Lamont Geological Observatory
What was the operator of SV Mandalay from 1953 to 1981?
SV Mandalay The sailing vessel Mandalay is a three-masted schooner measuring at the waterline , with an almost indestructible Danish wrought iron hull . It was built as the private yacht Hussar ( IV ) , and would later become the research vessel Vema , one of the worlds most productive oceanographic research vessels . The ship currently sails as the cruising yacht Mandalay in the Caribbean . E.F . Huttons luxury yacht , Hussar IV . Designed by Cox & Stevens and built in 1923 by Burmeister & Wain in Copenhagen for E . F . Hutton and his wife Marjorie Merriweather Post , the 585-ton luxury yacht Hussar ( IV ) , had an iron-hull and represented the epitome of maritime luxury and glamour in her class . Interiors were designed by William Baumgarten & Co of New York , and was the first American firm to do the interior decoration of a ship abroad . Upon her completion in Denmark , King Christian X of Denmark was invited to inspect the ship prior to its maiden crossing to New York . It was one of the fastest yachts , breaking the transatlantic record in 10 days , 21 hours . The yacht was affiliated with the New York Yacht Club , and spent the winters in the Florida Keys with frequent guests Billie Burke , along with Florenz Ziegfeld who Hutton liked to deep sea fish with . Norwegian yacht , Vema . In the late 1920s the Huttons decided they wanted a larger yacht , so they commissioned the construction of the Hussar ( V ) ( later Sea Cloud ) . The Hussar IV was put up for sale in September 1930 , and eventually sold to Norwegian shipping magnate , G . Unger Vetlesen and his wife Maude Monell and renamed Vema , a combination of Vetlesen and Maude . The Vetlesens spent many pleasurable days at sea . U.S . WWII Service . During World War II , Maude Monell donated Vema to the American war effort . The vessel was put into service as a merchant marine cadet training ship . The Vema was first put to use patrolling coastal waters for the US Coast Guard . She served as a barrack and a training ship for the United States Merchant Marine . Assigned to the US Maritime Service Training Station on Hoffman Island , her sailing area was listed as 14,000 sqf . After the war she was abandoned off Staten Island until Louis Kenedy , a captain from Nova Scotia , salvaged the vessel . LDEO leased the vessel in 1953 and soon bought her for $100,000 . Research Vessel Vema . Vema started circling the globe as the first of the Lamont Geological Observatory research vessels ( now the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory [ LDEO ] ) , a research unit of Columbia University. . Displaying a black hull , she was used to collect samples of seawater and sediment cores , measure currents and heat flows , perform underwater photography and seismic studies , and map out ocean floors . The work on the ship helped to confirm the continental drift theory . By the time of her retirement in 1981 , the Vema had collected data on a record track of . Notable scientists who worked aboard the Vema include Maurice Ewing , Bruce C . Heezen , Ralph ( Ralphy ) Roessler , J . Lamar Worzel , Jack Nafe , Frank Press , and Walter Pitman , all of whose work was greatly facilitated by Marine Technical Coordinator Robert Gerard , who was responsible for the fitting and refitting of LDEO marine research vessels from the Vema through her successors , the Conrad , Eltanin , and , including the design and installation of numerous pieces of customized scientific measurement equipment critical to their research . Seafloor features . - The Vema was instrumental in the exploration of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge . The Vema Fracture Zone , crossing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at , was named for her . G.R . Hamilton aboard RV Vema discovered this feature in 1956 . - Vema Trench in the Indian Ocean is in fact a fracture zone named trench to avoid confusion with the Vema Fracture Zone in the Atlantic Ocean mentioned above . Vema Trench crosses the Central Indian Ridge at . RV Vema discovered it in 1958 . - During the seafloor explorations the Vema Seamount was discovered in 1959 ; the seamount rises from a depth of almost 5,000 meters to just 11 meters below sea level , and is located in the South Atlantic about 1,000 km west-north-west of Cape Town , at . - Vema Knoll at and Vema Gap at are located adjacent to each other , 500 km north of Puerto Rico . - The Vema Channel is a deep trough in the Rio Grande Rise of the South Atlantic at . Discovered during one of Vemas journeys , it has a depth of 4,646 m and a width of 18 km , serving as a conduit for the Antarctic Bottom Water and Weddell Sea bottom water . Other research vessels of the LDEO . - , 1962–1989 - , 1962–1974 - , 1988–2005 - , 2004- Cruising yacht Mandalay . The ship was refitted again as a cruising yacht for the Caribbean under the name SV Mandalay ( also Mandalay of Tortola ) with a sail area of > . The ship was operated by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises from 1982 until the operator went out of business in 2008 . Mandalay subsequently was purchased at auction , refurbished , and used as specialty cruise ship in the Galapagos islands off Ecuador by Angermeyer Cruises . The S/V Mandalay is currently scheduled through Sail Windjammer , Inc . She sails weekly out of Grenada for one and two-week cruises in the Grenadines . External links . - Voyages of the R/V Vema - RV Vemas science tracks of 1,225,000 nautical miles - S/V Mandalay - Sail Windjammer S/V Mandalay