Newport is known as the yachting capital of the world, and it reached its zenith during the period between 1917 and 1946. Many of the nation's captains of finance and industry skippered legendary yachts that formed an argosy of splendor that has never been eclipsed. Vincent Astor sailed off to World War I as an officer on his own yacht, the Noma, contributing to the war effort, while Harriette Goelet, a determined widow, captained her own vessel and...