SV Mandalay

Yacht Hussar IV in the 1920s

Designed by Cox & Stevens and built in 1923 by Burmeister & Wain[4] in Copenhagen for E. F. Hutton and his wife Marjorie Merriweather Post, the 585-ton luxury yacht Hussar (IV), had an iron-hull and represented the epitome of maritime luxury and glamour in her class.[1][5] Interiors were designed by William Baumgarten & Co of New York, and was the first American firm to do the interior decoration of a ship abroad.[6] Upon her completion in Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark was invited to inspect the ship prior to its maiden crossing to New York.[6] It was one of the fastest yachts, breaking the transatlantic record in 10 days, 21 hours. The yacht was affiliated with the New York Yacht Club,[7] and spent the winters in the Florida Keys with frequent guests Billie Burke, along with Florenz Ziegfeld who Hutton liked to deep sea fish with.[8]

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  Parlor circa 1923
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  Dining Room circa 1923
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  Deck plan circa 1923
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  Profile of Hussar IV

In the late 1920s the Hutton's decided they wanted a larger yacht, so they commissioned the construction of the Hussar (V) (later Sea Cloud). The Hussar IV was put up for sale in September 1930,[9] and eventually sold to Norwegian shipping magnate, G. Unger Vetlesen and his wife Maude Monell and renamed Vema, a combination of Vetlesen and Maude. The Vetlesens spent many pleasurable days at sea.

Vema during World War II with Merchant Marine trainees.

Trainees aboard Vema, July 1942[10]

During World War II, Maude Monell donated Vema to the American war effort. The vessel was put into service as a merchant marine cadet training ship.[11] The Vema was first put to use patrolling coastal waters for the US Coast Guard.[1] She served as a barrack and a training ship for the United States Merchant Marine. Assigned to the US Maritime Service Training Station on Hoffman Island, her sailing area was listed as 14,000 sqf.[12] After the war she was abandoned off Staten Island until Louis Kenedy, a captain from Nova Scotia, salvaged the vessel.[1][13] LDEO leased the vessel in 1953 and soon bought her for $100,000.[1]

Vema Fracture Zone

Vema started circling the globe as the first of the Lamont Geological Observatory research vessels (now the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory [LDEO]), a research unit of Columbia University.. Displaying a black hull, she was used to collect samples of seawater and sediment cores, measure currents and heat flows, perform underwater photography and seismic studies, and map out ocean floors. The work on the ship helped to confirm the continental drift theory. By the time of her retirement in 1981, the Vema had collected data on a record track of 1,225,000 nautical miles (2,269,000 km).[1] Notable scientists who worked aboard the Vema include Maurice Ewing, Bruce C. Heezen, Ralph (Ralphy) Roessler, J. Lamar Worzel,[14] Jack Nafe, Frank Press, and Walter Pitman, all of whose work was greatly facilitated by Marine Technical Coordinator Robert Gerard, who was responsible for the fitting and refitting of LDEO marine research vessels from the Vema through her successors, the Conrad, Eltanin, and RV Maurice Ewing, including the design and installation of numerous pieces of customized scientific measurement equipment critical to their research.

The ship was refitted again as a cruising yacht for the Caribbean under the name SV Mandalay (also Mandalay of Tortola)[2] with a sail area of > 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²).[3] The ship was operated by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises from 1982 until the operator went out of business in 2008.[20] Mandalay subsequently was purchased at auction, refurbished, and used as specialty cruise ship in the Galapagos islands off Ecuador by Angermeyer Cruises. The S/V Mandalay is currently scheduled through Sail Windjammer, Inc. She sails weekly out of Grenada for one and two-week cruises in the Grenadines.[21]

• Voyages of the R/V Vema
• RV Vema's science tracks of 1,225,000 nautical miles
• S/V Mandalay
• Sail Windjammer S/V Mandalay