Return to Glory

The story of Avocette III began in 1931 when she was displayed at the New York boat show at Grand Central Palace. New York yachtsman Fred Voges, age 30, set his eyes on her. Frank Huckins had 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.

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 John F. Kennedy 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 began in 1931 when she was displayed at the New York boat show at Grand Central Palace. New York yachtsman Fred Voges, age 30, set his eyes on her. Frank Huckins had set her price at $27,000, but the savvy Voges bought her at the show for $17,000,