In the history of American sailing ships, there are few vessels that can compare with the disreputable story of the schooner Wanderer. In her career, from 1857 to 1871, Wanderer was stranded, involved in two collisions at sea, stolen not once but twice, condemned as a slaver, a pirate ship and a gunboat. The tale of this yacht is both disturbing and illuminates a dark side of American history.  Wanderer was built as a private yacht for Colonel John Johnson, a sugar plantation owner in Louisiana and also a member of the New York Yacht Club. The keel was laid…