WHEN AND IFyacht charter

WHEN and IF, the Alden schooner whose build was commissioned by World War II General George Patton to sail on a circumnavigation he didn’t live to take, has joined the Nicholson fleet.

The much-celebrated wooden schooner was built in 1939 in Wiscasset, Maine. Beloved for her looks, pedigree, and the guests and owners she’s carried, WHEN and IF can take 32 passengers on daysails. She accommodates six guests for term charters and is available throughout New England-Long Island through the summer and early fall of 2019. In winter, she shifts operation to Key West, Florida.

The design brief is one that has yet to be fulfilled.

“When and If was a new idea: a yacht which would maintain all her classic beauty and hold her own in recreational racing whilst being sturdy, comfortable, safe and luxurious enough to take a family on the voyage of a lifetime,” Patton wrote. “When the war is over, and If I live through it, Bea and I are going to sail her around the world.”

Patton died in December 1945 from injuries sustained in a car accident. The Patton family kept the schooner until 1972 when the General’s nephew, Neal Ayer, donated it to the Landmark school in Prides Crossing, Massachusetts, where she was the platform of a sail training program for dyslexic children. Patton was a severe dyslexic.

She was refit/relaunched in 1994 by Gannon & Benjamin in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, and was a familiar and popular summer figure in waters off Martha’s Vineyard. In winter, her then-owners took her south to the Caribbean. In 2012 she was refit by then-owner Doug Hazlitt, known for his restoration of the Alden MALABAR X.

Current owner Seth Salzmann worked on the refit for Hazlitt, purchasing WHEN AND IF from him in 2015.

Salzmann is busy; he’s also the captain of the schooner COLUMBIA, a 141-foot steel hulled replica of the Gloucester schooner designed by Starling Burgess and built in 1923 in Essex, Massachusetts. Dylan Salzmann, brother of Seth Salzmann, is the skipper of WHEN AND IF.

It’s the intention of the Salzmanns to ensure WHEN AND IF fulfills her destiny.

“Everything we do is part of a revenue-building program designed to make it possible for her to sail around the world at last,” Seth says.

WHEN and IF is available for term charters, regattas, and daysails of four and eight hours in Key West for winter season 2020.

Daysail maximum number of guests is 32; guests may bring food and drink. Coolers are provided with ice and bottled water.

Regatta Racing Fun: WHEN and IF can handle a crew of 12 for racing. Rates include six party/event/dinner tickets; guests must have overnight accommodation ashore. Prices included yacht delivery and re-delivery fees.

Photo shoot pricing:

Inquire within for more details.