Lot 196: Donald Demers (American, born 1956) The Schooner

Donald Demers (American, born 1956) The Schooner Yacht Atlantic, Racing Across the Atlantic, 1905 signed lower right: "Donald Demers, 2006" oil on canvas 36 x 48 in. (91.4 x 122.9 cm.)
Provenance with Quester Gallery; Greenwich, CT with J. Russell Jinishian Gallery, Fairfield, CT the present owner. The Atlantic was built in 1903 by Townsend and Downey shipyard, and designed by William Gardner, for Wilson Marshall. In 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany proposed a race across the North Atlantic and put forward a solid gold cup to be presented to the winner. Eleven boats including the Kaiser's yacht Hamburg and the schooner Atlantic skippered by Charlie Barr took part. The competitors encountered strong winds and gales which ensured a fast passage time and all eleven boats finished the race. Atlantic won, breaking the existing record with a time of 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds. The record stood for 75 years until broken by Eric Tabarly sailing the trimaran Paul Ricard. However, Atlantic's monohull record stood for nearly 100 years until was broken in 1997 by the yacht Nicorette completing the crossing in 11 days 13 hours 22 minutes. Atlantic deteriorated and sank at the dock in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1982, the wreckage was removed for the installation of a floating dry dock at Metro Machine Shipyard.