David Crosby’s “Mayan”

[GordMay]

David Crosby, of the Byrds & Crosby Stilles Nash & Young fame, is selling his 59' Alden 356-B Centerboard Schooner, “Mayan”.
Goto:
David Crosby To Sell Inspirational Yacht - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog

See the listing:
1947 Alden 356-B Centerboard Schooner Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

See also: “Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography”
by Dave Zimmer & David Crosby
Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography ... - Google Book Search

[gonesail]

that's a heap of money for a 60 year old boat ... but sure is pretty.

[Randy]

It is a beautiful boat, it was the highlight of our trip through the SantaBarbara marina even though there were bigger more yachty type boats around. I hope whoever buys it takes as good care of it, uses it and appreciates what has been put into it while David's had it.

[Ram]

lot of money ..but all the planking was replaced and 70% of the ribbing - so its really a new boat

[David M]

Very nice. She looks like she has been well taken care of. I could easily see a wealthy David Crosby fan buying her for one million.

[anotherT34C]

Why is he selling? Too old to handle her? I can't read the article, my lab's computer spooks flagged it as 'adult'.

[Ram]

Veteran rocker David Crosby has put his beloved yacht, The Mayan, on the market. The boat, which Crosby bought in 1968, inspired him to write Crosby, Stills & Nash tunes "Wooden Ships" and "Lee Shore".
Crosby admits it'll be tough to let his boat go: "She's just scrumptious."

He says, "After 40 years of sailing my Alden Schooner, and writing many of my best songs aboard her I have reached the point where I must let her go."

The Mayan is on the market for $1 million.

[Celestialsailor]

I was amazed he was able to hold onto her during his darker times. I'm sure when he says "I have reached a point where I must let her go", it might be financially. Hopefully she will go to a new husband that will treat her well.

[SV Someday Came]

Maybe it is just just as simple as having a harder time finding fit crew. I berthed next to her sister/cousin for two years (Dirigo II; website with that name) and I have crewed on that Alden design. I can tell you, raising that main and sweating those lines is not easy work at my age -- and I know he is older than me!

[Ram]

Maybe he wants a little alone time - perhaps a boat he can handle himself ?

[roverhi]

IIRC, David is on his second liver transplant. That could have something to do with his selling the boat. The other is maintaining and sailing such a large boat. It's not something that you just bop down to the dock on the spur of the moment and get underway. He's owned the boat for a very long time and managed to hang on to it while losing most of his other possession including his house in Marin. He did a circumnavigation in the '90s aboard Mayan.

Aloha
Peter O.

[Jerry Woodward]

I was surprised to see that the Mayan is only 59'.

From the classic Steven Stills song Southern Cross:
"We got eighty feet of the waterline, nicely making way"

Were they on a different boat? I can't find any evidence for this.
Did he use artistic license? Probably.

It is amusing that the Wiki article on CSN describes the Mayan as an 80' boat.

[SV Someday Came]

Maybe it was written on a 40' boat and the two sides of the hull = 80 feet. Anyways, that has always been my theory.

Every time I have heard that song, I wonder the same thing: What boat was that referring to? Truly an 80 footer?

[Slinger]

Crosby did not write 'Southern Cross.' Steve Stills did, with two other guys. Supposedly, neither Crosby nor Nash were even there when the studio version was recorded. Stills was never a sailor, though one would suppose that he went out with Crosby on Mayan a few times. So maybe the boat was at least partial inspiration for the song, which to my ear is the best sailing-inspired top 40 hit ever.

[stevensc]

From wikipedia, so it could or not be true.

"Southern Cross" is a song written by Rick Curtis, Michael Curtis, and Stephen Stills, and performed by American rock band Crosby, Stills and Nash, released in 1982 on the album Daylight Again. Neither David Crosby nor Graham Nash however, sang or played an instrument on this top 40 hit.
The meaning of the song is disputed. The song may refer directly to the constellation known as the Crux or may refer to the sailing ship "The Southern Cross" that ran the America's Cup in 1974. The ship was named after the Crux"

I was surprised to read David Crosby did not sing or play an instument on the recording (Before reading this threadI would have bet a lot that he wrote and sang the song! maybe it saved me some money in the future) It is one of my all time favorites and included in my "boat music selection" while I'm onboard.
It is sad that he'll be giving her up, I guess that time will come for all of us.
Steve