Captain Warwick Tompkins at the helm of Wander Bird
Mocher described Tompkins as another of chose men, like Johnso n, who made one chink of rhe strength of silence and the forces of nat ure. Although he was "more ruthless than Irving in outlook, less good and gentle-he had his poetic side." He had absolutely no use for modern machinery on a sailing ship. You knew how he felt about ships, although he mighr not be able to say it so well as Robert Bridges: I cannot tell their wonder nor m ake known Magic that once thrilled through me to rhe bone, But all men praise some beaury, tell some tale, Vent a high mood which makes the res t seem pale, Pour their hea rt's blood to flouri sh one green leaf, Follow some Helen for her gift of grief, And fail in what they mean, whate'er they do: You should have seen, man cannot cell yo u The beauty of the ships of char my city.
knew existed-ships under sai l, long passages at sea, bunks, charts, swinging tables and incomprehensible sailing talk. Afterwards, she returned to Paris to resume her studies in music and art, accompa nied by her mother. Exy became determined to sail in Wander Bird in the fa ll. Wander Bird was to sail from Gloucester to Havre, France, where Capt. Tompkins planned to assemble a new crew and return home by way of Spain, the Canaries, West Indies, and the Bahamas. It took from May to October to overcome obstacles to her plan, mainly her mother. Accustomed to a life oflu xury in Rochester, New York, Exy's mother dream ed of the day her daughter would marry the right hometown boy, buy the house next door, play a game of bridge every Tuesday and Friday, and listen to a littl e C hopin every Sunday for tea. Her mother was speechless-or almost speechless-at Exy's announcement that she planned to board Wander Bird in Havre. Mrs. Search tried to co nvey to her daughter the terrors of such an undertaking- the horrible people, filth , foul language, and physical discomforts. But within Exya stro nger fire had been ignited than anyone could have guessed. She pur her foor down. So did her mother. Exy shut herself in her hotel room and went on a hunger strike until she won her battle. Although still very much opposed, Mrs. Search did go down to the port in Havre that chilly wet morning to see her daughter off. Seeing the half-dressed, unshaven, bronze-tanned specimens that were to sail with her daughter in Wander Bird, Mrs. Search announced that there was no chance that Exy "co uld have anything to do with these impossible ruffians."
Irving and Exy Johnson aboard Yankee, 1937
(from "Ships" by Robert Bridges) Warwick was a skilled navigator and master m ariner. He pushed Wander Bird to give all she cou ld, cari ng for her with a certain exultant pride and joy. To see the "Old Man" w ith a strong wind on rhe beam and his little ship barreli ng along at ten knots, maneuvering in and out of a narrow harbor entrance, or in a gale that stretched every mental and physical fiber in his body, was to see a man fulfilled in every sense of the word. In the spring of 1931, Wander Bird was in Boston and the Tompkinses were planning an aut umn voyage to E urope. Gwe n Tompkins received a visit from a college friend, Exy Search , who was taking a break from her studies in Paris to visit home. Exy would later write: I was fascinated by the life the Tompkinses led, sa iling their schooner more th a n half of the year. My sea-going experience a nd knowledge were a perfect zero a nd one weekend aboard, even at anchor, introduced me to things I never 12
SEA HISTORY 129, WINTER 2009- 10