JAVA, No. 1
Concordia Yawl #1 (39'10", Built in 1938 by Casey.
Current Status:
Owned by Nat Lemieux, Viareggio, Italy
Ownership Log: Purchased, Name of Boat, Owner, Port
1938, Java, Llewellyn Howland ,South Dartmouth, MA
1957, Kiowa, Willoughby Stuart, Marblehead, MA
1964, Kiowa, C. Andrew Perkins, Jr.Cataumet, MA
1968, Kiowa, Robert T. Clementz, Hollywood, FL
1973, Java, Z. John Nijitray, Miami Beach, FL
1978, Java, A. Tuck Elfman, Doylestown, PA
1986, Java, Mark Scott, Miami, FL
1987, Java, Weld S. Henshaw, Boston, MA
2015, JAVA, Josef Schengili, Monaco
2020(?), JAVA, Nat Lemieux, Viareggio, Italy
If the above information on this yacht is inaccurate or incomplete, please contact us.
—
Expanded Yacht History:
From the March 2015 issue of The Concordian:
MY GRANDFATHER & NAMESAKE, AND JAVA—THE FIRST CONCORDIA YAWL
By Louie Howland; aka Llewellyn Howland III
To understand the origins of the Concordia yawl, you have to know something about my grandfather and namesake, Llewellyn Howland.
In the early 1920s he was made president of the New England Oil Company. He was charged with creating a refinery in Fall River to refine crude oil being shipped up from Maracaibo, Venezuela, in surplus World War I tankers. The tankers had been acquired by the oil company from its parent holding company at huge markups, which greatly enriched the investors in the holding company. The tankers did nothing to improve the bottom line for the New England Oil Company. Neither did the grounding of one of the tankers, named the LLEWELLYN HOWLAND, on a ledge off Bailey’s Beach, Newport. Crude oil from Maracaibo put at end to all swimming at Bailey’s Beach that summer.
When the New England Oil Company failed, Grandpa was out of a job. He never worked in the corporate world again. What saved him was a substantial inheritance from a rich uncle—not a huge fortune, but enough to allow him to live well and to own a good cruising boat after years of making do with boats some of which were considerably less than good. (Grandpa referred to such boats as Whores of Babylon. Many used them. No one loved them.)
Ironically, this all happened just before the collapse of Wall Street in 1929, meaning that Grandpa had money to spend during the Great Depression, even as some of his fellow yachtsmen were jumping from office windows or selling apples on State Street. In fact it was a great time to be getting into the boat market. Grandpa had plenty to chose from and at low, low prices. He was also a thoughtful guy and a fine sailor—and a Buzzard’s Bay sailor at that. He had inherited the plain style values (if not the religious beliefs) of his Quaker forebears. He believed in simplicity of form and function. He had no interest in owning a yacht that required a large professional crew. What he needed was a skipper who was willing to chamois the brightwork, keep the boat in Bristol fashion, take it hither and yon, and do the heavy lifting. But Grandpa was in command. He was always in command.
The boat he came up with (after losing his beloved Colin Archer gaff cutter in the 1938 Hurricane) was a perfect example of what an able, thoughtful, physically fit, upper-middle class Yankee yachtsman entering his 60s would consider building in the late 1930s. He was not interested in putting on the dog. The joy of sailing was to do it yourself. A boat under 30 feet in overall length was too small for extended cruising. A boat of more than 40 feet in overall length was bigger than Grandpa needed. So there you are.
But Grandpa went much further than most people would have. READ ON: