Dennis Wilson, founder of the Beach Boys, has always felt that the land, with it's natural and manmade boundaries, restricts not only his personal lifestyle but also his creativity. "The only place I can really feel free," he says, "is the sea." His first boat was a seventeen-foot Tahiti runabout, but it wasn't until 1968, when he bought a twenty-five-foot cabin cruiser, that he was able to take up residence on board a ship. He's lived on his present yacht, a fifty-foot twin-masted ketch named the Harmony, since 1976.
The Harmony was built in Japan by the Azuma Boat Company for George T. Folster, a New Englander whose ancesters had sailed the Pacific in the days of the great whaling ships. The craft was christened Watadori ("Bird of Passage"), and the theme set by the original name was reflected on the carving of the bird under the bowsprit, as well as in the handcarved designs in the cabinetwork below decks. Starting from blueprints drawn up by an American yachtsman, the craft was built from materials from all over the world: the wood includes teak from Burma, mahogony from the Philipines, and camphorwood from Formosa; the sails were imported from England; the brass fittings were made in Scotland.
The Harmony, which has Marconi rigging, was not built for racing, but she is a fleet ship nonetheless. She was the first yacht ever to make a nonstop under canvas from Japan, a feat that was accomplished during a perilous forty-seven-day voyage, across five thousand miles of open sea, in the summer of 1952. On the voyage, she covered an average of a hundred miles a day; her best run was 158 miles in one day. Although the vessel has now put such long voyages behind her, previous owners have taken her on extensive cruises, and Wilson has sailed her to Catalina, northern California, and the Baja peninsula of Mexico.
The Harmony is as well suited to full-time living as she is to sailing. Her sixteen-foot beam lends an air of spaciousness and comfort to the area below decks, and the large aft cabin has a sunny, open atmosphere thanks to four large plate glass windows. Wilson has made very few changes in the fittings since buying the Harmony, although the interior reflects his own personal touches: big, comfortable pillows; Oriental and fur rugs; and, of course, an electric piano, drums, various percussion instruments, and an extensive collection of recording equipment. "Whenever the mood is upon me," he says, "I can capture the feeling. My greatest passion, after my music, is the sea. I love its mystery, its high adventure, and its peacefulness. It's the only place I can truly relax."
Musical Houses © 1980
