Sea Cloud!

I woke up and glanced out of the windows to the balcony and gasped.  Then I got a huge smile and turned back and woke up Frank.  You HAVE to see this!  I may have had tears in my eyes, too – she is that wondrous.

This is our 3^rd sighting of Sea Cloud.  We first saw her in Dubrovnik, Croatia when we were sailing there.  I was awestruck. 

Then we saw her anchored out off Taormina, Sicily – I could see her from our window.  She was just as magical.

Sea Cloud was built in 1931 by E.F. Hutton, for his wife, Marjorie Merriweather Post (of the Post cereal fame – also the woman who built Mar-a-Lago).  Sea Cloud was her personal yacht with a crew of 72. 

And what a history Sea Cloud has had!  She was even painted grey and used in World War II as a weather ship.  After the war, Marjorie brought her back to her regal state and continued to sail in her.  Eventually, at age 85, Marjorie sold Sea Cloud.  The yacht went through a few hands before falling into disrepair, all but forgotten under a different name in a boatyard in Panama. 

But a group of investors from Hamburg who loved classic ships remembered her, bought her, and made her seaworthy enough to get to Europe to return her to her former glory.  She sailed across the Atlantic and finally had to be towed into Hamburg Harbour, where she was greeted by thousands. 

Now she is a very elegant small cruise ship.  It is my dream to sail in her someday.

But for now – we settled for sitting on the balcony just gazing at her.  I took lots of pictures as she swung around her anchor. 

Then we saw a tender come in right to the little ferry dock by our apartment.  So I ran to the window to see what people who sail on Sea Cloud look like!  Just like us!  : )

Maybe someday . . . .

If you want to read more about Sea Cloud’s history – here’s a link: https://www.seacloud.com/en/sea-cloud-history/