The Coronet Floats Again
The brothers behind Crew restaurants are refurbishing one of the Gilded Age's most celebrated sailing vessels.
Above: Brothers Alex and Miles Pincus aboard the Coronet in December.
Who in their right mind would buy a half-restored, 140-year-old wooden schooner that hadn’t been afloat for three decades? What would you do with such a vessel? Brothers Alex and Miles Pincus didn’t have answers to these questions when they set out to purchase the 133-foot Coronet. “It’s the most important historical yacht in existence,” Alex says. “We just knew we’d figure something out.” A prime example of Gilded Age luxury boatbuilding, the Coronet was commissioned by a Brooklyn oil tycoon who challenged anyone to beat him in a race across the Atlantic (he won). The Pincuses, who co-own the nautical-themed hospitality company Crew , have already rescued a small fleet of important historical vessels, turning some of them into restaurants (including Manhattan’s Grand Banks).
In the end they did figure something out for the Coronet, enlisting investors and fellow conservators so that last December the boat was transported to the Mystic Seaport Museum for final restoration. After that? “It won’t be a restaurant. It’s too good for that. We’re thinking maybe another race across the Atlantic.”
This story appears in the April 2023 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
Norman Vanamee is the articles director of Town & Country.
In the Magazine
A Society Magazine's Deception and Downfall
The Battle for the Soul of Skiing
A Visual Tribute to Sybil and David Yurman
Kelly Reilly & the 'Yellowstone' Succession Drama
T&C Visited the Real-Life 6666 Ranch Back in 1979
King Charles's Haven at Highgrove
How Rene Russo Defined '90s-core
A Husband and a (Second) Gentleman
The T&C Jewelry Wardrobe: Secret Watches
Are You There, God? I’m at Harvard
How to Smell Expensive
When Too Much Jewelry Is Just Enough
IMAGES
VIDEO