By the late 2010s, the generational cycle had turned again. The family members who had been most active in Yankee’s care were aging. John McNeill and Jon Price — both now in their eighties — were the last two people actively responsible for the vessel.

Around 2019–2020, ownership of Yankee was transferred to the West Coast Seafaring Society (WCSS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission of preserving both the yacht and the classic maritime skills needed to operate her. The founding document, drafted by Jonathan Price and others in May 2021, laid out the society’s educational goals, funding plan, and Yankee’s role as its flagship vessel. (Cross-ref to Appendices A — Ownership Timeline.)

Unfortunately, the transition coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Yankee had been halfway through her traditional twenty-year restoration cycle — with significant hull work completed at KKMI — when the pandemic halted the project. She was moved to a berth at Loch Lomond Marina in San Rafael, where she now sits without her rig, rails, or sheer planking. Her spars, a new set of North Sails, her rigging, and more than 600 board feet of premium Douglas fir are in storage. (Cross-ref to Chapter VIII — the previous KKMI restoration.)

In November 2025, John McNeill circulated an appeal to friends and former crew: Yankee needed new people. Two octogenarians were the last responsible parties, and $200,000 was needed to complete the restoration.