UK Edition
The America's Cup J-Class racing yacht: in a class of its own and making a comeback
It’s not hard to tell when you’re in close proximity to a J-Class yacht. First, most of the sky is obliterated by 10,000sq ft of sail (the equivalent of nearly four tennis courts) hoisted on a 175ft mast. Then the air is sucked out from around you as the wind is drawn up between the sails. And then you hear the hiss…While most modern boats splash or crash through the sea, with a 'bone in their teeth’, the J-Class hiss. It’s thanks to that incredibly pointy, overhanging bow and the slender hull, which cuts through the water at 12 knots, leaving barely a ripple behind it.
That hiss might sound like a trivial point, but it gets to the heart of what the J-Class is all about. These are boats that hark back to another era – one of restrained elegance. They are iron fists of huge sailing power gloved in varnished mahogany and flowing lines.
Only 10 J-Class yachts were originally built in the 1930s, and they raced for just eight seasons – owned and sailed by some of the richest men on the planet, including tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton, railroad tycoon Harold Vanderbilt and aviation pioneer Sir Thomas Sopwith. But so great was their impact, they’ve never been forgotten and, for many, represent the pinnacle of yachting endeavour.
Which is perhaps why today the J-Class is experiencing the most thrilling and unlikely of revivals. Not only have the three surviving original boats been restored, but new boats are being built at a rate that defies all logic. Indeed, in the face of the worst recession in a generation, five new J-Class yachts – costing around £10m apiece – have been launched in the past eight years, and two more are under construction. What’s more, seven of these leviathans are expected to compete in their own regatta alongside the America’s Cup in Bermuda – more than ever raced together during their 1930s heyday.
So what’s the attraction of the J-Class? Why would anyone spend such vast sums on a 135ft yacht that only sleeps 10 guests, costs more than £1m a year to maintain and is an anachronism before it’s even been launched? Ronald de Waal, the owner of Dutch fashion company WE Fashion, bought one of the original 1930s boats, Velsheda, as a bare hull in 1996 and had her turned into a modern superyacht by designer Dykstra Naval Architects.
"The appeal to me is being part of a piece of history, and of course sailing a J is a thrilling experience," he says. "It’s the combination of a very comfortable cruising boat and a highly demanding race boat. The racing adds a whole other dimension – it’s what these boats were built for. Racing with 35-40 people on a boat – family, close friends and race crew – is a unique and great experience. It’s what makes us all tick."
The Js were the biggest boats built to the Universal Rule devised by legendary American yacht designer Nathanael Herreshoff in 1902. There were also Ks, Ls, Ms, Ns, etc – a total of 10 classes ranging from 23ft to 100ft on the waterline, although nowadays most people only remember the J Class (defined by a max 87ft waterline).
They competed in three America’s Cups – the first in 1930, after serial Cup challenger Sir Thomas Lipton had asked fellow Brit Charles Nicholson to design the first ever J-Class, Shamrock V, ahead of his fifth and final challenge. The Americans responded with not one but four new Js, which competed against each other for the honour of defending the 'Auld Mug’ (as the trophy is nicknamed). The winning boat was Enterprise, owned by a syndicate headed by Vanderbilt, which thrashed the smaller, heavier Shamrock V 4-0.
The British fared better in the 1934 contest, when Sopwith entered the fray with Endeavour, also designed by Nicholson, and won the first two races – only to be beaten in the next four by Vanderbilt’s Rainbow. By 1937, the Americans were unequivocally back on top, with the mighty Ranger – the first 'Super-J’, designed by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens – beating Endeavour II 4-0. Ranger also proved nigh-on invincible in non-Cup events, winning 32 out of 34 races.
The Second World War precipitated the decline of the J-Class. No one could justify the flagrant extravagance of such enormous yachts, and the America’s Cup switched to the more modest 12 Metre class, based on the International Rule – Europe’s equivalent of the Universal Rule, with the classes designated by numbers (6 Metre, 8 Metre, etc) rather than letters.
Indeed, it was pure chance that a handful of Js survived beyond the War – but it wasn’t chance that those four still floating in 1941 were British built. One of the more contentious America’s Cup rules stipulated that all competing vessels had to arrive at the race 'on their own bottoms’. That meant British boats had to be rugged enough to withstand an Atlantic crossing, whereas the Americans were able to build out-and-out flat-water racers.
Endeavour II was eventually scrapped in 1968, but Shamrock V, Endeavour and Velsheda (the only J not designed to race in the America’s Cup) all ended up either in mud berths on Britain’s south coast or, in Shamrock V’s case, converted into a cruising boat.
The great J-Class revival was started in 1984 by one woman: Washington Post newspaper heiress Elizabeth Meyer. Her restoration of Endeavour proved that the old racing boats – despite their extreme proportions and relative lack of accommodation, could be turned into luxury yachts. Within a few years, all three remaining Js had been restored and were racing on the classic-yacht circuit, to the delight of all lovers of old things. It was only a matter of time before someone took the next step.
"I chartered Endeavour for the Antigua Classic Regatta one year and fell in love with her," said American property tycoon John Williams. "The Js are such magnificent boats, and so sexy, I wondered why no one had built a new one. When I looked into it, I discovered why: it’s extremely complex. The original boats didn’t have engines or generators; they were towed to the race start. The challenge was to create a modern boat but keep the look and performance of the old Js. It took 20 months to design the boat, and then another 28 months to build it."
The result was Ranger, a replica of the 1934 America’s Cup winner, but reinterpreted for modern times – with a bilge full of gizmos essential to modern sailing life, electric winches to control the sails and an opulent interior capable of accommodating 10 guests and seven crew. Launched in 2004, the new Ranger showed what could be done, and others soon followed.
In every case, the new Js are either direct copies of boats built in the 1930s (Ranger, Hanuman and Rainbow) or based on boat designs of the time that weren’t actually built (Lionheart, Topaz and Svea). Designs have been updated to allow for modern innovations such as aluminium hulls, carbon-fibre masts and 3DL sails – and most sit a foot lower in the water, thanks to the extra equipment they have to carry in their modern guise as luxury yachts.
Purists might howl at the liberties taken with the historic Js, but the modernisation of the class has made it relevant once again. As long as there’s a steady supply of wealthy patrons prepared to be entranced by a beautiful sailboat, their future looks in good shape.
J-Class Regatta – Seven J-Class yachts will race on Friday 16, Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 June – either side of the Cup Final weekend.