SI Bredin Exp. — Society Ids, 
Ya c h t Na n i 
Fa pest e, Tahiti 
oept . 9 , 1956 
Dr. Waldo L Schmitt 
Head Curator, Dept, of Zoology 
United States National Museum 
Washington 25, D. C., 
W.L.S. 
Dear Dr. Schmitt, 
I shall do my best to answer the inquiries of your letter 
of August 16. In the event that more information is required, however, 
feel free to write again. 
I 
Obtaining a boat for charter in Papeete is difficult- There 
is no paucity of local vessels, but they are all scheduled for trading runs 
and cannot be lured into even a lucrative charter. Several months ago 
a French film company arrived a no tried to find a trading schooner to" take 
t n e .l; to Bora Bora for their filming. Also thev planned some scenes with « 
the schooner. But they co ild find none. They* ended up chartering the 
about ^ a 70 schooner belonging to my good friend Martin Vitousek, 
an ass t prof of math at the University of Hawaii. Thev had to 
11 
Fiesta', 
for msrly 
build on 
of the absurd high cabins such as one 
sees on local boats hxrjs 
Uy forward on the Fiesta ano paint the aft cabin white (over the varnish, 
jS/, 1 1 maxe vitousek s coat look more like a local trading craft. 
At first the government refused to allow the film company to charter an 
American vessel, but the director wielded influence, and finally arranged 
t by hiring a French captain and Tahitian crew (Marty, of course, remained 
toe real shipper). Marty made about A grand on the 6 weeks charter. The 
a natural for you (although Marty charges 133 bucks a dav) 
Fiesta would be 
out it wil-L. probably be chartered to Scripps Inst, of Oceanography for 
researcb the Line islands . Marty expects the final confirmation on 
h s soon. i Have told him about you, and if he does no charter to Scripps 
he may be available for you. 
transient 
There are no othsr A American yachts in port that would be 
-arge enough for you to charter, but there might be when you arrive. Charters 
° y Tbffy b q- k .f epin f everything on the S,T , pretending to be old friends 
tipper/ ano toereiore nonpaying guests on the island jaunts 
Th e 
knowledge that money exchanged hands should be known by only you and the ssxp 
captain . 
Now. that I have painted a rather bleek picture. I'll do an 
a b 0 u t vacs and give you a glimmer of hope. There is one boat in Papeete 
wnich you may be able to charter. It is the Mareva, about a 50 to 55 ' motor 
sailer. She is very well kept, roomy and comfortable. I bummed a ride on 
, ? e E onc 5 i-.oorea to Tahiti. The owner, whom I have never met, is Jim 
‘, 1 '“ ' jni0 * r:e comes to Tahiti infrequently. He leaves his boat 
in the hands of a friend, Preston Moore, owner of the* Yorkshire Insurance 
m ;nf apeete * irsston uses the boat Often, but I hear that he is leaving 
a j iti on f n extensive trip in a couple of months. Preston is apparently 
y ea eer to charter, although I'm told he once did for 153 dollars a day. 
1 have -sen advised by the Kellums (an American couple who have lived in 
and Preston 
“ -■ - -L. V, V au -L^cati UiJlti W liu Ci 
Moor ea ror >3 years and are good friends of the Mc.Conna ughey~ 
Moored) that the best. chance of success lies in your writing to McConnaughev 
ou might. begin your letter by explaining that you wrote to me fax on Moorea 
ano asxeo for information on available boats, that I asked the Kellums for 
acvlce and tnev suggested that you contact McConna ugh ley . The Kellums feel 
this wo Id be better than contacting 3W52sxxax$J5aX28 Moore (in addition to his 
a r pa rent apathy to charter) because the McConnaughev^ are enthusiastic about 
scientific goings-on. 
over 
