If you are interested, the following link is to an 1899 Thomas Edison
movie clip showing Columbia winning finish for the Americas Cup.
http://www.open-video.org/details.php?videoid=4590



wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks for this tip!

I updated the Varuna page at http://www.jsjohnston.org/~varuna.html
If you can think of anything else to add, let me know!

We just added a few new images at
http://www.jsjohnston.org/browse3.html and
http://www.jsjohnston.org/browse4.html
Check out http://www.jsjohnston.org/~feiseen.htmlfor instance - What
was the Feiseen?

Thanks again!

C


thunder wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 09:23:18 -0800, Joe wrote:

Varuna:

Eugene Higgins (1860-1948) was heir to his father Elias's New York
City
carpet manufacturing fortune--an estimated fifty million
dollars--and
according to the society pages, he was not only the wealthiest
bachelor
in New York, but also the most handsome. (12) Higgins sold the
family
business shortly after assuming control of it in 1889, which
allowed him
to devote his attention to more leisurely pursuits. (13) He was a
devoted golfer, cross-country rider, fisherman, hunter, coach
racer,
yachtsman, and fencer. In 1890 he won the American fencing
championship,
and his yacht, Varuna, named for the Hindu god of the ocean, was
declared the most modern vessel of its kind. (14) A celebrated
host,
Higgins planned "sumptuous pleasure campaigns" in advance of each
season
for his elite circle of friends, and his town house at Fifth
Avenue and
Thirty-fourth Street, and country estate in Morristown, New
Jersey, were
regarded as "meccas of high society."

Also, "The Varuna was wrecked off the coast of Madeira on November
17,
1909, and although all but one of the crew was saved none of the
contents
survived. "


http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...n16068356/pg_2