Yachts of yesteryear

The topsail schooner yacht Puritan was at Balboa from 1931 to 1964. The owner, Harry J. Bauer, moored his schooner off his summer home on the

Balboa Peninsula. The Electric Boat Works in Connecticut built her in

1931.

Bauer, a member of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, operated Puritan in a

traditional style. From May to October, a crew of seven was on board.

However, the captain and the chief engineer were employed on a year-round

basis.

Puritan accompanied the 1936 Transpac race fleet to Hawaii. She would

actually have placed if she had been entered. In 1941, Puritan was sold

to the U.S. Navy for $1 for use as an offshore patrol boat. Operating out

of San Diego, she patrolled a 200-mile area off the Mexican coast in the

vicinity of the Guadeloupe Islands.

After the war, Bauer retrieved Puritan and returned her to Newport Harbor

for an extensive refit.

Bauer died in 1962, but Puritan was observed about two years ago in

Newport, R.I., in excellent yachting condition. Bauer would be pleased

that his beloved yacht is in good hands.