Coronet is a 131′ wooden-hull schooner yacht built for oil tycoon Rufus T. Bush in 1885. It is one of the oldest and largest vessels of its type in the world, and one of the last surviving grand sailing yachts of the 19th century. After numerous owners, including a religious cult, and suffering decades of neglect, the schooner underwent more than a decade of restoration at Newport, Rhode Island’s The International Yacht Restoration School. Now, the classic yacht is being moved from Newport to Mystic Seaport Museum‘s Henry B du Pont Preservation Shipyard in Mystic, CT to complete the restoration.

A brief history of the Coronet

Launched in 1885, the Coronet was one of the most elegant sailing yachts of her day featuring a marble staircase, stained glass doors, mahogany paneled staterooms, and a piano in the main salon.  She was also well-known as a successful ocean racer.  Coronet was designed by William Townsend and built for Rufus T. Bush by the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn.

After Rufus Bush’s death in 1890, Coronet passed through six owners before being purchased in 1905 for $10,000 by The Kingdom, a religious organization founded by Frank Sandford.  The Kingdom was an apocalyptic Christian sect and Sanford identified himself with the biblical Elijah and David.  

With a crew of thirty, Sandford circumnavigated the globe on Coronet.  The intent was to spread the message of the group and yet, strangely, no one went ashore.  Sandford attempted to “subdue the world for Christ” by prayer and to claim nations for Christ by sounding brass instruments as they passed by the shores.

The voyage of the Coronet ended badly when Sandford listened to divine instruction to keep sailing, even after supplies had run out. Six crew members died of scurvy and Sandford was sent to prison for manslaughter.

After the voyage, The Kingdom kept the yacht moored at Portland, Maine, and owned her until 1995, when she was acquired by the International Yacht Restoration School. Restoration work started in 2010.

Mystic Seaport Museum statement from Facebook

More Shipyard news! Mystic Seaport Museum’s Henry B du Pont Preservation Shipyard is preparing to receive a massive restoration project later this month. Coronet, one of the oldest and largest vessels of its type in the world, and one of the last grand sailing yachts of the Gilded Age, will be relocating to Mystic to complete a restoration begun in 2010. The hauling process is proving to be an impressive undertaking in and of itself, as the vessel is currently on dry dock and indoors at IYRS School of Technology & Trades in Newport, Rhode Island.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Coronet will be moved from dry dock at IYRS and hauled to the Museum in a complex and meticulously planned series of events. The building where Coronet currently resides is being dismantled to allow for a 1000-ton floating crane to access the vessel. Coronet will then be lifted from the former building site to make the journey from Newport to Mystic on an eight-hour trip that will wind past the Mystic Bascule Bridge and up the Mystic River to the Shipyard. Coronet will reside there until restoration is complete, a process that is expected to take approximately three years.