![aphrodite boat watch hill aphrodite boat watch hill](https://2000z7yqh3m1mlk432mteo6r-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Fourth-of-July-2016-9.jpg)
Worms had eaten the bottom and termites had chewed up the wood above the waterline. She had been in Florida for 10 years, where the sun and heat caused a lot of damage. What type of condition was it in then? Horrible. So that means we can get a ride too? That’s definitely possible, if you donate enough. The Royces also donate her for charity cruises. We do a lot of sunset cocktail cruises, lunches aboard and Stonington for dinner. What type of cruising does the boat do today? It’s used mostly by the family of the owner, Chuck Royce. I’m not sure what he was catching, but I can tell you this is not an easy boat to fish from. Roosevelt fishing from the cockpit on the Hudson River. There’s another good photo of the boat that I’ve seen which we don’t have on board. 50-caliber machine gun on top of the cabin. She’s painted gray with big Coast Guard numbers on the bow and a. This is after Pearl Harbor, when Whitney offered the boat to the government for service. Is that your favorite piece of memorabilia? I also like the picture of Aprhodite in the war years. Jock Whitney owned the boat at the time and invited her aboard. I’m told she had a birthday party on board. The New York skyline is in the background. Is it true there’s a photo of Shirley Temple hanging in the cabin? She looks to be about 9 in that picture, and she’s with a group of her friends. We get a lot of unannounced guests who want to hear her story. We also had a visit from a guy in his eighties who had been an engineer and maintained Aphrodite during World War II, when she had big aircraft engines installed. When that child grew up, she came to see the boat. For a few years she lived on Fishers Island, where she once served as an ambulance for a pregnant woman trying to get to New London to deliver her child. You can’t blame them for being interested. People travel by boat and car to see her some will even come walking down our dock, which is private.
![aphrodite boat watch hill aphrodite boat watch hill](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/99/bf/7b99bf100fc7d84bda99cab5db9f20ce.jpg)
We’ll come alongside a dock and toss a line, only to watch it drop to the dockhand’s feet because he’s just staring.ĭoes she get many visitors? Oh, yes. Is the attention a distraction? I suppose it could be for some people. She’s beautiful and maintained to the nines. How do you handle that? It’s humbling, but I understand why people are drawn to Aphrodite.