The ''Shenandoah'' is a three-masted

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

with a steel hull, built in New York in 1902 as a private

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

for the American financier Gibson Fahnestock. She has had a series of private owners since, and is available today for charter.

History

''Shenandoah'' was designed by Theodore E. Ferris for the American financier Gibson Fahnestock. She was launched in 1902 in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Homeported at Newport, she sailed the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

until 1905. The schooner has a strong resemblance to German Emperor Wilhelm II's ''Meteor III'' which was built in the same shipyard. In 1912 she was bought by the German Walther von Brüning. Her new home port became

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

and she was renamed ''Lasca II''. She was confiscated by the British navy during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1919 the yacht was acquired by Lord John Espen, who rechristened her ''Shenandoah''. Two years later it was bought by Godfrey H. Williams and refitted with engines. In 1925, the yacht was sold again to the Italian prince Spado Veralli and rechristened ''Atlantide''.

Viggo Jarl and the Atlantide expedition

''Atlantide'' was bought in 1929 by the Danish sculptor

Viggo Jarl Viggo Jarl (28 November 1879 – 23 March 1965) was a Danish sculptor. His work was part of the Art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics#Sculpture, sculpture event in the Art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics, art competition at t ...

, heir to the Danish industrial tycoon C. F. Tietgen and son of Vilhelm Jørgensen, part owner of the very profitable mining company Kryolitselskabet Øresund. Jarl refitted the ship with large amounts of modern equipment, including diesel engines and electricity. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

''Atlantide'' was hidden in a Danish shipyard in Troense, where one engine and all masts were removed, to make the ship not seaworthy and thus useless for the German occupying forces. After the war the ship was brought back into shape and Jarl generously offered the ship at the disposal of

Copenhagen University The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. The University of Copenhagen c ...

for a ten-month oceanographic expedition, all expenses paid for. This expedition, led by Dr. Anton Bruun, went to the tropical waters along the African west coast and became known as the Atlantide expedition. Rigging the ship for the expedition was difficult immediately after the war and equipment had to be borrowed from here and there. Wires for the trawls were obtained in England, where they had served as anchor wires for

blimps A non-rigid airship, commonly called a blimp ( /blɪmp/), is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of their lifting gas (usu ...

during the war. As a courtesy in return for this favour, as well as permission from the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

to navigate the high seas immediately after the war, a British zoologist was invited to join the expedition. The choice fell on Francis C. Fraser, who later became director of the

British Museum Natural History The Natural History Museum in London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider ...

. The other scientists onboard besides Fraser and Bruun were Torben Wolff and

Jørgen Knudsen Jørgen is a Danish, Norwegian, and Faroese masculine given name cognate to George People with the given name Jørgen * Jørgen Aall (1771–1833), Norwegian ship-owner and politician * Jørgen Andersen (1886–1973), Norwegian gymnast * Jørg ...

. The expedition left Copenhagen on 3 October 1945. The scientific work started at the

Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, which were reached on 8 December. Most of the work was done in the

epipelagic zone The photic zone (or euphotic zone, epipelagic zone, or sunlight zone) is the uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight, allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis. It undergoes a series of physical, chemical, and biological ...

(between 15 and 150 m) along the coast between

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

to the north and

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, Angola to the south. ''Atlantide'' returned to Copenhagen on 17 June 1946. The expedition produced a wealth of new knowledge about the oceanography and marine life in a part of the ocean that had previously been very poorly studied. The scientific results were published jointly by the Zoological Museum of Copenhagen and the

in 14 volumes of the ''Atlantide Reports'', the last volume published in 1993.

Later owners

Jarl sold ''Atlantide'' to France in 1952. The owner was the company Compania de Navigacion San Augustin. The exact whereabouts of the ship in the following years is not well known, but it is believed that the ship was involved in illegal shipping of various contraband in Central America. What is known is that the ship was seized by French customs in 1962. Moored and left to decay, the ship was eventually bought by French industrialist Baron

Marcel Bich Marcel Bich, Baron Bich (; 29 July 1914 – 30 May 1994) was an Italian-French manufacturer and co-founder of Bic, the world's leading producer of ballpoint pens, lighters and razors. Early years He was born in Turin, Italy, on 29 July 1914 to ...

in 1972 after fighting a veritable paper war with the French authorities. Bich restored the ship to full previous glory and returned her name to ''Shenandoah''. Under his ownership she became a charter yacht, sailing mainly in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1986 she was sold to Swiss businessman Phillip Bommer, who performed a complete restoration at the McMullen & Wing shipyard in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Most of the original riveted hull was replaced and in 1997 the ''Shenandoah'' was awarded "Best Classic Yacht Restoration".

Today

The ship is now owned by Italian Francesco Micheli, registered on the island of

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

, and sails as a charter vessel.

Footnotes

References