From Yacht to Not and Back Again – Sea Cloud’s Journey Exhibited at Hillwood

Setting Sail: The Story of Sea Cloud is the story of the multiple “lives” of what was once the world’s largest sailing yacht. Its remarkable journey is shared through documents, photographs, models, decorative arts, paintings, and more, currently on view in the Hillwood Museum & Garden’s Dacha building.

Built in the early 20th century by Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband, E.F. Hutton — and the exhibitions shows just how much painstaking detail went into her creation — Sea Cloud was the epitome of luxury during the golden age of ocean travel.

The four-masted yacht, designed and constructed in Kiel, Germany, was christened Hussar V, with exquisite cabins decorated with French antiques, luxury furnishings, and even fireplaces in several rooms! Post sailed extensively from 1932 onwards and hosted many notable guests.

But in 1942, Post and her now third husband, Joseph Davies, lent the yacht, now named Sea Cloud, to the United States Coast Guard. “Since I have no son to give to the war, I will offer the Sea Cloud,” Post said.

During WWII, Sea Cloud served as a weather ship and has the distinction of being the first ship with a racially integrated crew.

But after the ship’s retirement from military service and its restoration, Marjorie Post preferred air travel, and traded the ship in 1955.

She has had many owners, but Sea Cloud still survives today as a luxury cruise liner. Hillwood’s exhibition, on view through mid-June 2025, takes guests back through nearly 100 years of her history.