SPAULDING WOODEN BOAT CENTER
away at sea one day while waiting for his coffee. His new wife and a crewmember sailed Teepee back to the islands, and a short while later Tony married a Mexican national. This is where the story gets strange. "Sometime later, Tony was struck by lightning and died. By Mexican law, Teepee went directly to Tony's new husband and out of our family. She was sold a short time later. "It's unclear what happened to Teepee in the ensuing years, but in the mid-1950s, Bob Wian, founder of the Bob's Big Boy hamburger chain, was sitting at the bar of the Hotel Guaymas in Guaymas. According to the legend, Wian was having shooters of Double Eagle scotch when he looked 'Double Eagle' hasn't been spotted in up and saw a dilapidated many years. schooner anchored in the bay as a signpost for the hotel. It was Teepee. "Despite her sorry state, Wian fell in love with her, bought her from the hotel and brought her to his homeport of Newport Beach. She was completely restored, rechristened the Double Eagle and, after serving as the flagship of his fishing fleet, became his personal yacht. Bob Sloan, a well known and respected Newport Beach sailor, became the captain. "Wian had friends in Hollywood. So after the film The Wackiest Ship in the Army, starring Jack Lemmon, became a success, they decided to make a television series of the same name, but starring Jack Warden and Gary Collins. The movie had been shot in Hawaii using the schooner Fiesta, but Double Eagle was used in the television show, and appeared in every episode. "Skipper Sloan so fell in love with the schooner that he and his wife Monica built their own 70-ft schooner Spike Africa along Double Eagle's lines. She became well known up and down the West Coast. "The story then gets hazy again. Wian apparently sold or gave Double Eagle to a man named Kenny Thorell, after which I lost her trail. Some rumors say Double Eagle was later involved in smuggling, others say she has been seen in the Bahamas. "As I write this I'm in my mid-40s and I suppose some of my grandfather's inventiveness rubbed off on me. I make my living as a toy inventor, and my wife and I co-invented the Furby toy that was the big craze in ’98 and ’99. We’re still inventing toys, but looking to possibly retire on a ship of our own someday. It's too much to hope for that I’ll find my grandfather’s schooner, but it’s a great hunt and a wonderful dream." That's how my brother-in-law's report went. If anybody knows anything about Double Eagle, I'd sure like to hear about it. I can be reached at brianabreen@gmail.com. Briana Breen San Francisco
COURTESY DOUBLE EAGLE
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W W W . S PA U L D I N G C E N T E R . O R G Page 70 •
Latitude 38
• September, 2013
In a typical month, we receive a tremendous volume of letters. So if yours hasn't appeared, don't give up hope. We welcome all letters that are of interest to sailors. Please include your name, your boat's name, hailing port and, if possible, a way to contact you for clarifications. By far the best way to send letters is to email them to richard@latitude38.com. You can also mail them to 15 Locust, Mill Valley, CA, 94941, or fax them to (415) 383-5816.