Built for Morton F Plant, heir to his father’s railroad fortune, ‘Nellie’ was one of a trio of yachts of the same design built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company between 1902 and 1903. The first of the 35-foot class was Trivia, commissioned by Harold Vanderbilt, and the other was Azor, built for J Malcolm Forbes of Boston and Naushon Island (as distinct from todays Malcolm Forbes magazine fame).
“My grandfather Capt. Robert Phillips was the navigator on the Nellie (Butterfly). She came in first on the Cape May Race, June 25th, 1927. 220 miles – time 37 hrs. 34 mins .05 sec. I found the story of the race in the NY Times archives. They had to hoist my grandfather up the mast at the beginning of the race due to the sails not unfurling – bad start – then they won. I have the formal pictures plus personal pictures of the boat and crew, my grandfather sitting on the boom. It appears he was the youngest crew member at 36”. Information courtesy of Jean Phillips
‘Trivia’ was lost in the 1938 hurricane but ‘Azor’ is in the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island. ‘Nellie’ was restored in New England, USA.
