 |
 Photo date: Aug. 11, 1894. |
According to the June 1898 issue of Outing magazine, steam yacht Varuna was owned by Eugene Higgins of the New York Yacht Club.
Amy Dehan's article "Tiffany's buffalo hunt loving cup" (Magazine Antiques, Jan. 2006) notes:
"Eugene Higgins (1860-1948) was heir to his father Elias's New York City carpet manufacturing fortune--an estimated fifty million dollars--and according to the society pages, he was not only the wealthiest bachelor in New York, but also the most handsome. Higgins sold the family business shortly after assuming control of it in 1889, which allowed him to devote his attention to more leisurely pursuits. He was a devoted golfer, cross-country rider, fisherman, hunter, coach racer, yachtsman, and fencer. In 1890 he won the American fencing championship, and his yacht, Varuna, named for the Hindu god of the ocean, was declared the most modern vessel of its kind. A celebrated host, Higgins planned "sumptuous pleasure campaigns" in advance of each season for his elite circle of friends, and his town house at Fifth Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, and country estate in Morristown, New Jersey, were regarded as "meccas of high society." ...
"The Varuna was wrecked off the coast of Madeira on November 17, 1909, and although all but one of the crew was saved none of the contents survived."
(For more, see http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1026/is_1_169/ai_n16068356/pg_1 )