Visiting the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, Rhode Island
On yesterday’s blog, I mentioned that I spent last weekend in Newport, Rhode Island, visiting my good friends, Holly Bannister and Doug Newhouse. It was an invigorating weekend of hiking, touring, and boating in and around that historic town. On Saturday, we had the great pleasure of seeing an amazing school called the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS). IYRS is an internationally known school, focused on preparing students to enter and excel in all aspects of modern boatbuilding. IYRS is a highly technical and deeply craft-oriented establishment that offers the most advanced technical training in Boatbuilding & Restoration, Marine Systems, and Composites Technology. The entire focus is on making and building boats and I have to say that I was totally impressed with everything I saw at IYRS.
1 This is Doug Newhouse and Terry Nathan, the President of the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS). Founded in 1993, the school made its home in two disheveled historic waterfront buildings on Newport Harbor, which were restored beautifully.
2 In 1995, this 1903 electric generating plant was restored and renamed Restoration Hall. This is where the school's core program of Boatbuilding & Restoration takes place.
3 My friend, Memrie Lewis, was also a guest for the weekend. Memrie is a landscape designer and has worked on the wonderful restoration project of Seaweed, the Newhouse's home on the coast of Newport.
4 IYRS is an internationally known school, focused on preparing students to enter and excel in all aspects of modern boatbuilding.
5 With campuses in the heart of historic Newport and Bristol, Rhode Island, IYRS offers the most advanced technical training in Boatbuilding & Restoration, Marine Systems, and Composites Technology.
6 Restoration Hall is an 18,000-square-foot space that serves as the school's main teaching facility.
7 Boats can be hoisted up, like this one.
8 All sorts of challenges are studied and met here.
9 IRYS was founded by Elizabeth Meyer and a small group of other passionate maritime enthusiasts, including maritime artist John Mecray and yacht designer David Pedrick.
10 The Hinckley company is one of the sponsors of the school and many graduates find employment in Southwest Harbour, Maine at the Hinckley boatyard.
11 More than 80% of the graduates get jobs upon graduation in boat yards, boatbuilding, designing, and restoring. Graduates if IYRS can be found in every level of the boating industry.
12 This is the drawing room where plans are studied for a work in progress. Almost every boat has design drawings on file somewhere. The plans are searched before a project is embarked upon, as it's very important to replicate the boats original shape.
13 The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company (1878-1945) produced some very classy and beautifully crafted sailing yachts and steam-powered vessels.
14 More restoration projects - Frequently, many of the boats restored here in the educational programs are purchased immediately by the public.
15 Terry Nathan explained that returning restored boats to the water is part of the IYRS mission and the school regularly advertises boats for sale.
16 The doors of IYRS are open year-round to the public. An elevated catwalk inside Restoration Hall allows visitors to watch IYRS craftsmen at work.
17 We left Restoration Hall to see where the schooner yacht Coronet is being restored.
18 Coronet was first launched in 1885 and was one of the most elegant sailing yachts of her day. Designed for crossing the ocean in luxury, she featured a marble staircase, stained glass doors, mahogany paneled staterooms, and a piano in the main salon.
19 I was impressed by the enormous size of this vessel and by the enormous undertaking of the restoration project. What a fabulous experience for these students and instructors!
20 Restoring a wooden boat requires a vast supply of wood and, whenever possible, older material is used.
21 IYRS is quite fortunate to have Coronet to restore, as many of her contemporaries have since vanished. They were sunk, grounded, or simply ruined by the ravages of time.
22 Coronet is a symbol of a gilded age, when a grand yacht was a symbol of great fortune and success, much like those grand Newport cottages along the shoreline.
23 After the tour of IYRS, we walked to the docks for a boat tour all around Aquidneck Island. We boarded a 60' Wilbur Yacht owned by the Chairman of the Board of IYRS.
24 The weather was crisp and clear. Like Hinckley, Wilbur Yachts are made in Southwest Harbor, Maine.
25 This fiberglass boat is trimmed with fine wood.
26 We passed by Fort Adams, located at the mouth of the Newport Harbor. It is the largest coastal fortification in the United States and from 1824 to 1950, generations of US soldiers were housed there.
27 Aquidneck Island is the largest island in Narragansett Bay, with a total land area of nearly 38 square miles.
28 This Victorian mansion is Hammersmith Farm, owned by Peter Kiernan. It was the childhood home of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.
29 A view of Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge. The house perched atop a rocky island is known as Clingstone or the House on a Rock.
30 Agassiz Mansion is where guests stay at Castle Hill Inn. It was once the summer residence of Harvard marine biologist Alexander Agassiz.
31 This is Castle Hill Light, built in 1890 and automated in 1957.
32 This is Rough Point, the former cottage of Doris Duke and is now owned by The Newport Restoration Foundation and is open to the public as a museum.
33 Miramar, a French neoclassical-style mansion is owned by David Ford.
34 The Breakers is perhaps the grandest of Newport's summer cottages, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt after the original Breakers was completely destroyed by fire in 1892.
35 Ochre Court, was once the summer residence of Ogden Goelet, banker and developer. The mansion was gifted in 1947, by Ogden's son, to the Religious Sisters of Mercy , who established Salve Regina College.
36 This beautiful field is part of a 100-plus acre farm owned by the Van Burens.
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Posted by: KLBrown | September 19th, 2012 at 12:24 am
Thank you Martha for the fabulous tour!! I thoroughly enjoy "Traveling with Martha" !!
Posted by: Gail Hildreth | September 19th, 2012 at 6:25 am
Thank you for the tour of International Yacht Restoration School Martha. How fitting they restored exsisting historic buildings to house the school! I love that they open their doors to the public for viewing these talented craftsmen at work. It looked like a perfect day for a boat tour around Aquidneck Island getting a different view of the beautiful mansions from the water, epecially the Breakers, it's just stunning! Thanks for taking us along Martha!
Posted by: Cindy F | September 19th, 2012 at 7:58 am
Very interesting.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | September 19th, 2012 at 8:08 am
Dear Martha:
How refreshing to read your blog about a town I live in and love, and IYRS which has a place in my heart. Your blog has invigorated my love for where I live and the treasures we have here. thank you
We are looking forward to your next visit!!
Posted by: kristin parella | September 19th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Hi Martha, WOW! How fun it is to learn so much about Rhode Island in the last blog, this new one, and the April 17th one! Everything you have photographed and commented about Rhode Island is fantastic! Sure wish I could be there personally, but you have provided absolutely wonderful tours for us to enjoy! Rhode Island may be a small state, but it is beautiful with gorgeous mansions, etc. Their International Yacht Restoration School in Newport is fabulous and how lucky those students get to attend and possibly get great work afterward! Every one of these photos is once again stunning and your comments are like reading history! Did your Hinckley boat come from there? How fun to see Memrie Lewis in photo #7 and you in photo #18-you both look great! The photos of the boats they are producing are fantastic! That schooner yacht Coronet from 1885 being restored is beautiful and huge! I am so impressed with all of these terrific photos you shared with us to enjoy! Can't wait to see you on The Today show in a little while! Hey Lynn, how nice that you commented on Martha's blog the other day! I love reading your comments on The Daily Wag everyday! Off to see The Daily Wag about "Pressing Yummy Cider!" Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | September 19th, 2012 at 10:13 am
Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the pics of the mansions, and the info about them.
Posted by: Vivian Price | September 19th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
I always thought boat building to be a fascinating trade but restoration sounds just as interesting and possibly more complex, meaning it must take a bit of research to first locate the correct design drawings and then find the right materials. I like to hunt stuff down and it’s a lot easier these days with the web. I often research things from your old shows and magazines on the web such as when was the first issue to have small Martha by Mail brochures included with the magazine. Anyway, getting back to IYRS, I think it’s great that they often use older wood. It seems that would make the yacht more authentic or maybe they just want to make use of the old wood. It was great seeing the show about your picnic boat being built by Hinckley up in Southwest Harbor, Maine. I actually viewed that again not too long ago. Today I was thinking maybe a graduate from IYRS secured a job with Hinckley and worked on your boat. Maybe you know that and I don’t! haha
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Thanks for showing us a very interesting part of Rhode Island and I would really enjoy seeing that coastline with those great mansions, especially Doris Duke’s. I’ve been curious about that one ever since I saw Bernard and Doris on HBO I think it was. Lots of stuff going on in Newport considering the population is around 25,000. Kristin Parella, commenter above made me curious about that when she wrote ‘town’ instead of ‘city’ so I looked it up. It’s definitely smaller than Boca and Martha, anytime you want to come down here to help ‘invigorated my love for where I live’, please do. You live in a great town Kristin.
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Nice spot on the Today show today or maybe I should say two spots since you were on Take 3 also. I happened to see that Jennifer Anniston ad yesterday and wondered the same thing. What exactly was that ad all about – so confusing. Have a great day. Trish
P.S. 17 more days until your cooking show debuts on PBS October 6th.
Posted by: Trish | September 19th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
So great to see the building restored, thank you for the pics!
Posted by: Dale Coykendall | September 19th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Restoration requires different energy, it needs intention and imagination I love to do the same when working with women to restore their outer beauty.
Posted by: Yolanda Russo | September 19th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
I have been able to watch The Martha Stewart Show on our Hallmark Channel until recently. Is the show moving to another channel?? My zip code is 34688. I was watching it on channel 240 with Verizon Fios. I haven't been able to find it on another channel?? Please let me know when the new season starts. I really enjoy the show and format. Thank you, Kathie Gilmore
Posted by: Kathie Gilmore | September 19th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Hello,
I told my husband tonight I wanted to go to a taping of The Martha Stewart Show for my 50th birthday in January - a long time dream of mine. I then searched for ticket info, and alas discovered it is no more!!! I am so depressed!! I just became an empty nester and finally have time to do some things for myself and now it's too late for one of my top to do's!! My ultimate dream is to visit your Bedford Farm. I was wondering if you've ever considered an annual tour for the public? I grew up and lived in some beautiful towns, but have lived in barren west Texas for the past 20 years. Your farm looks like heaven on earth to me.
I guess I'll have to cherish the last of your shows on my DVR that I'm still catching up on.
Good luck on the new show - I'll be watching.
Wanda
Posted by: Wanda Ricketson | September 19th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Amazing Blog. Thanks for sharing with us
Posted by: Online Auctions India | September 22nd, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Love your craft punches. I have neck and shoulder pain as well as carpal tunnel. I was wondering, could you make your beautiful punches electronic, much like an automatic stapler that you can just slide the paper in and it automatically punches. It would make crafting so much more pleasurable. Love your show, products, and watching you on HSN. I would love to try out a prototype:)). Thanks, Mary B. Sneed
Posted by: Mary B. Sneed | September 23rd, 2012 at 1:53 pm
I love it when you take us to all of these funky craft educational institutions. What a gift it is for them too - to be featured on Martha Stewart's blog. The only thing I would also love to have seen is how they archive all of those boat plans - but that's the librarian in me.
Is there any chance that Hammersmith Farms is open to the public? I would love to learn more about our former First Lady's childhood home. I went to the Chicago Field Museum's exhibit on her life and it was incredible. I'll never forget one of her pillbox hats on display. The tiniest of things, that hat - and the power, the incredibly evocative power of her style was all on display in that tiny little hat. It was amazing. JKO's knowledge of fabrics and how they could be architecturally constructed was extraordinary. If you can take us there in a blog post... that sure would be a fun read.
Posted by: Karen | October 20th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
We are a 61 year old chrome plating buisness...our niche market is antique cars but we are interested in expanding to the antique boat market.
Do you need our services ? or could you point me in the right direction for advertising for this niche market
Thanks
Bobby Baker
Superior Chrome Plating Inc.
justchromeit.com
713-671-0100
Posted by: Bobby Baker | January 15th, 2013 at 1:48 pm