Commercial Harbor Briefly Hosting World-Class Vessel

WEST OCEAN CITY — A new, but brief addition to the West Ocean City skyline created somewhat of a stir this week with the arrival of the super yacht “Windcrest,” a 98-foot world class sailing vessel that pulled in to the commercial harbor for a few days en route to its home port in Newport Bay, R.I.

The super yacht pulled into the commercial harbor in West Ocean City early this week and immediately attracted the notice of residents and visitors to the area. Its towering 100-foot-plus masts can be seen from most vantage points in West Ocean City from its berth at the near the foot of the harbor. In fact, the masts are topped with red beacons to alert low flying aircraft.

The “Windcrest” is a 98-foot ketch built and developed by Hodgdon Yachts, based in East Boothbay, Maine, and designed by the Fontaine Design Group of Portsmouth, R.I. The vessel reportedly cost $16 million and is owned by Tristam Colket, Jr. and his wife, Ruth, heirs to the Campbell Soup Co. and its subsidiaries. The mainsail depicts the iconic Campbell Soup logo.

It accommodations include two crew cabins, two guest cabins and an owner’s cabin. The huge salon includes a dining area for six and the pilothouse holds the navigation area along with a bar and a second dining area.

According to a source who toured the vessel this week, it also has a spa and gym aboard along with walk-in refrigerators and freezers, allowing the “Windcrest” to stay at sea for weeks at a time. Everything aboard the vessel is automated, from the operation of the sails to its many amenities.

Since its launch in July 2006, the “Windcrest” has become a fixture on the international and national sailing yacht racing scene, placing in many events up and down the East Coast and throughout the Caribbean.

According to a crewmember, the vessel is en route to its home port in Newport, R.I. and is biding its time in Ocean City until a vast low pressure system moves off the Atlantic coast. A crewmember said the “Windcrest” could be pulling out of the West Ocean City harbor as soon as this weekend.