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Iconic yachts: Endeavour

The most evocative of the great British racing yachts of the pre-war era, Endeavour , the ‘Darling Jade’, is uniquely beautiful and one of the greatest yachts of all time.

Commissioned by aeroplane magnate Thomas Sopwith, Endeavour was drawn by Britain’s leading yacht designer, C E Nicholson, but Sopwith, consistent with his hands-on role as helmsman and his access to state-of-the-art aerodynamics, contributed substantially to her technical prowess. If the hull was Nicholson’s work, the rod rigging, wind speed and direction indicators and other firsts were those of Sopwith’s right-hand man, Frank Murdoch.

Endeavour ’s performance ahead of the 1934 America’s Cup was superb. British attempts to regain the Cup had long been thwarted but here at last was a worthy challenger. Then, as if destined to heroic failure, mismanagement set a course that would doom the yacht to defeat.

With some justification,  Endeavour ’s professional crew asked for extra money for the extended season they would serve but Sopwith refused. A brilliant amateur crew was formed instead and the challenge was back on course. The racing against Vanderbilt’s  Rainbow  was keen, but just as  Endeavour  developed a leading position Sopwith threw away the race series through poor tactics. Seemingly all difficulties had been overcome only for defeat to be snatched from the jaws of victory.

The aftermath was perhaps even worse for British yachting. Murdoch’s technical developments were too visible to be kept secret, and Nicholson, perhaps determined to save his personal prestige, gave a copy of Endeavour’s lines to the designer of  Rainbow , W Starling Burgess. With all the advantages so painstakingly developed now thrown away, the result of the 1937 Cup was in effect settled in the days that followed the defeat of  Endeavour .

The yacht raced for only four more years, with the last of them seeing her back in US waters acting as trial horse for Sopwith’s doomed  Endeavour II  challenge. However, while there she scored a win over the American Super J and 1937 Cup defender  Ranger  – an achievement no other J had ever managed.

For nearly 50 years  Endeavour  clung to a precarious existence. She and her younger sister were sold off by Sopwith and their lead keels were removed. Plans to  convert  Endeavour  into a cruising yacht fell through, as did a number of rescue attempts while she was laid up at various locations on the South Coast of England. The last of these saw her moved to Calshot Spit, and it was there that Elizabeth Meyer discovered her. She had not come seeking to  buy  Endeavour , just to see the supreme leviathan, but the yacht had found her saviour – and a hands-on one, too. The steelwork was carried out in situ before the project was relocated to the Royal Huisman shipyard, and in 1989 Meyer unveiled her achievement to an astonished world. She had succeeded against all the odds, and  Endeavour  was back, her original beauty fully revealed.

One of the original J Class trio, Endeavour like fellow yachts Shamrock V and Velsheda , is in continual development. The 77 year-old yacht was relaunched on 10 October 2011 having just undergone a major 18-month refit at New Zealand yard Yachting Developments, which included work to the yacht’s interior, deck strengthening, a new winch package, a new mast and sails.

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Endeavour, JK4

Launched: 1934

Designer: Charles E Nicholson

Image Credit:

Jens Fischer

Image Credit: 

Endeavour was designed for the 1934 America’s Cup by Charles E Nicholson and built at Camper & Nicholson’s in Gosport for Sir Thomas Sopwith. Along with Shamrock, Endeavour is one of the two remaining J Class yachts which actually raced for the America’s Cup. Indeed she came closer to winning the Cup than any other Challenger. Against Harold S Vanderbilt’s Rainbow, Endeavour won the first two races and was considered to be the faster boat. With better tactics Rainbow then took wins in Races 3 and 4. Sopwith protested against one contentious manoeuvre but lost and Rainbow went on to win 4-2. At home, one headline read, “ Britannia rules the waves and America waives the rules ."

After the Cup she raced successfully in England but was partially wrecked in 1937 after breaking a tow. Since then she has had numerous owners, refits and repairs.

Endeavour was fully restored by Elizabeth L. Meyer over five years at Royal Huisman and this initiative, and her restoration of Shamrock, stimulated renewed interest in restoring and building replica J Class yachts.

Endeavour was relaunched on the 22nd June 1989 following a refit with Dykstra Naval Architects and sailed for the first time in 52 years. Meyer organised the first J Class racing that September when Endeavour raced Shamrock V in Newport RI.

She had a major refit in 2010/11 with modifications by Dykstra Naval Architects with a new sail plan and deck layout, the work carried out by Yachting Developments in Auckland, New Zealand. That refit included a new deck structure, new rig and sails, a new deck layout, an engine room upgrade and a new crew interior. Fresh from refit Endeavour proved she has performance potential, winning the 2012 Saint Barths Bucket against Shamrock V and Velsheda.

Length at waterline

displacement

upwind sail area

spinnaker sail area

1999 Antigua Classic Regatta

Competed against Velsheda and Shamrock V

‍ 2001, J Class Regatta, The Solent

Endeavour wins against Velsheda and Shamrock V ‍

2012 St Barths Bucket Regatta

Endeavour wins ‍

2013 Loro Piano Superyacht Regatta, BVI

Endeavour competes

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• THE £100 CUP
• THE 1ST CHALLENGE
• THE 2ND CHALLENGE
• THE 3RD CHALLENGE
• COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN
• THE 4TH CHALLENGE
• THE 5TH CHALLENGE
• THE 6TH CHALLENGE
• THE 7TH CHALLENGE
• THE 8TH CHALLENGE
• VALKYRIE II
• THE 9TH CHALLENGE
• VALKYRIE III
• THE 10TH CHALLENGE
• THE 11TH CHALLENGE
• SHAMROCK II
• CONSTITUTION
• INDEPENDENCE
• THE 12TH CHALLENGE
• SHAMROCK III
• THE 13TH CHALLENGE
• SHAMROCK IV
• SHAMROCK 23M
• THE 14TH CHALLENGE
• THE 15TH CHALLENGE
• THE 16TH CHALLENGE
• ENDEAVOUR II

ENDEAVOUR'S STORY

Yves GARY Hits: 12805

Category: ENDEAVOUR

Fifteenth challenger for the America's Cup

The new boat of Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith is being built at Gosport from the design of Charles E. Nicholson, who drew the plans for the Shamrock IV and the Shamrock V. Ten experts in various sciences have been called into consultation on the new racer's construction. It will be called the Endeavor.

LONDON, Nov. 21 - The keel of the Endeavour was successfully cast at Camper Nicholson's yard at Gosport today.

LONDON, Dec. 13 - The firm of Ratsey Lapthorne of New York and Gosport, England, has begun to make the sails for the Endeavour. The Endeavour’s mainsail will be composed of Sudanese and Egyptian cotton, this fabric giving special strength and lightness.

SOUTHPORT. England, April 9 .- MAST OF ENDEAVOUR NEARING COMPLETION; The spar measures 167 feet in length, its maximum diameter is said to be only 15 inches.

PORTSMOUTH, England, May 8 . - ENDEAVOUR GETS FIRST TEST UNDER SAIL; America's Cup Challenger Gives an Impression of Speed. She spent six hours in the Solent, with Sopwith at the wheel. Mrs. Sopwith and Charles E. Nicholson, the designer, were aboard.

PORTSMOUTH, England, May 19 . -- Endeavour has joined the yachts of the Royal Yacht Squadron off Cowes for the Whitsuntide sailing. This does not mean it is there for racing, for T.O.M. Sopwith, owner of the America's Cup challenger, says he is not yet ready.

HARWICH, England, June 2 . - VELSHEDA RETIRES; ENDEAVOUR LEADS; T.O.M. Sopwith's America's Cup challenger Endeavour sailed her first race today against such worthy opponents as W.L. Stephenson's Velsheda, King George's Britannia and Shamrock V in the Royal Harwich Yacht Club's regatta, but the race was abandoned after the first round because of a heavy wind. It was declared "no contest."

THE RACES OF PREPARATION OF ENDEAVOUR

SOUTHEND, England, June 8 . - Endeavour Triumphs in 40-Mile Contest; Sopwith Receives an Ovation at Finish. Showing her real form for the first time, the America's Cup challenger Endeavour won a glorious race against four famous Class J yachts in the Royal Thames Yacht Club regatta today.

COWES, Isle of Wight, June 12 . - ENDEAVOUR LEADS VELSHEDA IN TRIAL; Cup Challenger Proves Liking for Light Winds in Race on English Channel. T.O.M. Sopwith's America's Cup challenger Endeavour beat the fast British J Yacht Velsheda by twenty-two minutes in the first of their trial matches today on the English Channel.

LYMINGTON, England, June 15 . - ENDEAVOUR AGAIN DEFEATS VELSHEDA. Endeavour won her second victory over W.L. Stephenson's crack yacht Velsheda today, finishing ten minutes ahead in a trial match sailed over a twenty-mile open-sea course off the Needles.

BEMBRIDGE, Isle of Wight, June 18 . - ENDEAVOUR DEFEATS VELSHEDA IN RACE. Endeavour, steered by her owner, T.O.M. Sopwith, and manned by a crew which is growing more machine-like in its discipline with every race, today beat Velsheda over a triangular thirty-mile course by two minutes.

COWES, England, June 21 . - VELSHEDA VICTOR BY 57 SECONDS; Gains First Triumph Over Endeavour in Fourth of Series of Trial Races. In the teeth of a strong wind and in heavy seas, T.O.M. Sopwith's Endeavour was defeated by W.L. Stephenson's Velsheda in an exciting race by 57 seconds over a twenty-eight-mile course on the Solent today.

FALMOUTH, England, June 30 . - ENDEAVOUR BEATEN IN FALMOUTH SAIL. Endeavour, T.O.M. Sopwith's America's Cup challenger, was beaten today by the all-steel Velsheda in one of the keenest races of big yachts this season. Velsheda gains 25-second advantage on first round and wins by almost three minutes.

July 7, 1934 . - ENDEAVOUR TAKES TRIAL. America's Cup Challenger Has Wide Margin on Astra. Endeavour today led the trial yachts in one of the final preparatory races before her departure for the United States to challenge for the America's Cup.

TORQUAY, England, July 9 . - Endeavour Is First in Final Trial Race; Will Leave for United States Next Week.

ON THE ROAD TO GLORY

LONDON, July 17 . - ENDEAVOUR TO SAIL FOR U.S. ON MONDAY; British Cup Challenger Is in Trim for Trip. Thirteen amateurs, all young ocean-going members of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club and the majority of whom own yachts, were signed today by T.O.M. Sopwith as members of the crew of the Endeavour, British America's Cup challenger, to replace the dismissed striking professionals.

GOSPORT, England, July 23 . - ENDEAVOUR LEAVES AS THRONG CHEERS; Warship Crews Aid in Tumultuous Send-Off - Royal Yacht Signals 'Best Wishes'. If T.O.M. Sopwith's Endeavour lifts the America's Cup her triumphal return can be but a repetition of her tumultuous send-off today.

Yacht Endeavour Leaves Ponta Delgada in Azores : ABOARD ENDEAVOUR, crossing Atlantic, July 29 (by Radio to The Associated Press) . -We left Ponta Delgada on Island Sao Miguel, Azores, 10 o'clock this day.

August 4, 1934 - "284 MILES FOR ENDEAVOUR. British Yacht, on Way Here, Reports a Fine Day's Run."

THE FINAL PREPARATION

MATTAPOISETT, Mass., Aug. 13 - T.O.M. Sopwith, owner of the English yacht Endeavour, challenger for the America's Cup, sailed on the new American Rainbow as a guest of Harold S. Vanderbilt, Rainbow's skipper, today. It was in the New York Yacht Club's special race here as part of its annual cruise.

NEWPORT, R.I, Aug. 15 . - Under sail for the first time in American waters, the Endeavour, T.O.M. Sopwith's challenger for the America's Cup, had a most impressive tryout today. It was the initial test of her new rig and her amateur crew. Both stood up well.

NEWPORT, R.I., Aug. 18 . - T.O.M. Sopwith's America's Cup challenger Endeavour and the American yacht Vanitie will begin a series of match races off here next Friday. They will serve to tune up the English yacht for the international match next month, and it will be the first time an American cup boat has been used to help out a challenger.

NEWPORT, R.I., Aug. 30 . - ANOTHER TEST SET TODAY Endeavour Again Shows Speed in Tune-Up Sail With the Weetamoe and Vanitie.

NEWPORT, R.I., Sept. 9 . - Endeavour, the America's Cup challenger, and Rainbow, defender, had real tests today in a storm-swept sea. Wind blows at more than twenty knots -- Vanitie accompanies Challenger and Weetamoe the Defender.

NEWPORT, R.I., Sept. 13 . - CUP YACHTS RETURN TO NEWPORT BASES; All Work Completed, Rivals Are Ready for America's Cup Competition.

The races for America's Cup 1934

Endeavour , the challenger of Royal Yacht Squadron, is confronted to Rainbow . Seven races disputed. One race canceled : time limit.

Rainbow beat Endeavour four Height races disputed. Three races canceled : time limit..

- 15 september, race off, time limit. - 17 september, 1st race, 30 miles, windward-leeward : Endeavour beat Rainbow by 2 mn 09 s. - 18 september, 2nd race, 30 miles, triangle : Endeavour beat Rainbow de 51 s. - 20 september, 3rd race, 30 miles, windward-leeward : Rainbow beat Endeavour by 3 mn 26 s. Endeavour avait 6 mm 39 s d'avance à la bouée. - 22 september, 4th race, 30 miles, triangle : Rainbow beat Endeavour by 1 mn 15 s. - 24 september, 5th race, 30 miles, windward-leeward : Rainbow beat Endeavour by 4 mn 01 s. - 25 september, 6th race, 30 miles, triangle : Rainbow beat Endeavour by 55 s.

AFTER THE CUP

1935 : Following the America's Cup she dominated the British sailing scene. Endeavour raced the 1935 British yachting season when Yankee visited Europe winning nine times against eight wins for Yankee.

1936 : Sold to Herman A. Andreae , the owner of Candida.

1937 : Endeavour, chartered by Andreae to Fred Sigrist and Philip Hall, made another passage to the US with Endeavour II. Skippered by Captain Ted Heard, it handed Ranger one of its two losses in 1937.

Towed across the Atlantic to Britain in September 1937, she broke loose from her tow and was feared lost. She was eventually found and returned to England where she was laid up at the Camper & Nicholson Gosport Yard and then towed to a mud berth in 1938.

For 46 years Endeavour languished through a variety of owners.

In 1947, she was sold for scrap to Charles Kiridge, saved only a few hours before her demolition was due by Richard and Renée Lucas. Twenty years later, they sold Endeavour to some Americans. In the 1970s she sank in the River Medina, Isle of Wight. The Maritime Trust took charge of it for a time before it was bought by Mr. & Mrs. Amos and Graham Jack. In 1979, they started a six year restoration project. Until the mid-1980s she was on shore at Calshot Spit, an ex-seaplane base on the edge of the New Forest, Southern England. By this time she was in a desperate state, with only the hull remaining, lacking rudder, mast and keel.

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JK4 Endeavour   /    J Class Sloop

Specifications

In 1984 American yachtswoman Elizabeth Meyer bought JK4 Endeavour and undertook a five year rebuild. Since the hull was too fragile to be moved and was miles away from any boatyard, Meyer had a building constructed over the boat and hired welders to restore the hull. Endeavour's missing keel and ballast were rebuilt, the steel frames and hull plating repaired and replaced where necessary, and a new rudder fabricated. The newly seaworthy hull was launched and towed to Holland where it was put on a barge and transported to the Royal Huisman Shipyard. There, the mast, boom and rigging were designed and built, the engine, generator and mechanical systems installed and the interior joinery completed. Endeavour sailed again, on June 22, 1989, for the first time in 52 years. Between 1989 and 1999 Endeavour cruised extensively and competed in numerous races, creating a wonderful spectacle In April 1999, history repeated itself when she was joined by Shamrock V and Velsheda to compete in the Antigua Classics Regatta, bringing in a new era of J Class sailing a sight not seen in over 60 years. Endeavour, Velsheda and Shamrock raced together at the J-Class Regatta for the first time in UK waters after more than 65 years. Endeavour won both regattas after close racing between the yachts.

JK4 Endeavour underwent an extensive refit again in 2010/2011. Dykstra Naval Architects were the Naval Architects responsible for the construction, sail plan and deck layout on a project that was carried out by Yachting Developments in Auckland. The refit included a new deck structure, new rig and sails, a new deck layout, an engine room upgrade and a new crew interior. Jon Barrett, who oversaw the yacht's first refit as captain at Royal Huisman in 1989 (which, incidentally, was also Gerard Dijkstra's firtst major J-Class refit) was project manager for this prestigious project that resulted in a "ready for battle" Endeavour.

Dykstra Naval Architects have gained over 30 years of J-Class experience and where responsible for the rebuilds of the J-Class yachts: JK3 Shamrock V, JK7 Velsheda, JK4 Endeavour, performance refit of J5 Ranger, the new builds JK6 Hanuman and JH2 Rainbow and J Yankee on the drawing board. To keep the J-Class fleet and races alive and to encourage new build yachts to enter the field, new JCA maximum performance rules have been developed, including allowing aluminum as building material. The new rule is a VPP (Velocity Prediction Program) based rating system which puts limits to the performance. This new rule has been developed by the Dykstra Naval Architects office and the Wolfson Unit in Southampton. The aim of the JCA, the Dykstra team and the rule is to bring fair & close racing to the fleet and to give all designs a chance of winning (on a handicap based system). Over the years the Dykstra team gained an enormous amount of hands-on information by racing on all the Dykstra J's in the current fleet. J-Class Association

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J Class Sailing Yacht Endeavour Completes Refit

By Ben Roberts

Originally launched in 1934 by Camper & Nicholsons shipyard, the iconic J Class sloop Endeavour was proudly launched by Yachting Developments at their facilities in Auckland last week after an extensive 18 month refit project.

The 39m sailing yacht Endeavour was built in 1934 for Sir T.O.M Sopwith, a man who had a vision of competing in a wide variety of high-class regattas with an unrivalled sailing yacht. Since her launch, Endeavour has gathered a formidable history and has passed through a number of dedicated sailing enthusiasts over her 46 years.

Now, this stunning yacht has emerged from the Yachting Developments shipyard a new superyacht and a formidable racing opponent. Absolute care has been taken throughout the refit to preserve as much of the vessel as practical while taking advantage of twenty first century sailing systems, enhanced performance and improved functionality.

The comprehensive refit includes removal and replacement of the complete weather deck including all deck equipment. Steel deck framing has also been relocated to accommodate the new load paths of the new deck layout.

There has been a long term philosophy of longevity and serviceability throughout the refit ensuring Endeavour will remain the historic icon she is today for future generations.

Naval Architects, Dykstra & Partners, were reportedly instrumental in the design of the new sail plan, deck layout, and structural engineering. Alongside the structural changes, the main engines, generators, hydraulic systems, winches, electrical system, electronics, bow thruster and air conditioning have been replaced or upgraded.

Accommodation forward of the mast has been reconfigured by John Munford and Adam Lay, whilst the new interior design has been built by the in-house tradesmen of Yachting Developments.

Yachting Developments Managing Director Ian Cook describes working on Endeavour as “ an honor, she is something special, everyone involved has put their heart and soul into the refit, I think the care, and passion is very evident in the end result” .

After completing her final sea trials, Endeavour will have one last tune up on Auckland Harbor before being shipped to the Northern Hemisphere in February to compete in the 2012 J Class regattas: timed to coincide with the Olympic Games in London.

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RANGER – THE ‘SUPER J’

Contractionary policies in response to what was an era of recession globally, leading to reduced aggregate demand and the fundamental cause of the Great Recession were hardly conducive conditions for the building of large race yachts.

It was thought that the J-Class could well sound the death-knell for the America’s Cup as a sporting contest and even the New York Yacht Club members, often insulated to a degree from the worst of the depression, were sailing smaller boats for club racing – most notably those rating to the 12-Metre and K-Class rules.

Against this dire economic backdrop, that incidentally was about to get worse through 1937-1938 before it got better, the Commodore of the Royal London Yacht Club, Richard Fairey, entered a speculative challenge - after surreptitious enquiries had been made - with a design that measured to the lower end waterline length permitted by the Deed of Gift and measure to the 65 feet New York Yacht Club rating rule. Not unreasonably, Fairey argued in a communication to Junius Morgan, Commodore of the NYYC, that: “I feel very strongly that the present J-Class boats are altogether too large and too expensive and that their design has been overshadowed by the necessity of fitting them out with accommodation for the owner and his guests when living aboard.” Further concerns surrounded the safety of the J-Class and whether they were suitable in anything above a Force 3 with particular note around the new duralumin rigs and their seaworthiness. The New York Yacht Club, however, were not in the mood to compromise on their premier competition.

Recognising this unwillingness and the rejection of the Royal London Yacht Club’s challenge, Thomas Sopwith commissioned Camper & Nicholson of Gosport to build what was hoped to be another technical wonder, Endeavour II, that was laid down in February 1936 and launched on 8th June 1936. Its flag was to the Royal Yacht Squadron but at the time of launch, no formal challenge had been proposed as both Charles Earnest Nicholson, the boat’s designer, and Sopwith felt that a long period of working up and crew training would be the key to a successful challenge. That challenge was duly posted to the NYYC by August 1936 for the Endeavour II rating to the 76-foot rating rule as recognised by America’s premier club and seeking for racing to start in July 1937.

Early assessment of Endeavour II was mired by the collapse of two masts, but the Americans were concerned by the seemingly devastating performance of the boat against Endeavour I in light airs, where it was widely assumed that she had a significant advantage over the successful defender of 1934, Rainbow. The New York Yacht Club formed a syndicate again under the command of Harold ‘Mike’ Vanderbilt who duly commissioned Starling Burgess as lead designer but also made the crucial decision to create a design team by bringing onboard the fast-rising star of yacht design in Olin J. Stephens. Burgess’s star had been falling for a while in the eyes of the members of the New York Yacht Club with the view, widely expressed, that the speed deficiencies of Rainbow and Enterprise were only rectified by the brilliance of Vanderbilt, Bliss and Hoyt in the afterguard. Bringing Olin Stephens in was a nod to the future and a check on Starling Burgess.

Tank-testing was nothing new in the America’s Cup, G.L Watson was tank-testing in 1900, but the advance in the way those tests were undertaken, and the data extracted, particularly in terms of heel angle and side force, saw the 1937 design project for Ranger advance yacht design to a whole other scale. Using the Stevens Institute testing tank at Hoboken under the command of Professor Ken Davidson, Stephens and Burgess both drew lines for two models each to be tested. The final design for Ranger has, however, become something of legend with no clear view on whether it was from the hand of Burgess or Stephens as the models were adapted during testing with input from both, but what became evident was that the result was a sensation.

Olin’s brother, Rod Stephens, was brought in for the design of the rig whilst Starling’s brother, Charles Burgess, took charge of the mast design. These were crucial areas as Vanderbilt insisted on using some sails from the Rainbow campaign – in particular an unused mainsail that he had been saving – and much concentration was given to more efficient sail-handling. Meanwhile, the final design for Ranger’s hull profile had the mark of Olin Stephens writ large with a low aft profile and the famous snub-nosed bow whilst Vanderbilt himself had considerable input in the final waterline length of 87 feet having seen a marked improvement in 1936 when he added a 10-ton lead shoe to Rainbow’s keel for the annual New York Yacht Club cruise races.

The final model that produced the design was number 77-C, one of the first tested, and the Bath Iron Works Boatyard was commissioned for the build, but worsening economic climes caused Ranger to be built at cost using highly efficient construction methods. Filler was almost eliminated in the process with flush riveted steel plating forming the hull and cedar was laid on steel for the decks to reduce both weight and cost. The designers went novel for the rudder creating a negative buoyancy structure with a watertight air compartment and a very low clearance to the hull and Ranger was launched on May 11th, 1937, after a christening ceremony with Mrs Gertrude Lewis Vanderbilt (nee Conway) breaking the customary champagne on the snub bow.

Just like the problems on Endeavour II, Ranger experienced a mast failure on its tow down from Bristol, Maine in a heavy seaway thus proving the fragility of the duralumin masts as feared and in a race against time, the old 1934 mast of Rainbow was stepped whilst a replacement was re-fabricated. At this time, in May 1937, Endeavour II arrived in Newport under tow having sailed the last 720 miles owing to a significant Atlantic storm – remarkably she arrived unscathed minus some rusting on the spar.

Ranger’s preliminary races against Rainbow and Yankee proved that she was a rocket-ship of sorts. Stiff, fast and devastating on a reach, she won each of the three races and entered the defender trials with the notion that she was ‘unbeatable’ – and by the time her replacement mast was stepped, and the old 1934 sails replaced by modern ones, the trials were to be a one-sided affair. Indeed, in one race against Yankee when Ranger won by a massive margin, she did so at an average speed of some 11 knots and set the fastest recorded time ever over the America’s Cup course. The omens were good for a successful defence and Ranger was appointed without question by the New York Yacht Club committee.

Endeavour II’s work-up that summer was almost solely against Endeavour I in a series of practice sessions that roused both suspicion and derision by the yachting journals in America. Sopwith was obsessed with speed trials and manoeuvres, setting exactly the same sail plan on both boats and then proceeding through a set of drills before long runs on opposite tacks before coming back together and then halting the session. De-briefings were long, and crew-work was honed as the memory of poor sail-handling in 1934 was sought to be avenged. Endeavour II was observed by the Americans as being faster on all points of sail than her much-admired predecessor and on July 1st, 1937, the Royal Yacht Squadron confirmed to the NYYC that Endeavour II would be lining up as challenger for the America’s Cup (there was a thought that Sopwith might try and swap out Endeavour II for Endeavour I but this pure media speculation).

Could she match the pace of Ranger though who had spent that summer on their sail wardrobe and in typical Vanderbilt fashion, sought improvements all over?

Ranger’s sail inventory that summer was the most remarkable seen on a J-Class to date. The introduction of the enormous 250%, 175% and 135% quadrilateral jibs that were set over over-sized staysails that had been tacked further forward to produce an effective ‘slot’ gave Ranger power unseen before on these boats – and a commensurate beefing up of winches and blocks to cope with the loads was thoroughly worked up through that summer after notable failures in the trials. Vanderbilt was convinced that as much as the waterline length had been a determining factor in 1934, that in 1937 the major gains would be made aloft. Ranger’s mainsail inventory included one from Enterprise of 1930, updated by the City loft of Ratsey’s, a staysail from Vanderbilt’s M-Class ‘Prestige’ and great advances were made both in the spinnaker design, particularly the ballooner, and in how they were handled in manoeuvres. Vanderbilt even mastered a way of gybing with the spinnaker left up that was ultimately outlawed for 1937 but became standard thereafter.

By contrast, Endeavour II’s sail programme had seemingly not advanced from the standard plans of Endeavour I in 1934 and the early loss of two masts in early trials led to caution creeping in on Sopwith’s behalf to push the rig development. It was a fatal error in competitive terms but both boats came to the start of the America’s Cup in 1937 wary of the other and after such a close fight in 1934, the American media assumed that this would be a desperately closely affair once more with some even arguing that a Cup abroad would be good for the future of the sport.

The first race dawned with very light winds on July 31st, 1937, causing the race committee to postpone for 45 minutes to allow the expected breeze to fill in for the planned 30 mile windward / leeward test. Endeavour II got the better of the start, crossing the line ahead by three seconds to leeward of Ranger and able to squeeze up, forcing Vanderbilt to tack away for clear air after 11 minutes.

With clear wind now, and despite Sopwith throwing in a tack to try and cover, Ranger just eased away with Vanderbilt steering loose for speed before coming back to course and after an hour of sailing had left the English challenger almost a mile dead astern. With the breeze freshening, both boats called for a sail change. Vanderbilt was getting increasingly uncomfortable with the 250% quadrilateral in an un-tested wind-range so called for the 175% quadrilateral but the crew, in error, launched the 135% and with Endeavour II swapping from genoa to 175% quadrilateral, for a while the American skipper, although with a healthy lead said that Ranger felt “dead in the water.”

By the top mark, Ranger had clung on and rounded with a lead in excess of six minutes and launched a balloon jib with a light staysail as the wind backed. Sopwith was in gambling territory and sailed high once around the weather mark on the thinking that the incoming breeze with layers of mid-fog would back the breeze further. In short order, the two boats lost sight of each other and as the wind came aft, Ranger launched a light parachute spinnaker formerly seen onboard Yankee and romped home. The margin was astonishing – 17 minutes and 5 seconds – and Endeavour II was in danger of missing the time-limit. Spectators, that numbered some 300 craft of all shapes and sizes, had never seen anything like it in the modern America’s Cup. The early writing was on the wall for the Challenger.

A fresher breeze awaited the yachts for race two with a triangular course set and it was Endeavour II that again made the better start. The practice that Sopwith had executed in the tune up with Endeavour I paid handsomely at close-quarters and a tack beneath Ranger in the dying moments of the pre-start was a textbook move. Ranger, now sitting in backwind dirty air was forced to tack off onto port soon after the start but on the tack back to head out to the left of the course, a top block for the quadrilateral sheeting position exploded and the crew struggled to get optimum trim.

Endeavour II was looking good to maintain her lead and at various points of the first leg she could have easily tacked and crossed, but the race was about to be turned on its head as the English sailed into a light, heading patch of breeze that slowed her dramatically. Ranger came up astern, hit the same pattern and immediately Sopwith tacked in the hope of getting up to speed and crossing the Americans’ bow. Vanderbilt maintained better speed and seeing the English dead in the water, tacked with way under her to leeward and with better crew-work emerged with pace on port tack. Pretty soon Ranger was eking up onto Endeavour II’s line, forcing her to tack off and it was one-way traffic. Ranger extended on the second half of the beat to round 10 minutes 25 seconds up.

With her 250% quadrilateral set – a sail that was nicknamed the ‘Mysterious Montague’ for its inherent cloth being specially developed by DuPont DeNemours Company with rayon and a special coating of aircraft dope – Ranger extended on both reaches of the triangular course. Sopwith had no answer for her waterline speed and superb sail inventory and the winning margin of 18 minutes and 32 seconds was another hammer-blow to the English who simply couldn’t match the super-J creation of Vanderbilt, Burgess and Stephens.

Sopwith called a lay-day to haul Endeavour II out of the water, convinced that she had damaged her centreboard through tangling with a lobster buoy or some other object under the water, so inexplicable was the speed loss on that first beat. “Ranger was pointing much higher, and we could not point any higher than we were. We lost 10 minutes in 5 miles. It is possible we picked up one of those lobster pots,” Sopwith commented afterwards whilst also insisting that some 5,070 pounds of lead were removed from the ballast to improve the light-weather performance. It was time to gamble.

Race three, always a crucial race in these first to four America’s Cup battles where the pendulum can swing or momentum can be carried forward, was do or die for Sopwith but Vanderbilt, smarting from the Dailies taking issue with his starting prowess was more than up for the fight. The windward / leeward course was set in a steady 10 knots of breeze, and it saw the two magnificent J-Class yachts circling aggressively in the pre-start before heading to opposite ends of the start-line on opposite tacks at the gun. Vanderbilt aced the start at the leeward end on starboard tack whilst Sopwith came across 18 seconds down at the other end on port. Sopwith certainly felt that with the reduced ballast, he had the measure of Ranger in a tacking duel and initiated the play which resulted in Ranger’s winch jamming again forcing the quadrilateral sail to be mis-sheeted halfway up the beat.

The wind Gods of Newport however saved the day for Vanderbilt as she sailed a few degrees off the wind but into a favourable shift, keeping Endeavour II on her stern, that allowed Ranger to tack and sail into a lead of 4 minutes and 13 seconds at the top mark – incidentally the fastest recorded time for a 15 mile beat to windward in America’s Cup history.

A split decision upon rounding the windward mark saw Ranger gybe off immediately whilst Endeavour II bore away onto the port gybe with both boats setting spinnakers as the wind increased to 14 knots. For the next 14 miles the boats converged on opposite gybes with Ranger holding the lead but Endeavour II looking the more likely to maintain a direct line to the finish without the need for the costly manoeuvre of gybing. A wind-shift, just a mile from home however, scuppered any chances and both boats were forced to gybe to make the finish with a shy reach to the line calling for a ballooner to be re-launched on the new gybe on both boats. Ranger held on and crossed with a 4 minute 7 second delta and it was match-point to the Americans.

For what proved to be the final race of the America’s Cup in 1937, and in fact the last time that the regatta would be run for the next 21 years, it failed to live up to its billing and an English fight-back was scuppered when Sopwith went over the start-line early. Aggressive tactics from Vanderbilt in the final circle saw Ranger trapping Endeavour II forward and with nowhere to run, she was forced over and Sopwith had to dial away into a gybe and re-cross, losing a minute and fifteen seconds in the process.

Ranger was now unstoppable, sailing in clear air, and matching Endeavour II tack for tack with no discernible loss of speed in the fresh breeze. Vanderbilt had insisted on setting a flat-cut mainsail from the 1930 wardrobe inventory of Enterprise and it was a masterstroke. By the windward mark she was 4 minutes and 5 seconds up and with her 250% quadrilateral set, she powered to the wing mark and despite Endeavour II shaving 30 seconds on that leg, the two boats were even on the final reach to the finish, and it was a resounding win to the Americans of 3 minutes and 37 seconds.

At the finish line, Vanderbilt handed the wheel to Olin and Rod Stephens to cross in a remarkable gesture of recognition at their efforts in producing what was undoubtedly the finest yacht in the world at the time – and considered even today, as the greatest yacht ever to compete in the America’s Cup. She was a marvel of the age and a testament to American design, astute build in strained financial times and Vanderbilt’s undeniable prowess at taking a boat to its racing limits. In subsequent races that summer, she was untouchable, beating all-comers and stamping her authority on the global yachting scene as the marker by which the era would be judged.

For the English it was another disappointment. It was to be T.O.M. Sopwith’s last hurrah in the America’s Cup but he was proud of his efforts saying: “We have had a series of the most wonderfully close races and I find the greatest difficulty in expressing my gratitude to our crew, amateur and professional, for the wonderful work they have done – they have all worked like slaves. May I say that we are not downhearted.”

The America’s Cup in 1937 was the last of the J-Class in the competition. With a pause for the Second World War, the next regatta in 1958 would see the 12-Metre rule adopted and the graceful lines of some of the most iconic yachts ever created would forever more be for the history books or those with deep pockets in modern times to restore, re-build or recreate those fabulous yachts. Only ten J-Class yachts were built, six in America and four in Great Britain, although several boats of the ‘big class’ of the era were adapted to conform to the J-Class rule. It was truly a ‘golden era’ and one that put the America’s Cup very much at the pinnacle of the yacht racing world. 

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ENDEAVOUR 1 – HISTORY & 1934 CHALLENGE FOR THE AMERICA’S CUP.

It is 22 June 1935, and Endeavour 1 is pictured here racing against five other J Class yachts in the Lymington Yacht Club Regatta. She has rounded a buoy off Ryde and is now on her run back towards Lymington. She is sailing in a light breeze, the very conditions that she was designed to excel in, her royal blue hull reflecting the waves being parted by her long, graceful bow. The crew are easing forward her spinnaker pole, and she is surging along nice and comfortably through a light Solent sea haze.

Her owner, Tommy Sopwith, made his fortune manufacturing some 18,000 aircraft for the RAF during the First World War. (He went on to make a further fortune building the Hurricane fighter aircraft during the Second World War). He is pictured here at Endeavour’s wheel, whilst his wife, Phil, wearing her customary sunglasses, sits right aft with their guests who have joined them for that day’s race.

The previous year, 1934, Sopwith had challenged for the America’s Cup and had asked Charles Nicholson of Camper & Nicholson in Gosport to design and build the new boat for him. Sopwith was an experienced helmsman having owned a number of successful 12-metre yachts. In 1932 he had acquired Shamrock V in order to familiarise himself with the handling of the much larger J class yachts. This gave him a clear idea of what he expected Nicholson to deliver, whilst his innovative work in aircraft design was brought to bear on the design of the mast and the sail plan of Endeavour 1.

Sopwith’s arrival in the J Class racing scene was certainly a game changer. Up and to that time the British Big Class yachts had been in charge of a professional skipper, with the owner often viewing the performance of his yacht from a vantage point ashore, if indeed he attended the regatta at all. Sopwith represented a more Corinthian attitude, where the owner was an active participant in racing the yacht. His wife acted as the time keeper at the start of each race. A competent helmswoman in her own right she occasionally took over steering Endeavour 1 during the British yachting season.

Endeavour 1 was steel plated over a steel frame; 129.7 ft overall and 83.3 ft on the waterline. Her beam was a fraction over 22 ft. Her real innovation lay in her 167 ft high mast which was a welded steel tube, some 20 ins in diameter at the base, which was found to be aerodynamically more efficient than the pear shaped mast carried by the rival America’s Cup yacht, Rainbow.

Also noteworthy was Endeavour 1’s boom which, unlike the booms of old, was not circular in its cross section. Instead, it was constructed with an inverted triangular cross-section. The boom’s upper face was fitted with tracks which ran from side to side. Each track carried its own car to which the foot of the mainsail was attached. Thus the bottom of the mainsail was able to adopt an aerodynamically efficient shape, especially when going to windward. It was known as a “Park Avenue” boom as it was said that two men could walk abreast along it.  In order to ensure that the boom remained perpendicular to the sail at all times, even when the yacht was heeled, the crew could rotate the boom along its whole length.

Sopwith also devised a more aerodynamically efficient jib. Hitherto all jibs had been triangular in shape but Sopwith introduced the quadrilateral jib which had two clews, thus allowing an improved airflow across the mainsail. Unfortunately whilst testing that sail on the Solent prior to her departure for America, her new sail plan was spotted by an American yachtsman who, realising its importance, sent word back to the New York Yacht Club.

Endeavour 1 was launched on 16 April 1934 and took part in 12 races in British waters in June that year, finishing up as class champion. However, on the day before she was ready to set sail for Newport, Rhode Island, her professional crew went on strike demanding more money. Sopwith refused to give way and 14 of her 22 crew abandoned ship. There was a large response to an appeal made for amateur crewmen to fill the gap. However, all the time taken to train up her original crew had now been wasted and her challenge would be handicapped by the use of an enthusiastic, if relatively inexperienced crew and an afterguard chosen for their friendship with Sopwith rather than having extensive experience racing such a large vessel.

Endeavour 1 was the most potent challenger that Britain had sent out to participate in the America’s Cup up to that date. She won her first two races, although she lost the following four races, but by the end of the series of six races the Americans were only ahead by 6 mins 37 secs on a cumulative basis. It had been a very close run event.

For the 1937 America’s Cup Races she would serve as the trial horse for Endeavour II, but on returning to Britain she was laid up in a mud birth on the River Hamble and allowed to rot gently away. Eventually her steel hull plates rusted through, allowing the tide to flow in and out of her.

Endeavour 1 Before restoration

Despite a number of attempts to restore her, it was not until 1984 that a full restoration was undertaken by the American yachtswoman, Elizabeth Myer. She placed the Dutch designer, Gerry Dijkstra, in charge of the work, which kept as faithfully as possible to her original plans, having made due allowance for safety and concerns about structural strength. She was relaunched in May 1989. Elizabeth Meyer then took on the restoration of Shamrock V. It was thanks to her remarkable commitment that others were encouraged to come forward to restore or rebuild yet more of these beautiful craft.

Endeavour 1 After Restoration

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• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

J Class: the enduring appeal of the world’s most majestic yachts

• October 9, 2023

Only ten J Class yachts were built before the Second World War stopped the movement in its tracks, but in the last 20 years these magnificent sloops have made an incredible comeback. Why has the J Class remained irresistable? David Glenn explains.

One of the most awe-inspiring sights in modern yachting is the Spirit of Tradition fleet blasting off the start line at the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. It happens every year at the end of April. Chances are it will include at least two J Class yachts, hitting the line on the gun at full tilt, exploding through the cobalt blue Caribbean rollers at anything up to 12 knots as they charge upwind.

Watching Velsheda , Ranger , Shamrock V and Endeavour will bring a lump to your throat, such is the emotion generated by these beautifully proportioned 130ft racing machines with their carbon rigs driving 170 tonnes of steel, aluminium and teak towards the weather mark. It’s heady stuff.

Watching them is one thing; racing quite another matter. In 1999 I was aboard the rebuilt Velsheda , taking part in the Antigua Classic Regatta. I had a single task as part of a four-man team – to tend the forward starboard runner. Nothing else. “Let that go once we’ve tacked and the whole rig comes down,” warned skipper Simon Bolt, as another wall of water thundered down the leeward deck and tried to rip me from the winch.

Dressed in authentic off-white, one-piece cotton boiler-suits, which had to be worn with a stout belt “so there’s something to grab if you go overboard”, they were tough, adrenaline-filled days out. God knows what it was like up forward as massive spinnakers were peeled and headsails weighing a quarter of a tonne were wrestled to the  needle-sharp foredeck as the bow buried itself into the back of yet another wave. Sometimes you daren’t look.

But with the race won or lost, back on the dock the feeling of elation, fuelled by being part of the 36-strong crew aboard one of these extraordinary yachts, triggered a high like no other. You knew you were playing a role, no matter how small, in a legendary story that began in 1930, was halted by World War II and then defied the pundits by opening another chapter 20 years ago. Today with five Js in commission, all in racing trim, and at least two more new examples about to be launched, the J Class phenomenon is back.

Why is the J Class so popular?

Why does a yacht with an arguably unexciting performance – they go upwind at 12 knots and downwind at 12 knots – costing £20 million to build and demanding eye-watering running costs, seem to be burgeoning during the worst recession since the class was born?

There is no single answer, but you only have to look back to the 1930s and the characters that owned and raced the Js on both sides of the Atlantic, sometimes for the America’s Cup , to understand why the class occupies a special place in yachting history. Underlying everything is the look of the J Class. It seems to transcend any change in yachting vogue, displaying a timeless line with outrageous overhangs and a proportion of hull to rig that is hard to better.

They possess true elegance. There is no doubt that captains of industry who want to flex their sporting muscle have been drawn to a class which only the very rich can afford and there are distinct parallels between J owners in the 1930s and those of the past 20 years. The difference is that in the 1930s owners liked to shout about their achievements and hogged the pages of national newspapers. Today, they are as quiet as mice.

Origins of the J Class

The J Class emerged in 1930 and marked a quantum leap in yachting technology, but comprised a hotchpotch of design altered over many years.

The J Class – so named because it was the letter allocated to its particular size by the Universal Rule to which the yachts were built (K and M Class yachts were, for example, shorter on the waterline) – emerged in 1930 and marked a quantum leap in yachting technology.

The so-called Big Class, which flourished in the UK in the 1920s, was impressive, but comprised a hotchpotch of design altered over many years. Yachts like King George V’s Britannia , built in 1893 as a gaff-rigged cutter but converted in the 1920s to Bermudan rig to rate as a J, Candida , Cambria , White Heather and schooners like Westward were even larger and more expensive to run. But as the greater efficiency of the Marconi or Bermudan rig became apparent their days were numbered.

One catalyst for the J Class itself was legendary grocer Sir Thomas Lipton’s final crack at challenging for the America’s Cup in 1931. He did so under the Universal Rule with the composite, wooden-planked, Charles E. Nicholson-design Shamrock V .

It was the 14th challenge since 1851 and the Americans, despite the withering effects of the Great Depression, reacted in dramatic fashion, organising their defence with four syndicates, each bulging with millionaires, putting forward separate Js: Enterprise , Whirlwind , Weetamoe and Yankee , which apart from Enterprise had already been launched.

Key to the American effort was the remarkable Harold Vanderbilt of the New York Yacht Club, who had inherited fabulous wealth from the family’s railroad companies, making him one of the country’s richest men.

Brought up on the family’s Idle Hour estate on Long Island Sound, he was a keen and accomplished sailor, and he used American technology and teamwork to build a far superior J in Enterprise. The defence completely overwhelmed Lipton’s effort. The British press castigated Lipton’s lack of preparedness and old-fashioned attitude. Vanderbilt, who among other things is credited with inventing contract bridge, left no stone unturned. “Mr. Harold Vanderbilt does not exactly go boat-sailing because summer is the closed season for fox-hunting,” stated an acerbic critic in the British yachting press.

Later when Shamrock was owned by aircraft builder Sir Richard Fairey and was being used to train crew for another Cup challenge, Beecher Moore, a skilful dinghy sailor who was draughted aboard the J to try to sort her out, reported in Yachts and Yachting many years later: “We found that when we got on board it was very much like a well-run country house, in that the gentleman does not go into the kitchen and on a well-run J Class the owner does not go forward of the mast.”

J Class tactics: Britain vs USA

A look at the huge gap between the British and American J Class tactics and designs in the early years of the America’s Cup.

In the early days there was a yawning gap between the way the Americans and British approached the Cup and, for that matter, how they ran a yacht. Revolutionary metal masts, Park Avenue booms to improve sail shape (the British copied this American design with their ‘North Circular’ version), bronze hulls that needed no painting, superior sails, and campaigns that cost £100,000 even in those days, blew away the Brits. Lipton had spent just £30,000 to build and equip Shamrock .

In the second Cup challenge in Js, in 1934, Sir T. O. M. Sopwith’s first Endeavour , also designed by Nicholson and equipped with wind instruments designed by her aircraft industrialist owner, nearly won the Cup, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory after leading the series 0-2. Sopwith was also up against Vanderbilt, who this time sailed Rainbow , which many considered to be the slower boat. But the British campaign was hobbled by a pay dispute – Endeavour ’s crew got £5 a week but they wanted a raise for ‘going foreign’ – and the campaign approach was again brought into question when the first thing to be stripped off the yacht when they won a dispute over reducing weight was the bath!

Back in Britain, the 1935 season proved to be the zenith of J Class and Big Class racing, although by the end of it the Js were under the cosh for their tendency to lose masts. Five went over the side that year and Endeavour II , launched with en eye on the next Cup challenge, lost hers twice.

There was added spice in the competition off the shores of the UK with the arrival of the American J Yankee , now owned by millionaire and Listerine businessman Gerard Lambert, who enjoyed sparring with the Brits. But even Yankee lost her mast and the press rounded on the class for being dangerous and wasteful! That wasn’t enough to stop Sopwith, whose tail had been extracted from between his legs following the last defeat in Newport: Endeavour II was towed across the Atlantic in a veritable armada that included  the first Endeavour. The British yachts found themselves up against the most advanced sailing machine the world had ever seen – Ranger , dubbed ‘the Super J’.

Vanderbilt was the man to beat again. Not only had he bankrolled the entire defence as American business remained beset by a struggling economy, but he used highly scientific means to perfect design. The brilliant naval architect Starling Burgess, who had designed for Vanderbilt throughout the 1930s, was now aided by the equally brilliant but considerably more youthful Olin Stephens. Between them they finally selected ‘model 77-C’ from six tank tested.

The yacht was considered ugly by some and not a natural to look at, but Vanderbilt’s team trusted the science (still the difference between the Americans and the Brits) and Ranger with her bluff or barrel bow and ‘low slung’ counter was the result. She proved to be dynamite on the race course and Endeavour II didn’t stand a chance. She was beaten in five straight races by large margins. The Americans and Vanderbilt had done it again. War then brought an end to an extraordinary era in yachting.

Only ten J Class yachts were built to the Universal rule and not a single American yacht survived. Most were scrapped for the war effort. In any case, the American way was to discard the machine once it has served its purpose. In Britain they faired a little better, and some Js were mud-berthed on the East and South Coasts. Two survived in the UK: Velsheda , originally built by the businessman who ran Woolworths in the UK (W. L. Stevenson named her after his daughters Velma, Sheila and Daphne), but which never challenged for the America’s Cup; and Endeavour , saved by becoming a houseboat on the Hamble. Shamrock ended up in Italy and survived the war hidden in a hay barn.

J Class resurgence

Seemingly resigned to the history books, the J Class made a triumphant return in the 1980s.

In his seminal book about the J Class, Enterprise to Endeavour, yachting historian Ian Dear predicted in the first edition in 1977 that the likes of the Js would never be seen again. By the time the fourth edition was published in 1999 he was quite happily eating his words!

The American Elizabeth Meyer was, without doubt, instrumental in bringing the class back to life when in the 1980s she extracted what was left of Endeavour from a  amble mud-berth, began rebuilding her in Calshot, and then moved her to Royal Huisman in Holland, who completed the restoration superbly. With the transom of the original Ranger mounted on a bulkhead in her saloon, Endeavour is still regarded as one of the best-looking and potentially fastest Js.

She was owned briefly by Dennis Kozlowski, the disgraced tycoon who ran Tyco, who famously said: “No one really owns Endeavour, she’s part of yachting history. I’m delighted to be the current caretaker.” Unfortunately he ended up in prison and the State of New York became Endeavour’s ‘caretaker’ before they sold her to her current owner, who has kept the yacht in the Pacific. She’s currently being refitted in New Zealand.

Ronald de Waal is a Dutchman who until recently was chairman of the Saks Group in the USA and has made a fortune in clothing. He has dedicated a lot of time to improving Velsheda over the years since he had her rebuilt by Southampton Yacht Services to a reconfigured design by Dutch naval architect Gerry Dykstra. Ronald de Waal steers the yacht himself to great effect and has had some legendary tussles with Ranger, the new Super J built in Denmark for American realestate magnate John Williams.

The rivalry between the two is fierce and even led to a collision between the yachts in Antigua last year. But Velsheda would have been lost had it not been for British scrap-metal merchant Terry Brabant who saved her from a muddy grave on  the Hamble and famously sold his Rolls-Royce to cast a new lead keel for the yacht. With very little modern equipment he sailed her hard in the Solent, chartering her and crossing the Atlantic for a Caribbean season, all without an engine! Without Brabant’s initiative Ronald de Waal wouldn’t have what he has today.

Shamrock V is owned by a Brazilian telecommunications businessman Marcos de Moraes who had the yacht rebuilt at Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth in 2001. He tends to keep away from the race course but with a number of events being planned in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics he might be tempted back. The latest new J to launch, Hanuman, a modern interpretation of Endeavour II, has recently entered the racing fray. She was commissioned by serial yacht owner Jim Clark (Hyperion and Athena), the American who brought us Netscape and Silicon Graphics, and who remains a colossus in Silicon Valley.

Hanuman, named after a Hindu deity, built by Royal Huisman and designed by Gerry Dykstra, has had no expense spared when it comes to rig and sail wardrobe. Last year she beat Ranger in the Newport Bucket but in March this year she lost out 2-1 to the same boat at the St Barths Bucket. They were due to meet again with Velsheda at the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta in April. Another Dutchman, property developer Chris Gongriep, who has owned a number of yachts including Sapphire and Windrose of Amsterdam, has given the go-ahead for a new  version of Rainbow, which is well advanced in Holland at Freddie Bloesma’s aluminium hull fabrication yard. The yacht, reconfigured by Gerry Dykstra, will be in the water in 2011 with a full-on race programme.

About to be launched is Lionheart, the biggest J so far, redesigned by Andre Hoek and built in Holland by Claasen Jachtbouw, after an extensive research programme.  Unfortunately, her owner’s business commitments mean that he won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of this project – she’s for sale with Yachting Partners International and Hoek Brokerage. What an opportunity to join a class with such a remarkable history and one which looks destined to run and run!

First published on SuperYachtWorld.com on Aug 4, 2010

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Endeavour 37

She's comfortable and heavily built, but her performance leaves a lot to be desired..

Tampa Bay, in some respects, is the new Taiwan of American boatbuilding. Lost in the miles of nondescript tin warehouses, surrounded by chain link fences, where hundreds of virtually anonymous businesses come and go like the rain, it is easy to become disillusioned: My yacht was built here ?

Relic molds lie about the dirty industrial zones like whitewashed bones. Riggers become salesmen. Salesmen become builders. Builders never become businessmen, which is about the only difference between Taiwan and Tampa. An eager, low-paid workforce (read Cuban), favorable business climate (low taxes), and sunny weather (considered 50% of an employee’s compensation here) combine to make the environs of Florida’s largest west coast city a logical place to rent a shed, buy some used tooling, hire a couple of glass men and a carpenter (there’s a sort of floating labor pool in the Tampa area), and hang your shingle—I.M. Starstruck Yacht Co.

In the 1970s, Southern California—Costa Mesa more than any other city—was a major boatbuilding center. It was much the same as South Florida is today, until Orange County got tough on environmental emissions, and for the sake of a few parts per million of styrene fumes, essentially drove the boatbuilders out. Two early giants, Columbia Yachts and Jensen Marine (Cal boats) fled. Islander stuck it out until succumbing to bankruptcy just a few years ago.

Endeavour Yacht Corporation traces its lineage to those good ol’ days in Costa Mesa. Co-founder Rob Valdez began his career at Columbia, managed, incidentally, by brother Dick Valdez, who later founded Lancer Yachts. Rob followed Vince Lazzara to Florida to work for Gulfstar. The other co-founder, John Brooks, had worked for Charley Morgan and then Gulfstar and Irwin. “It’s so incestuous,” he once said, “it’s pathetic.”

In any case, Rob Valdez and John Brooks founded Endeavour in 1974 using the molds from Ted Irwin’s 32-footer to launch the business. The company built about 600 32s in all. Spurred by this success, Valdez and Brooks began looking around for a larger sistership to expand the line. Just how they “developed” the 37 is a tale best left untold until the principals pass away or become too senile to read the yachting periodicals. Brooks calls the 37 a “house design,” and that is generous. The total number of Endeavour 37s built is 476—a lot for a boat that size.

In 1986 Brooks sold the company to Coastal Financial Corporation of Denver, Colorado. Despite upgrading the pedigree of its model line with designs by Johan Valentijn, Endeavour’s position was plagued by declining sales and competition with its own products on the used boat market.

Brooks said, “When boats started to blister, I said, ‘God’s on our side! Maybe they’ll disappear and go away. Everything else becomes obsolete—your car, your clothes. We’re the only ones building a product that won’t go away!’ ”

The Endeavour 37 represents a decent value for the cruising family more interested in comfort and safety than breathtaking performance. Let’s take a closer look.

Sailing Performance

Most Endeavour 37s are sloop rigged, though the company did offer the ketch as an option—an extra $1,800 in 1977. The sloop is somewhat underpowered, so the ketch would appear to give the boat some much needed sail area. With either rig, it is not a fast boat, nor was it intended to be.

A bowsprit was added at one point to increase the foretriangle area and to facilitate handling ground tackle, though some photographs show the forestay still located at the stem despite the presence of an anchor platform, which was an earlier option. Also, a tall mast option was offered. Many readers complain of heavy weather helm in higher wind velocities, and moving the center of effort forward by means of enlarging the foretriangle would be one solution.

PHRF ratings range from a high of 198 for the standard rig in the Gulf of Mexico area, to 177 for a tall rig with bowsprit racing in Florida. PHRF ratings, of course, are adjusted according to local fleet performance, so variances between regions are to be expected. Most 37′ club racers rate 10 to 40 seconds per mile faster, and a high-performance boat such as the Elite 37 or J/37 will clean its clock by 80 seconds per mile and more. Make no mistake, the Endeavour is a cruising boat.

Some of the boat’s other troubles are presumably attributable to hull design, something most of us can do little about. The boat points no better, despite a fairly fine entry. One reader says he tacks through 115°, a number competitive only with schooners. Another notes excessive leeway.

Such performance may be expected from a boat with a long, shoal-draft keel, though it is cut away at the forefoot and terminates well forward of the spade rudder. Many owners report satisfactory balance as long as they pay attention to trim, reefing, and sail combinations. And it deserves mentioning that the Endeavour 37 has been happily employed as a charter boat by several companies, including Bahamas Yachting Services, which moves its fleet between the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands each season. It has and can make safe ocean passages.

The standard engine was the freshwater-cooled, 50-hp Perkins 4-108 with 2.5 to 1 reduction gear, a real workhorse that is something of a stick against which all others are measured. It rated tops among mechanics in Practical Sailor ’s 1989 diesel engine survey. The company began phasing it out that year in favor of a new line. The Perkins 4-108 is a good engine for this boat, adequately sized for the waterline and displacement.

Access to the engine compartment is reasonable; the companionway steps are removable and there are sound insulating materials glued to the inside of the box.

Fuel capacity is about 65 gallons in a baffled tank.

A two-blade, bronze propeller was standard, though many respondents in our owner’s survey stated they had switched to a three-blade to improve control backing down. This, of course, is a problem with many boats. A three-blade, automatically feathering prop would improve performance under power and minimize drag under sail. It seems a shame to further destroy the performance of this boat by turning a three-blade, fixed prop, just for control in reverse; at that point one must ask himself just how much time he intends to spend going backwards.

Construction

The Endeavour 37 is a good example of low-tech construction—nothing fancy—no exotic fibers, core materials or unusual tooling. The hull is a singleskin, solid fiberglass laminate. No owners reported structural problems with oilcanning panels or moving bulkheads. Numerous owners, however, complained of gelcoat crazing, a condition also cited of the Endeavour 32. Gelcoat repair kits seldom match old and faded gelcoat colors, so owners are faced with an expensive re-gelcoat job or painting with an epoxy or polyurethane paint system. Since most older fiberglass boats inevitably suffer gelcoat crazing in areas of stress or impact (a dropped winch handle will do it), we’d be more concerned with the condition of gelcoat below the waterline. The results of Practical Sailor ’s 1989 Boat Owner’s Questionnaire showed 8 of 19 Endeavours had blistered; 42% is high.

The interior is built up of plywood with teak trim. Workmanship is generally good. In fact, one owner who said his hobby is woodworking, said, “The trim joints are excellent.” In general, owners liked the boat because it feels solid, “built like a tank.”

Problem areas included gate valves on throughhulls, which some owners have correctly replaced with sea cocks; side-loading refrigerators on some boats that were replaced with top-loading ice boxes; pumping of the Isomat spar; inaccessible electrical wiring; V-berths too short for people over 6′; listing due to water and holding tank placement; and plastic Vetus hatches crazing and dripping. Ventilation seems to be a concern of many owners, though with 10 opening portlights and three hatches, there’s not much more to be done except add cabin fans and rig wind scoops.

An Endeavour trademark is the teak parquet cabin sole, which makes you feel like you’re dribbling down center court at the Boston Garden. Some like it, some don’t, but at least it’s different.

The keel is part of the hull mold, with internal lead ballast dropped in and glassed over. There are no keel bolts to worry about, but in the event of a grounding one should look to see if the skin has been punctured and water entered the cavity. The laminate must be thoroughly dried before repairs are made, and this can mean a fairly long waiting period. The shape of the keel is what is sometimes called a “cruising fin,” shallow and long with a straight run. The boat should take the bottom well, whether it is an accidental grounding or intentional careening for bottom work on some distant island.

Two arrangement plans were offered—“A” and “B.” The first is a bit unusual in that the forward V-berths are dispensed with in favor of an enormous Ushaped dinette; owners of this plan like it. In its lowered position, the table converts to a huge, sumptuous double berth.

And there is a handy shelf forward for books, television and knick-knacks. The hull sides are decorated with thin teak slats that are widely spaced and fastened flat against the liner. This plan has a large forepeak, divided into two compartments, one for chain and the after one for sails, accessible from the deck.

The galley is a sideboard affair located to starboard and the head is opposite to port, just about midships. Hot and cold pressure water and a shower are standard equipment. The sink is porcelain and there is a full-length mirror. Plumbing has copper tubing and there is an automatic shower sump pump. Aft in Plan “A” are two large double quarter berths.

Plan “B” is the more conventional, with V-berths forward (no sail stowage in the forepeak), the toilet compartment just abaft the head of the bunk, settees in the saloon with an offset dropleaf table, pilot berth outboard above the starboard settee, aft galley and a port quarter cabin.

There is a privacy door to this stateroom (not shown in the layout illustration), which is no doubt what the public demands; however, some owners complain that it is stuffy and cramped. That, of course, is what you get with a small, enclosed cabin aft in the boat; despite overhead hatches, vents, and portlight opening into the cockpit footwell, ventilation is bound to suffer.

There seem to be pros and cons to both plans. “A” is certainly more open, which will suit a couple with few overnight guests. Ventilation is better as air coming in through the forward deck hatch freely circulates in the main cabin; the main bulkhead in “B,” as in most boats with this type of layout, obstructs air flow, and nowhere is this problem more acute than in the tropics, where every breath of ocean breeze feels like the difference between life and death.

Both plans offer sleeping accommodations for at least six, including decent sea berths. Plan “B” has a pilot berth that ups the count to seven, but most owners of this layout had converted it to stowage space.

The deep, double sinks in both “A” and “B” are reasonably close to the centerline of the boat, and should drain on either tack.

In the late 70s, a three-burner alcohol stove and oven was standard. On the boat we chartered for a week in the Bahama Islands, the stove was LPG and there was a nifty tank locker in the cockpit coaming, well hidden yet easily accessed. The garbage container and insulated beverage container in the cockpit are nice features.

Both plans also have chart tables, which of course is appreciated. The longer you study the arrangement plans, the more you realize just how much has been fitted into the available space. If any corners have been cut to make this happen it’s probably the length of some berths, which a few owners criticized (presumably the endomorphs and Ichabod Cranes among us).

A high percentage of the owners surveyed are liveaboards and almost without exception they consider the boat ideal for their purposes. And it’s not difficult to see why. During our week of chartering, there was plenty of space for two couples to move about without knocking elbows at every turn.

The aft cabin is, however, cramped, and getting into the high berth would be easier with a step; one is leery of jumping in, especially given the low overheads of boats. Also, one has to get his bottom on the berth first, then swivel around to get the feet aimed in the right direction. If your mate is already in bed, this can be a maneuver almost impossible to perform politely! The V-berths are preferred for ventilation and ease of getting in and out.

The Endeavour 37 is easily appreciated on deck. The side decks are wide and uncluttered. The foredeck, though narrow at the bow, is adequate for sail handling, and the high cockpit coaming makes for a good backrest and a sense of protection. The toerail rises forward so that there is a sort of mini-bulwark for security when changing sails or handling ground tackle.

In profile, the coaming seems too high, especially on top of the high freeboard; one owner said he’d have liked to see an Endeavour 37 without this great, wraparound coaming.

From the helm it’s a different story. The varnished cap board on the coaming defines the attractive curve, and does impart a feeling of safety and well being.

Coamings such as this, which extend over the sea hood (a good safety feature), make installation of a waterproof dodger much easier, though the dodger will be large and extend athwartship nearly the full beam of the boat at that station.

The large size of the cockpit is worth noting. In fact, it probably borders on being too large for offshore sailing. A pooping may temporarily affect handling, but given the considerable volume of the hull, the presence of a good bridgedeck, and assuming that weather boards are in place, water shouldn’t get below or unduly sink the stern. Still, it is a boat we’d like to see with large diameter scuppers for safety’s sake. One owner said he thought it was possible to run two large scupper hoses aft through the transom, which is a sensible idea. Another said the cockpit was too wide and that it was difficult to brace his feet when heeled.

The Endeavour 37 is a Florida boat. Windward sailing performance was purposely sacrificed for shoal draft, which is a requirement of cruising the Florida Keys and Bahama Islands. The cockpit is large and the deck area spacious.

Either you like the Endeavour 37’s distinctive cockpit coaming or you don’t; we found the cabintop area just abaft the coaming useful for stowing suntan lotion, hats and the usual cockpit clutter; in calm conditions, it even makes a fairly decent, elevated seat when you want to pontificate to the rest of the crew.

Sailing performance is marginal, especially upwind. The rig, however, is very simple and will seldom get the beginner in trouble, which explains the boat’s appeal to charter companies. A light, nylon multi-purpose sail will be essential to light air performance, but it is probable that many owners turn on the engine when the wind drops below about 10 knots, and when going to windward to get that extra few degrees.

Our most serious concerns with the boat are, unfortunately, those that are uncorrectable. You can replace the gate valves with sea cocks, rewire the electrical system, even install flexible water and holding tanks to correct minor listing tendencies, but there’s nothing practical that can be done about poor hull design.

One reader suggested fitting a hollow keel shoe to improve the boat’s windward performance…hollow, he said, because the boat is heavy enough as it is. The boat also appears not to balance well, and though this tendency can be mitigated to some extent by mast rake and sail trim, it may well extend to the shape of the ends of the hull’s waterline plane when heeled.

In all fairness, however, the Endeavour 37 is heavily built, reasonably well finished, comfortable to cruise and live aboard, and it sells for an attractive price.

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Endeavour Model Yacht 40" with Optional Personalized Plaque

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Product Description

The Endeavour Model Yacht  from Everything Nautical is a great item for collectors and anyone who loves the sea. Purchase one today and enjoy Free Shipping with your order!

The Endeavour was built in 1934 by T.O.M Sopwith and was hailed as one of the most beautiful J-Class yachts of its time. This impressive boat was built for speed and is best known for competing in the America’s Cup World Series where she won the first two races. Now you can own a piece of yacht racing history with this scale model replica of the famous vessel.

Each Endeavour model yacht is put together by master craftsmen who use historical photographs and documents to create a true-to-life replica. The boat is built of fine wood materials including mahogany, rosewood and western red cedar pieces. Each model takes hundreds of hours to complete and goes through a demanding quality control process before delivery.

This majestic model yacht measures 40” L x 8” W x 48.5” H. It features hand stitched sails that extend all the way to the mast head. The deck is made of natural wood planks that provide a beautiful symmetrical finish to the piece. In the middle of the deck, sits a small wooden cabin with plenty of fine detail to discover. There are also several wooden miniatures located throughout the boat, each placed by hand

. I am extremely satisfied with my order of the Endeavour! The product was easy to assemble, a quality piece and arrived in a timely manner. As important to me is the communication with the seller. Gary was right there with timely emails to answer my questions. I will recommend this company to others and go there for other nautical products! Thank you Everything Nautical! MG

The Endeavour is tightly secured to a sturdy wooden base with a brass nameplate that may be used for engraving purposes. Display it in your home or office to always remind you of your love for the sea with other collectibles found in our Model Ship section.  Light assembly is required. The masts and sails are folded down for easier and more economical shipping .

The Endeavour   Model Yacht from Everything Nautical is a remarkable piece that will help complete your collection so don’t miss out on the chance to own this amazing treasure!

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Endeavor Sail Model - Red & White

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• Description

Endeavour Racing Yacht reproduction with White hull. Classic red below waterline.

Length: 24" x Width: 4.5" x Height: 42.50" (61cm x 11,40cm x 80 cm). Weight approximately 3 lbs.

Endeavour is a 130-foot (40 m) J-class yacht built for the 1934 America’s Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England.

She was built for Thomas Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast.

She was launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J’s Velsheda and Shamrock V. She failed in her America’s Cup challenge against the American defender Rainbow but came closer to lifting the cup than any other until Australia II succeeded in 1983. 

Sail models take us back to those beach and country park outings from our youth.

In our day and age, they represent a bygone era and are beloved as decor in beach cabins and homes.

Sailboat can easily be lifted from wooden cradle display base.

Usually ships the next business day .

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