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One of a series known as the "Newport 30s," Hera was a 30' fin keel yacht built by the Herreshoff Company for owner Ralph N. Ellis in 1896. Ellis was a well-known New York yachtsman and a member of the New York Yacht Club since 1882. In 1913 Ellis purchased an even greater Herreshoff boat, the NY50 Iroquois II. He also served as part of the afterguard on Constitution, together with its designer Nat Herreshoff.
The paddlewheel steamer "General Slocum" appears in the background of photograph #61b, just to the right of Hera. According to Wikipedia, the steamer was "launched in 1891. It caught fire and burned to the water line in New York's East River on June 15, 1904. More than 1,000 people died in the accident, making it New York City's worst loss-of-life disaster until the September 11, 2001 attacks." For more information on the General Slocum, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Slocum.