A boat named ‘Imagine’

Many are familiar with the story of John Lennon’s sailing trip to Bermuda and stay on the island in the summer of 1980. It relit Lennon’s creative spark, leading to recording songs for ‘Double Fantasy’ and ‘Milk and Honey,’ including ‘Grow Old With Me.’ However, the story of how that journey came to be is less familiar.

In early 1980, the Lennons purchased a beachside mansion named El Solano in Palm Beach, Florida. While driving around the Palm Beach area with his assistant early that year, Lennon saw a 41-foot sailboat named ‘Imagine.’ The question, of course, was the boat named after Lennon’s famous song?

His assistant contacted the owners, who were, in fact, avid Beatles fans. The assistant booked the boat for a tour around Palm Beach Island for the Lennon family.

It is a magical feeling being out on open water. The freedom. The awesome beauty of Mother Nature. I imagine that Lennon felt it that day, particularly coming from Liverpool with a seafaring father.

The Lennons subsequently returned to New York. In April of 1980, John went to their home in Long Island. Once there, he gave his assistant a note that read to purchase “a one (1) sail-sailboat – i.e., the ‘dumbest’ and simplest.”[1] Lennon intended to learn how to sail.

To me, there is something prophetic about Lennon writing the song ‘Imagine,’ inspiring a couple to name their sailboat the same, and then a trip on that same boat inspiring Lennon to become interested in sailing, which changed the course of his life. Imagine.

Image generated by AI.

[1] Womack, Kenneth. John Lennon 1980 – The Last Days in the Life. Omnibus Press. 2020. p97.