|
In
answer to Thomas J. Lipton's challenge of 1929, the
Americans designed four J-Class yachts as possible
defenders. Enterprise, Whirlwind, Yankee and
Weetamoe were launched within a month of each other.
Enterprise was the first launched on 14 April 1930
and was later chosen as the Cup defender. When
designing Enterprise, Starling Burgess collected 20
years worth of information on races and analyzed
wind conditions to get an idea of what the
conditions in the 1930 Cup might be. Enterprise had
lightweight rigging and was the fastest of the four
to windward in moderate airs.
Enterprise had a mast as tall as 165 feet and over
80 feet in length. Her revolutionary aluminum
mast and Vanderbilt's unparalleled professionalism
beat J-Yacht Shamrock V all 4 races. Lipton's dream of
lifting the America's Cup ended with this challenge.
He died the following year, after being awarded a
special prize for sportsmanship.
The year 1930 saw
the debut of an era of magnificent J-yachts in the
America's Cup. Gone were the gaff rigs, long
bowsprits and booms, clouds of sail, and the
enormous crews, to be replaced by the "marconi" or
"Bermuda" rigs, 150-foot masts, 120-foot hulls and
sophisticated "coffee-grinder" winches to
control the sails. The boats were so expensive to
build that there were only 10 units in existence.
|
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
