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ALS, three pages, 8.5 x 6, personal "ON BOARD ZACA" letterhead, July 15 (no year). Handwritten letter from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, sent by Errol Flynn to the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier identified in the letter as the "USS Lake Champagne," likely referring to the USS Lake Champlain. In the strongly worded letter, Flynn complains of damage caused to his famed schooner, the Zaca, by Navy launches operating in the harbor and demands reimbursement for repairs. In part: “While I was asleep this a.m., the enclosed letter was left aboard here by Mr. T. Crichton of the ‘Jack London’ lying astern of me. Reading carefully between the lines, it may be discerned I am not the only craft suffering damage to discourtesy from the Champagne. My signal from our foremast is still ignored; no response to my letter of protest. Your shore boat is still barreling by at damaging speeds, so that my topside paint is ruined by my two launches smacking up against the ship's side. I cannot move or take these launches aboard, having no power at present.
I hereby request you to replace my topsides paint and pay for the labour involved. If you choose to ignore this second protest, I will presume you are indifferent to any further measures I will take to protect my property — first of which will be urgent cables on behalf of myself and others in this harbour to the State Dept and the Navy.” Flynn concludes with a postscript: “I also request protection for my wife and family and ship against your marauding drunken officers – they were here again last night.” The reverse of the last page bears a contemporary memorandum in another hand, indicating that other harbor users had lodged similar complaints regarding the speed of the USS Lake Champlain's launches, lending support to Flynn's protest. In fine condition.
Accompanied by a tattered 22.5 x 15 British Red Ensign flag which, according to the consignor, once flew from the stern of Flynn's famed schooner Zaca. Family provenance holds that the flag was later presented by Flynn to a senior U.S. Navy officer who personally visited the vessel to address Flynn's complaints concerning damage allegedly caused by launches from the USS Lake Champlain and the conduct of naval personnel referenced in the letter. The letter and flag have descended together through the officer's family.
Written aboard Flynn's beloved 118-foot schooner Zaca while docked at Palma de Mallorca, Spain, this spirited letter finds the actor protesting damage allegedly caused by launches from the USS Lake Champlain and complaining of what he describes as “marauding drunken officers” visiting the vessel at night. Flynn asserts that repeated signals and protests had gone unanswered, demands compensation for damage to the yacht's paintwork, and threatens to elevate the matter to both the State Department and the Navy if corrective action is not taken. The unusually candid correspondence offers a vivid glimpse of Flynn's fiercely protective attitude toward Zaca, the famed schooner he purchased in 1946 and cherished throughout the final years of his life.
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