End of summer got you texting a slew of sad face emojis to friends this week?

The good news is that September around these parts is usually pretty mild.

And if, like me, you’re someone who actually prefers to visit places like Newport, Block Island or Watch Hill this month, when as as rule they tend to be a lot less crowded, this is your time.

So, if you and your crew find yourselves on Bay Street in WH grabbing ice cream at St Clair’s (no one ever really says Annex), window shopping (some stores might just have major sales going on for Labor Day holiday too), or sitting down to cocktails and dinner at The Olympia Tea Room soon, why not impress the heck out of them with the deets behind that fantastic looking antique wooden boat that’s become a fixture in town?

You’ve probably spied this classic boat tons of times.

And wondered about it too. (Some have referred to it as “an icon of the harbor” or talked about how much they love seeing it.)

Well, it has quite the history!

First owned by financier John Hay Whitney (best known for being ambassador to the UK, publisher of the now defunct New York Herald Tribune, and president of MOMA) who’d had it built back in the 1930’s, the 74 foot luxury yacht was expertly restored in Maine during the early 2000’s.

It later made its way to Westerly, Rhode Island by way of the Ocean House’s owner Chuck Royce.

Nowadays, guests at the OH can cruise into town on it throughout the day during their stay at the WH resort.

How a-boat that?