Captain Tom Shea, master of considerable reputation, was the Osprey, a small keel-boat. There he discovered all the skills he would need to take a voyage across the Atlantic.
The Osprey was small enough for Willie to handle himself as he maneuvered adroitly away from docks and out into open waters of the bay. Yet she was big enough for him to fully indulge in a sailing experience akin to grand forty-footers, with a comfortable keel for stability. While Willie ignored his studies and eschewed the boardroom, he spent many a breezy summer day in the place he loved more than any other, the sea. His independent spirit easily surfaced on the waters, and yet it was in handling the Osprey (and myriad craft to follow) that he experienced the strength that comes from self-control as master of his own ship. ..." (Source: Gittelman, Steven H. Willie K. Vanderbilt II: A Biography. Jefferson, North Carolina, 2010, p. 32.)

"[Photo caption: ] The half-rater Osprey purchased in 1895 was Willie K.'s first sailing vessel, built at Herreshoff Shipyard in Newport, Rhode Island. On August 3, 1895, the Newport Mercury reported that his new vessel was the last to be launched from their yard before they closed for summer vacation. ..." (Source: Gress, Stephanie. Eagle's Nest: The William K. Vanderbilt II Estate. New York, 2015, p. 13.)

"'Ever since I began sailing in the little Osprey when I was 16 years old,' [William K. Vanderbilt II] wrote in his log in 1932, 'the ideal boat has been shaping itself in my mind, and I believe that in Alva it has been achieved as nearly as possible.' " (Source: Rousmaniere, John. "For the Greater Good. William K. Vanderbilt II Used His Yachts For Pleasure, But The Pursuit Of Science And Exploration For The Betterment Of Humanity Was Always At The Fore." Yachts International, April 17, 2015. https://www.yachtsinternational.com/owners-lounge/vanderbilt, retrieved May 25, 2021.)

"N/A"

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #457s Osprey even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Osprey (HMCo-made index card)
• Osprey (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass.

Name: Osprey
Type: J & M
Length: 14'5"
Owner: Yznaga, T.

Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.

• Osprey
• Note: The L. Francis Herreshoff index cards comprise a set of some 1200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and / or ownership information. Apparently compiled in the early 1930s, for later HMCo-built boats like the Fishers Island 23s or the Northeast Harbor 30s are not included. Added to in later decades, apparently by L. F. Herreshoff as well as his long-time secretary Muriel Vaughn and others. Also 46 cards of L. F. Herreshoff-designed vessels. The original set of index cards is held by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.

Name: Osprey
Type: 14' 5" J & M
Owner: T. Yznaga
Row No.: 499

Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. "Partial List of Herreshoff-Built Boats." In: Herreshoff, L. Francis. Capt. Nat Herreshoff. The Wizard of Bristol. New York, 1953, p. 325-343.

Month: June
Day: 15
Year: 1895
E/P/S: S
No.: 0457
Name: Osprey
LW: 14' 5"
B: 4' 7"
D: 3' 9"
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Ballast: Lead
Amount: $1000.00
Notes Constr. Record: 1/2 rater?; under W.K. Vanderbilt
Last Name: Yznaga
First Name: T.

Source: Vermilya, Peter and Maynard Bray. "Transcription of the HMCo. Construction Record." Unpublished database, ca. 2000.

Note: The transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Peter Vermilya and Maynard Bray was performed independently (and earlier) than that by Claas van der Linde. A comparison of the two transcriptions can be particularly useful in those many cases where the handwriting in the Construction Record is difficult to decipher.

"Osprey was apparently ordered by the Cuban American banker Fernando Yznaga (October 16, 1850 – March 6, 1901) for William Kissam Vanderbilt Jr. (26 October 1878 – 8 January 1944) who would have been sixteen when she was launched. Yznaga was a well known New York society man as per his New York Times obituary of May 1, 1905 and a very close friend of W. K. Jr.'s father William Kissam Vanderbilt (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920). Just why the Construction Record lists 'T. Yznaga' as having ordered this boat is not clear. Was the name in the Construction Record mispelled and meant to read 'F. Yznaga'?
W. K. Vanderbilt Jr. would subsequently own the sloop Carmita from 1898 to 1900, followed by the Herreshoff-built New York 70 Virginia, named for his wife and launched in 1900 which he owned until 1908. Unlike his younger brother Harold Stirling (Mike) Vanderbilt who owned and successfully campaigned numerous Herreshoff boats, it appears W. K. Vanderbilt Jr. was not a happy Herreshoff customer. He was reported to have been disgusted at his half-rater Osprey after she had lost a well-publicised match race against the W. P. Stephens-designed half-rater Ideal and he refused to have the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company repair and strengthen his New York 70 Virginia, after all boats of the class had proven to be too lightly built and were to be strengthened at HMCo at the owner's expense to which he objected." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 25, 2021.)

Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.