Yachts of yesteryear

The schooner Wetona was designed by Hugh Angleman and built in 1926 by

Wilmington Boat Works for actor Lewis Stone, a member of Newport Harbor

Yacht Club. Her dimensions were 63 feet, 5 inches length, with a

waterline length of 46 feet, a beam of 15 feet and a draft of 9 feet, 8

inches.

Wetona was the name of an Indian princess character in one of Stone’s

movies.

Following World War II, movie actor Sterling Hayden acquired Wetona

for $14,000 and changed the name to Quest. He berthed her a Cabrillo

Beach and lived aboard with his wife and baby son. He sold her to Dr.

Howard F. Murphy of Newport Harbor Yacht Club in 1952. Murphy returned

the vessel to its familiar harbor.

Quest was then rigged as a yawl. Extensive alterations were also made

at the time, including the addition of a doghouse forward of the cockpit.

About 1959, Quest departed Newport Harbor on an extended cruise to the

Mediterranean ending at Cannes, France. Subsequently, Quest was moved to

Viareggio, Italy, for several years.

In 1971, Quest was stricken from the yacht register after a useful

life of 45 years.

-- John Blaich, Corona del Mar resident, yacht historian and active

sailor.