CHAPTER 



9 



^ When we launched a fifty-four- foot cruiser in Bay 

 Head, New Jersey, as a successor to the Explorer, 

 trumpets sounded, champagne corks popped and Sports 

 Illustrated magazine announced in headlines, "Uncle 

 Lou Builds His Dream Boat." Eugenie VIII was the 

 name Lou chose for the new craft, over an objection 

 which stemmed not so much from modesty as from the 

 fact that all those Roman numerals did nothing to con- 

 ceal my age. Actually, in naming the sixteen boats he 

 has built since 1929, Lou has used my name only half 

 the time, so I suppose I should be grateful. 



To Lou Eugenie VIII represents thirty years of 

 dreams, but for me it has not yet taken the place of the 

 Explorer, Admittedly, the Explorer was a smaller boat; 



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