Flipping back through old photos of Marjorie Merriweather Post, author Allison Pataki admits she gets a little emotional when she catches the eye of the late socialite staring back into the camera.

If only Marjorie Merriweather Post were here to see this, I think, as our crew clamber up square riggings more than a hundred feet off the deck to unfurl 20 massive sails: loosening ties and ...