HMCo #542s Mishe Nahma [Mische Nahma]

"[1900-03-10] Sat 10: Very fine & warm & clear. Fresh NW [wind] in PM. ... Began planking #542 [Mishe-Nahma].
[1900-04-17] Tue 17: Overcast & light rain part of day. L[igh]t SE becoming fresh S in evening. Launched #542 Mishe-Nahma. ...
[1900-04-20] Fri 20: Very fine. L[igh]t NW [wind in] AM. Mod[erate] S [wind in] PM. Off in Mishe-Nahma [#542s] for trial in PM.
[1900-04-22] Sun 22: Light NE [wind]. Misty & light rain most of [the] day. Off in Mishe-Nahma [#542s] a little while in PM.
[1900-05-13] Sun 13: Very fine [with] mod[erate] S [wind]. Off in Mishe-Nahma [#542s].
[1900-06-03] Sun 3: Fresh NE [wind &] overcast. A little rain early. Went to Newport in Mishe-Nahma [#542s] with children." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1900. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Feb 1900.
B-3-m [sic].
No. 542.
Plate keel & bulb.
Frame spaces 8".
Blanking 1/2" (7/32 pine & 9/32 mahogany).
Timbers. Moulded 7/8" at head, increasing 1/8" per foot for full length, sided 13/16"." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.124.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., April 21 [1900]. --- A small half-rater fin keel, with hull of mahogany, was launched from the Herreshoffs shop Wednesday [April 18, 1900]. The boat is named Mishe-Nahma and is to be sent to Gibraltar, where it is to be carried on the big steam yacht Nahma, owned by the estate of Robert Goolet. The Mishe-Nahma is to be raced in European waters this season, and will be crated and shipped by steamship from New York. It was given a a trial trip in the harbor Wednesday afternoon [April 18, 1900] by Nat Herreshoff, and worked well and showed good speed." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen. Waiting for her Crew" Boston Globe, April 22, 1900, p. 26.)

"A small half-rater, with fin keel and mahogany body, was launched from the Herreshoff yards, at Bristol, Wednesday [April 18, 1900]. The new boat is intended for racing in European waters, and is to be known as the Mishe-Nahma. She will shortly he brought to New York, and at this port will be crated and shipped by steamship to Gibraltar. Gossip at Bristol has it that she is to be met at Gibraltar by the big steam yacht Nahma, owned by the Robert Goelet estate, aboard which she will be carried during the summer." (Source: Anon. "Notes For Yachtsmen." New York Times, April 24, 1900, p. 10.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., May 12, [1900] ... The 21-footer Mishe Nahma of the fin-keel type had a trial upward of two weeks ago, and was afterward rigged and cased up in a special box, to be sent across the ocean. She was taken out of the box the first of the week [May 7, 1900], had the fin bolted on, was rigged, and had two more trials on Thursday [May 10, 1900]. It was blowing stiff from the northeast at the time, yet she carried whole mainsail and small forestaysail. Running off before the wind a couple of miles, her sheets were rounded in for the beat to windward. It was a pretty rough time, the large mainsail heeling her over so that the swirl of water was almost even with, her lee cockpit coaming. She is a fast footer and wonderfully quick in stays. She is to remain in Bristol for a while. ..." (Source: Anon. "In The Bristol Yards. Work on the Seventy-Footers Progressing Rapidly. New Small Craft." New York Times, May 13, 1900, p. ?)

"Hythe Y.C --- This club closed its racing season on Wednesday, the 1st inst. [August 1, 1900], with a regatta in the Solent classes, four meetings in all having been held by the Club during the season. The morning was unpromising, as there was heavy rain but no wind, but things bettered as the day wore on, and altogether those ashore and afloat had a fairly pleasant time. ...
In the 24 ft. class there were five starters, special interest attaching to this event from the fact that Speedwell, which had been racing at Trouville was to be brought into competition with the new American 1-rater Mishe-Nahma, belonging to Mr. Goelet, which showed such great speed in her maiden race at the last Royal Southampton Solent Class Regatta. It was not, however, for Speedwell to beat the nimble Herreshoff craft, that honour being reserved to Cobalt, steered by Mr. Frederick Crichton, Miss Cox's celebrated little boat --- which, by-the-bye, won two first prizes and one second in the three matches she sailed in French waters --- finishing last. Times:—Cobalt (win), 2 13 9; Mishe-Nahma (2nd), 2 13 25; Hermes (3rd), 2 13 48; Bandicoot, 2 13 49; Speedwell, 2 14 23. ..." (Source: Anon. [No Title.] The Yachtsman 9U.k.), August 9, 1900, p. 111.)

"The last issue of The Yachting World of London contains a full-page half-tone engraving of Robert Goelet's Mishe-Nahma, the fifteen-foot racing machine which Herreshoff turned out last May [1900] with the express purpose of showing her heels to any boat of like rating abroad. Although Mishe-Nahma had a late start, her success in both French and English waters has increased the wholesome respect with which Herreshoff's name is held by foreign yachtsmen. The little flyer, it will be remembered, was sent abroad in a crate, and has been carried between races on the davits of Mrs. Goelet's steam yacht Nahma." (Source: Anon. "Notes For Yachtsmen." New York Times, September 23, 1900, p. 22.)

"KIEL, June 20 [1901]. --- The Kiel regatta opened to-day with fair weather, and a light wind. ...
Regatta week in Kiel will be more interesting than if was in 1900, because the Emperor of Germany will also attend the racing. Ninety-four vessels are now present at Kiel for the regatta and twenty-two sailing clubs are represented.
The arrival of Mrs. Robert Goelet on her yacht Nahma created a sensation, as the Goelets were wholly unexpected at Kiel. Much interest was manifested when Mrs. Goelet entered her small boat, the Mishe Nahma, for the Emperor William prize contest, notwithstanding the fact that according to the governing rules it was too late for such an entry." (Source: Anon. "Emperor William's Yacht Makes Poor Showing." San Francisco Call, June 21, 1901, p. 4.)

"... 'Speedwell' continued to hold her own in the 24-ft. division [in the English racing season of 1900], her chief antagonist being Captain R. T. Dixon's 'Bandicoot IV'. 'Cobolt' also showed creditable form, whilst a dash of the international element was introduced into the racing by the appearance of Mr. R. Goelet's Herreshoff-designed 'Mishe-Nahme,' which competed in a few matches. ..." (Source: Henry Charles Howard Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire (ed.). The Encyclopaedia of Sport & Games - Volume 4. London, 1911, p. 418.)

"[Item Description:] Ink on paper deckplan detail (2 Tonner in davits) titled 'Sketch Showing Position of Proposed French Two Tonner on Deck of S.Y. NAHMA. Scale 1/4in = 1ft'. Stamped 'G.L. Watson & Co. Glasgow. Naval Architects' with inked note in stamp 'No. 152. 24th Oct[ober], 1899'. (This is probably in preparation to the design and building of #542s MISHE NAHMA which was to be carried on Robert W. Goelet's steam yacht NAHMA)." (Source: G.L. Watson & Co. (creator). Inked Deckplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0490. WRDT08, Folder 39, formerly MRDE10. 1899-10-24.)
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"N/A"

"[Item Transcription:] Typewritten (carbon copy) table with penciled additions listing boats built 1899/1900 with columns labeled 'Design [in pencil]', 'Shop. No.', 'Length', 'Planking', 'Delivery', 'Owner' followed by penciled data for Boat Name and Actual Delivery Date. Relevant contents:
#542s [Design] Feb. [1900] [Length:] 24ft YRA class [Planking:] Mahog[an]y [Delivery:] On or before May 1st [1900] [Owner:] R. Goelet [Act. Delivery:] May 1 [1900] (MISHE NAHMA)." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator) and Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_01290. Folder [no #]. No date (1900-02).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections and displacement curve titled 'MISHE-NAHMA [#542s]. 1900'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 52.00cuft = 3340lbs and further itemized weight and stability calculations. On verso another set of penciled pantograph hull sections and displacement curve titled '1st trial. 24ft English rule. Over. Feb[ruary] 2, 1900'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 50.76cuft = 3250lbs" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_04430. Folder [no #]. 1900-02-02.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #542s Mishe Nahma [Mische Nahma] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Mishe Nahma (HMCo-made index card)
• Mishe Nahma (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: Mishe Nama [sic, i.e. Mishe Nahma]
Type: J & M
Length: 20'
Owner: Goelet, Robert W.

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

• Mishe Nahma
• 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: Mische Nahma
Type: 20' 6" fin cutter; sailing tender for steam yacht "Nahma"
Owner: Robert W. Goelet
Year: 1900
Row No.: 440

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: Feb
Day: 23
Year: 1900
E/P/S: S
No.: 0542
Name: Mische Nahma
LW: 20'
B: 7' 1"
D: 4' 2"
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 2450.00
Notes Constr. Record: 24 ft Class Y.R.A. England
Last Name: Goelet
First Name: R. W.

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.

"Exported to England (Gibraltar) for racing in European waters. Mishe Nahma was carried on Robert W. Goelet's Nahma, a 306ft LOA G. L. Watson-designed steam yacht." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. June 10, 2009.)

"Built in 53 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $46/day, 62 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

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