On April 23, 1932, the schooner Brilliant was launched from the yard of Henry B. Nevins at City Island, New York. Built for Walter Barnum, the construction details were of the highest standard for a possible voyage around the world. Soon after being launched, the vessel entered the 1932 Bermuda Race and though the Genoa jib was lost on the first night out, Brilliant was not far behind when Highland Light broke the existing course record.

In 1933, Brilliant set a record in elapsed time for vessels of similar size when the vessel ran from Nantucket Lightship to Bishop Rock Light, England, in 15 days, 1 hour, and 23 minutes.

In 1936, one of the hardest Bermuda Races was run. In a heart-breaking finish, Brilliant was becalmed almost at the finish line, and the crew helplessly watched the Vamarie catch a breeze, come up from astern, and cross the finish line several minutes ahead. Brilliant was thus second over the line. Kirawan, a smaller craft, won on corrected time.

Henry E. Bodman of Detroit, Michigan, purchased Brilliant in 1940 and took the vessel to the Great Lakes. There Brilliant cruised until William W. Spivy bought the vessel in 1942. Mr. Spivy donated Brilliant to the United States Coast Guard for antisubmarine patrol work. In this service Brilliant operated out of St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, evidently spotting at least one submarine.

At the end of World War II, Brilliant, along with other yachts that had been pressed into service, was auctioned off. In 1945, famed America’s Cup skipper and race car driver Briggs Cunningham purchased Brilliant  and rerigged the vessel with taller masts and increased sail area with the intention of increasing the speed in light winds. After a poor showing in the 1946 Bermuda Race, Brilliant stayed more or less in Long Island Sound.

In 1953, Mr. Cunningham generously donated Brilliant to Mystic Seaport Museum to teach young people the art of seamanship. Brilliant was named “Sail Training Vessel of the Year” in 1997. Through program earnings and continued donations by friends of Brilliant, this fine schooner has been maintained to a high standard and is broadly admired.

During the summer of 2000, Brilliant raced with Tall Ships 2000 from Boston to Halifax and won First in Class and third in a fleet of more than 40 vessels. Brilliant went on to win the race from Halifax to Amsterdam, First in Class and First in Fleet. In October 2000, the American Sail Training Association voted Brilliant’s Captain George Moffett “Sail Trainer of the Year.” Brilliant has won the famous Nantucket Opera House Cup twice, in 1986 and 1997, and has won many other classic boat races over the past 50 years.

In 2007 the original teak deck was replaced after almost 75 years of wear. This was the first major structural project completed on the vessel since rerigged in 1945.

Since 1953, Brilliant has sailed the equivalent of five times around the earth, with more than 11,000 students setting the sails and steering the vessel’s course. Caring for this significant vessel and keeping maritime skills alive help Mystic Seaport Museum fulfill its mission of inspiring an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.

Brilliant is owned and operated by Mystic Seaport Museum and inspected by the United States Coast Guard. Though traditional in operation and construction, Brilliant carries modern navigation and safety equipment. The vessel has been described by WoodenBoat Magazine as one of the 100 most beautiful classic boats in existence and as “one of the best maintained and sailed classic yachts in the country — if not the world.”

Brilliant‘s excellent condition is a testament to the designers and skilled craftsmen who built the vessel to the highest standards at the Nevins yard in 1932, and to the careful maintenance the vessel has received ever since.