When and if & Motor Yacht Marie

When and If is a yacht designed by John Alden and commissioned by then Colonel George S. Patton, a widely regarded American war hero. It was built in 1939 as a private yacht by boatbuilder F.F. Pendleton in Wiscasset, Maine. It was constructed of double planked mahogany over black locust frames and an oak keel. Double-planked with Honduran mahogany and Alaskan cedar, shimmering with bronze fittings and fastenings, and sporting a main mast rising nearly 80 feet above the water, the When and If is a shining example of the talents of John Alden, the Boston-based naval architect who gained fame early in the 20th century for his regatta-winning yacht designs. Patton had sailed a smaller Alden schooner, the Arcturus, while stationed in Hawaii in 1937, and upon returning to Massachusetts he met with the designer to convey his vision: more space, more headroom, and the fortitude for round-the-world passage. The boat, built by F.F. Pendleton of Maine on top of white oak frames, entered the water in 1939, and Patton puttered around the North Atlantic before journeying to Chesapeake Bay—to hide the boat, Salzmann says, and prevent it from being consigned to the war in Europe. “So, there you go: Patton’s boat is a draft dodger,” Salzmann says with a chuckle. After General Patton died in a car crash in 1945, the When and If stayed in his family until 1972, when it was donated to the Landmark School. Known until recently as Acania, the classic motor yacht Marie was built in 1930 in New York by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corporation (Consolidated Yachts today) to a design by John H. Wells. Built for silent film actress Constance Bennett, the yacht spent her first decade cruising the east coast of the States until 1941 when she was commissioned by the US Navy for service during WW II as a submarine echo finder. Skip ahead a few decades, and in 1995 a new owner rescued the vessel from a scrap yard in Miami and decided to completely refit the yacht while keeping as much of her history and original features intact and also re-christened her to once again sail under the Acania name. After a recent refit and change of ownership, the vessel now operates under the name Marie and is finished in a traditional navy blue hull color. 4K 60FPS Color/Contrast Edit Mavic Air 2s