Return to Glory

The colorful history of American yachting is peppered with significant and innovative boats, from the presidential yacht Sequoia to Ernest Hemingway’s Pilar and Richard Bertram’s first Moppie. One yachtbuilder at the forefront of innovation was Frank Pembroke Huckins, creator of the PT boat design that JFK famously piloted in World War II. The precursor to the PT boat was a Huckins named Avocette III. She’s the oldest Huckins on the water today, and it was my job to help bring her back to life.

The story of Avocette III began in 1931 when she was displayed at the New York Boat Show at Grand Central. New York yachtsman Fred Voges set his eyes on her at that show when he was 30 years old. Frank Huckins set her price at $27,000, but the savvy Voges bought her at the show for $17,000, in the middle of the Great Depression.

Voges counted many famous guests aboard in her early days, including Ginger Rogers. According to the book , Voges kept the boat in pristine condition for 50 years. Voges was Commodore of the Port Washington Yacht Club in New York from 1943-44 while he