HALCYON, No. 3
HALCYON
Concordia Yawl #3 (39'10"). Built in 1946 by Casey.
Current Status:
Lost at Sea, May 2011. More information in the article below.
Ownership Log: Purchased, Name of Boat, Owner, Port
1946, Halcyon, George A. Parson, Brooklin, ME
1984, Halcyon, Frank Walker, Ellsworth, ME
2007, Halcyon, Thorpe Leeson, Ellsworth, ME
2010, Halcyon, Ron Perry, Newport, RI
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Yacht Links & History:
Parson’s Escape: Remembering the Concordia Yawl Halcyon (published in the Sept/Oct 2012 issue of WoodenBoat Magazine by Ann Parson. Excerpt below.)
Waldo Howland, in his A Life in Boats: The Concordia Years (1988), was able to write of the Concordia yawls, "all 103 survive today." Sadly, that may be no longer the case, as HALCYON, hull No. 3 of this series of legendary cruising boats, is presumed to have sunk off the south shore of Cuba in May 2011.
Ronald Perry of Vermont, who had lovingly refurbished HALCYON and owned her since 2009, was sailing north from Jamaica, up toward the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti, on his way to South Carolina, when stormy seas apparently overcame the two. A Coast Guard helicopter deployed from the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay to search for a different boat in distress instead came upon the dismal sight of HALCYON, her masts splintered, her rig and sails dragging in water, but no sign of her skipper. When the CGuard returned to the general vicinity, HALCYON was gone. The Perry family announced last summer (2012) that Ron had perished at sea.
If HALCYON did indeed sink, rather than wash up on the Cuban shore, it would make my father, George Parson, who had her built in 1946, roll over in his watery grave near "George's Bell." The channel marker named after him sounds at the east end of Maine's Eggemoggin Reach, whose waters HALCYON parted countless times during my father's ownership. On land, he could be a mite gruff. Under sail, my father was the opposite: mellow, content, his eyes on the horizon, a smile on his lips-though God help anyone who dropped a greasy potato chip on HALCYON's teak. Read On.
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Featured in these issues of the Concordian [Incomplete list]:
Concordian #51 - 2011 Fall
If the information on this yacht is inaccurate or incomplete, please contact us.
