With excitement brewing over the Cother book, I went a searching and came up with a rather intersting item that is/was for sale:
FLYNN, ERROL & YACHT ZACA
Log Book of Errol Flynns Luxury Yacht 'Zaca from October 12, 1945 – December 5, 1946. Including the Ships Ledger Listing Payments Made to the Crew and Itemized Payments Toward General Supplies and Services Through March 15, 1947
1945 – 1947 – Standard ledger, 7 1/2″ x 12 1/8″, with 'ZACA in pencil on the front board for Errol Flynns yacht, 'Zaca with a carbon typescript of the ships crew list taped to the inside of the front board, hand signed by Errol Flynn in ink, indicating the name, place of birth, nationality, race, marital status, age, and station on board for fifteen men, with Flynns name at the top of the list as 'Master, married (at the time to Nora Eddington), age 37. Laid in is a counter check from the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, CA, made out by Errol Flynn in his hand and signed by him (twice – once on the front and, again endorsed on the verso), dated Oct. 27, 1945, in the amount of $100, with “S.F. re Zaca – Amazon” written by him in the memo field, and made payable to the California Bank in Los Angeles, with their endorsement stamps on the verso. Coincidentally, the St. Francis Hotel was built by the Crocker family, the descendent of which, Templeton Crocker, was the man who commissioned the building of Zaca. The log / ledger itself includes information spanning approximately a year and a half, from October 12, 1945 – March 15, 1947 indicating various details related to a relatively extensive refitting in San Francisco, crew activities, and repairs made to Zaca. The next to last log entry reads: “Wednesday, Dec. 5, 1945. Moored as before. 0.800 Bloody madhouse aboard. No further remarks.” Followed by: “? Dec. 5 / 1946. From Cocos Island to Gulf of Panama.” From there the entries are of related to the ships accounts – listing supplies, and payments made to the crew, ending on Mar. 15, 1947. The book is in very good condition with a few indications of use to the covers. The lovely Zaca was designed by naval architect Garland Rotch, inspired by the fastest fishing schooner ever built named the Bluenose. Rotch was hired in 1929 by San Francisco railroad heir Templeton Crocker, and took its maiden voyage in 1930, carrying Mr. Crocker and a few friends for a year long voyage around the world. Crocker went on to use Zaca as a scientific research vessel for trips to the Galapagos Island, the Solomon Islands, etc. Errol Flynn purchased Zaca, his 'dream ship, in 1945 after the war, during which time she had been requisitioned in by the U.S. Navy and renamed 'IX73 for patrolling duty off the California coast. Flynn had Zaca completely refurbished (as indicated in the log) and, as soon as she was sea worthy, took off with a group of Hollywood friends and a documentary film crew bound for Acapulco. Unfortunately, the crew jumped ship once they arrived, whereupon Flynn hired a new crew and rented Zaca to Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth to use in the filming of 'The Lady from Shanghai and the Zaca is well-featured in this film classic. In 1947, Flynn made his home aboard Zaca, in Port Antonio, Jamaica, sailing her to the Mediterranean in 1950, winding up at the Club Nautico in Palma de Mallorca, where he and his third wife, Patrice Wymore, lived on board. After Flynns death in 1959, Zaca remained berthed at Club Nautico in Jamaica, but eventually the estate negotiations broke down and Zaca was leased to English millionaire and playboy Freddie Tinsley who stripped her of anything valuable and abandoned her in the boatyard of Bernard Voisin in Villefranche. From there, the story goes that Zaca became a ghost ship, and was given an exorcism in 1979, which, apparently put an end to all ghostly phenomena. Zaca is currently owned by Roberto Memmo, who rescued her from serious deterioration and spent millions to rebuild and refit her. Her present home base is in Port de Fontvieille, Monte Carlo where she is dilligently maintained and made available for charter. With a DVD of the documentary by Luther Greene 'In the Wake [Attributes: Signed Copy]
[Bookseller: James Pepper Rare Books, Inc., ABAA]
— Karl
