Gretchen Williams ship figurehead





			Spirit of the Typhoon The yacht Typhoon was built in Baddeck, Nova Scotia at the boatyard of Alexander Graham Bell in 1920.
			The brainchild of William Nutting (Typhoon owner and editor of “Motor Boat” Magazine), Casey Baldwin Casey ( engineer for Dr. Alexander Graham Bell), and William Atkin (naval architect), the Typhoon was built in the spirit of the California clipper ship Typhoon which raced around the horn against the Raven and Sea Witch in 1851. Typhoon subsequently had many owners until 1963 when Kenneth E. Harmon, avid sailor and an employee of the Kennedy Space Center, found her in a very neglected state in Jupiter, Florida. Hence began a loving five year restoration of the vessel in the Lantana Boatyard in Lantana, Florida. The spirit of the Typhoon figurehead was created by well-known artist and sculptor Gretchen Williams of Indialantic, Florida. Fabricated from a single piece of mahogany, the spirit is not a man or a woman-nor is it neuter gender. It is a representation of a true living spirit. This figurehead has no defensive, aggressive features- the well-developed chest is unprotected, the arms are held back in trust and hope-the body flows and becomes part of the ship. On July 18,1969, her refit complete. Typhoon retraced her maiden voyage from Baddeck to Cowes, England to New York-exactly 49 years after the original voyage. $15,000. Contact Us