The 1930

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

was the 14th challenge for the Cup. It took place in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

and consisted of a series of races between the defender ''Enterprise'', entered by a syndicate of New York Yacht Club members headed by Winthrop Aldrich, and ''

Shamrock V ''Shamrock V'' was the first British yacht to be built to the new J-Class rule. She was commissioned by Sir Thomas Lipton for his fifth America's Cup challenge. Although refitted several times, ''Shamrock'' is the only original J-class never to ...

'', the fifth in Sir Thomas Lipton's line of Cup challengers.The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum (n.d.)Rayner 2022, p.58

Background

On May 5, 1929, Sir Thomas Lipton issued a new challenge for the America's Cup, including details of his challenging yacht, ''Shamrock V''. Like its predecessors, ''Shamrock V'' had been built by Charles Nicholson, with Lipton telling him that this time "the Americans ... would be just as pleased as anyone else to see me win."D'Antonio 2010, p.305 The challenge was unanimously accepted at a special meeting of the New York Yacht Club on May 16.Vanderbilt 1931, p.4 At the same meeting, the club decided to form two syndicates to build one yacht each for the defense of the cup, and also to welcome other syndicates who might want to offer a defender. The two syndicates formed directly by the NYYC were to be led by Vice-Commodore Winthrop Aldrich and Rear-Commodore Junius Morgan.Dear 2004, p.45Garland 1989, p.185 They were joined by a third New York syndicate headed by and managed by

Landon K. Thorne Landon is a personal name of English origin that means "long hill". It is a variant of Langdon. Landon became popular in the United States in the 1990s, and by 2010 had become the 32nd most popular name for boys.Eastern Yacht Club. During May and June, the NYYC and RUYC negotiated the conditions of the challenge.Vanderbilt 1931, p.6 Changes to the terms of the competition since the previous challenge of 1920 included: * that the races be held off Newport, instead of Sandy Hook * that the match consist of the best of seven races, instead of the best of five * that the yachts be built to the J-class standard, therefore eliminating the need to calculate handicaps for substantially different yacht designs * that the yachts be Marconi rigged * that the yachts comply with Lloyd's Register

scantling Scantling is a measurement of prescribed size, dimensions, or cross sectional areas. Shipping In shipbuilding, the scantling refers to the collective dimensions of the framing (apart from the keel) to which planks or plates are attached to form th ...

rules for structural strength The implications of this final point were that the challenger would not be disadvantaged by having a hull built strong enough to meet the current safety standards for a trans-Atlantic crossing (and therefore heavier than the previous generation of racing yachts), and that it would also preclude the yachts ''

Resolute Resolute may refer to: Geography * Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, a hamlet * Resolute Bay, Nunavut * Resolute Mountain, Alberta, Canada Military operations * Operation Resolute, the Australian Defence Force contribution to patrolling Australia's Ex ...

'' and ''

Vanitie Vanitie was a yacht owned by Alexander Smith Cochran that was selected to take part in selection trials for the America's Cup in 1914 against Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht '' Shamrock IV''. History On June 17, 1914 William S. Dennis was replaced b ...

'' from defending the Cup. Both had been built to defend the Cup in the 1914 challenge (postponed and raced in 1920), with ''Resolute'' winning. However, neither ''Resolute'' nor ''Vanitie'' were built sturdily enough to meet the new regulations, therefore requiring the construction of new yachts for the defense. The relocation to Newport was to accommodate the tall masts of the J-class; too tall to pass under many of the bridges over the East River. Additionally, the Cup Committee specified that to be evaluated as a defender, yachts would need to have at least one spare mast constructed.Dear 2004, p.52 This stipulation was made because of the eleven previous yachts built for evaluation as Cup defenders in previous years, five had lost their masts at some point. Aldrich's syndicate named

Harold S. Vanderbilt Harold Stirling Vanderbilt CBE (July 6, 1884 – July 4, 1970) was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, an innovator and champion player of contract bridge, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. Early life He was born in Oakdale, ...

as their captain and engaged

Starling Burgess William Starling Burgess (December 25, 1878 – March 19, 1947) was an American yacht designer, aviation pioneer, and naval architect. He was awarded the highest prize in aviation, the Collier Trophy in 1915, just two years after Orville Wright ...

to design their yacht and

Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Nathanael Greene Herreshoff (March 18, 1848 – June 2, 1938) was an American naval architect, mechanical engineer, and yacht design innovator. He produced a succession of undefeated America's Cup defenders between 1893 and 1920. Biography Her ...

to build it. They would name their yacht ''Enterprise''. Morgan's syndicate also commissioned Herreshoff to build their yacht, and gave it the name ''

Weetamoe ''Weetamoe'' was a 1930 yacht of the J Class built as a contender for the New York Yacht Club's defence of the 1930 America's Cup. She was ordered by a syndicate headed by Junius Morgan, designed by Clinton Hoadley Crane, and built by Herres ...

''. Two other contenders for the defense of the Cup, '' Whirlwind'', and '' Yankee'' were built by Lawley & Son. Over $3 million was spent on building the four contenders,Dear 2004, p.49 around $1 million of this on ''Enterprise'' aloneDear 2004, p.9 (around $54 million and $18 million in 2022 dollars). In a major departure from previous competitions, the various contenders were quite open with each other about their designs and approaches, replacing the secrecy with which the designs had been treated in the past.Dear 2004, p.50

Defense contender pre-trial races

Prior to the formal selection trials, the four yachts competing to become the Cup defender raced numerous times between June and August 1930.

The Long Island Sound series

On June 9, the contenders, together with ''Resolute'' and ''Vanitie'', met at Glen Cove for a series of races planned in Long Island Sound by the local clubs.Vanderbilt 1931, p.89 A huge flotilla of spectator craft attended the first of these races, including some 200 small motorboats, and two large steamers chartered by the New York Yacht Club.Vanderbilt 1931, p.88 About a dozen Coast Guard motorboats were stationed to keep the course clear, however wakes from some of the spectator boats caused a minor disruption to the race as the yachts crossed them. Of the series, ''Weetamoe'' won three out of four races, with the other going to ''Enterprise''. ''Yankee'' arrived too late to compete in any but the fourth and last race. A fifth race in the series had been proposed for June 18 off Stamford, but was abandoned due to lack of entries.Vanderbilt 1931, p.98 Points from races towards the racing season were awarded on the basis of: 1 point for starting a race, plus 1 point for each boat defeated. Therefore, at the end of this series, the points collected were:

The Eastern Yacht Club races

The following week, the J-class boats traveled to Newport for three races organized by the Eastern Yacht Club.Vanderbilt 1931, p.102 Once again, a large spectator fleet attended the first race, including a steamer that the sponsoring club had brought from Boston. The first race proved eventful when ''Weetamoe'' failed to give way as required to ''Enterprise''

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

of her while they were maneuvering towards the start line (see Racing Rules of Sailing). This caused the latter boat to stand off to avoid a collision and immediately signal a protest. Although ''Weetamoe'' finished the race first, her skipper acknowledged the foul and withdrew, leaving ''Enterprise'' the winner. In the second race, while ''Enterprise'' led the other boats towards the second mark, her crew spotted a buoy with a red flag that appeared to them identical to the first mark they had already rounded.Vanderbilt 1931, p.105 Although about two miles from where they were expecting to find it, they believed this to be the second mark and turned. The other five boats followed. Only after the finish of the race were the crews informed by the Race Committee that they had all turned at the wrong point and that the second buoy had been a fishing trawl buoy. However, since all competitors had made the same mistake, and acknowledging the similarity of the buoys, the committee decided to let the race stand. The results of the races were: The points won by the contestants for America's Cup defender during these races were:Vanderbilt 1931, p.108 As winner of the races, ''Enterprise'' was awarded the Commodore Charles P. Curtiss cup, and a second prize was awarded to ''Yankee''.

Observation

During the first two weeks of July 1930, the America's Cup Committee staged a series of observation races to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the four contenders to defend the cup.Vanderbilt 1931, p.113 The races were conducted by starting the yachts in pairs, with the second pair starting fifteen minutes after the first. The yachts to race in each pair were determined by lot. In all, ten of these races were staged between July 7 and July 17, although due to weather and mechanical failures, not every race could be completed. A further two races had been scheduled for July 18 and 19 but were not conducted. The first four races proceeded without incident, with ''Weetamoe'' recording four wins, ''Enterprise'' two, and ''Whirlwind'' and ''Yankee'' one each. In the fifth race, on July 11, ''Enterprise'' and ''Weetamoe'' competed in the first division.Vanderbilt 1931, p.123 During the first leg of the race, ''Weetamoe''s mainsail failed, forcing her to withdraw from the race. The committee then signalled ''Enterprise'' to withdraw as well, thereby granting ''Enterprise'' a technical victory. The sixth race, on July 12, was marred by very light winds. The start time was delayed by 2½ hours before there was even enough wind for the competitors to get underway, and when ''Enterprise'' and ''Whirlwind'' started in the second division, the yachts of the first division were less than a mile ahead. By the time ''Enterprise'' rounded the second mark, she was ahead of not only ''Whirlwind'', but the other two yachts as well.Vanderbilt 1931, p.127 The America's Cup rules of the time specified that if neither boat in a race had finished the course in 5½ hours, the race would be declared void. Therefore, on this day, the first division race was voided for this reason: ''Weetamoe'' crossed the line only after 5 hours 44 minutes, leading ''Yankee'', which was awarded a "did not finish". In the second division, ''Enterprise'' completed the race with just over 1½ minutes left to spare, meaning that the race was still valid and earning ''Whirlwind'' a second place even though she took 6 hours 10 minutes to complete the course. Weather on the day of race seven, July 14, was quite the opposite: overcast and a 22-knot wind blowing. ''Enterprise'' raced ''Weetamoe'' in the first division, both yachts with their mailsails reefed.Vanderbilt 1931, p.130 ''Enterprise''s mainsail tore, forcing her to withdraw from the race, and giving ''Weetamoe'' a technical victory. Something similar happened in the second division where both yachts were running under full sail: the headboard tore out of ''Whirlwind''s mainsail, forcing her withdrawal and granting technical victory to ''Yankee''. No yacht actually completed the course that day. The wind died again on the day of race eight, July 15. ''Whirlwind'' and ''Yankee'' were taking lay days, so only ''Enterprise'' and ''Weetamoe'' raced.Vanderbilt 1931, p.131 Even so, the wind was so poor that the committee canceled the race after 1½ hours. Race 9, on July 16, proceeded without incident, but for race 10, on July 17, ''Whirlwind'' was once again not available. The Cup Committee therefore decided to hold a three-way race for the other yachts. Other than the participation of an extra competitor, this race was also without incident. A final two observation races were cancelled. The end results of the observations were that ''Enterprise'', ''Weetamoe'', and ''Yankee'' all finished roughly the same, points-wise (14, 13, and 13 respectively), while ''Whirlwind'' had won only a single race and finished with only 8 points.Vanderbilt 1931, p.135 ''Weetamoe'' won every race that she had finished. The results of the races were: The points won by the contestants for America's Cup defender during these races were:

New York Yacht Club annual cruise

From August 2–9, the 1930 annual cruise of the New York Yacht Club offered a final opportunity for the contenders for the defense of the America's Cup to compete with each other prior to the selection trials. The first leg of the cruise, on August 2, was a 37½-mile race from New London to Newport. At the start of the race, ''Enterprise'' signalled a protest that ''Yankee'' had fouled her. Following the race, the Race Committee upheld the protest and disqualified ''Yankee'', which had finished last in any case. ''Weetamoe'' won this leg, defeating ''Enterprise'' by three minutes.Vanderbilt 1931, p.142 The next leg was raced on August 4, a 31½-mile run from Newport to

Mattapoisett Mattapoisett is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,508 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the village of Mattapoisett Center, please see the article Mattapoisett Center, Ma ...

. This leg was won by ''Yankee'', with ''Enterprise'' again in second place, this time by only 20 seconds.Vanderbilt 1931, p.145 ''Weetamoe'' lost about 30 minutes to recovering a man overboard. On August 5, a special race for the defender candidates was held in

Buzzard's Bay Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) long by 8 miles (12 kilometers) wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Since 1 ...

on a 21-mile triangular course. This time, ''Enterprise'' won, with all four yachts finishing within 5 minutes of each other. On August 6, participants in the cruise raced 37½ miles from Mattapoisett to Vineyard Haven.Vanderbilt 1931, p.148 Early in the race, ''Weetamoe'' fouled ''Whirlwind'', which had to bear away to avoid a collision. ''Weetamoe'' immediately withdrew from the race but continued to sail the course in order to reach the next port. The final port-to-port leg of the cruise was raced the next day, August 7, 37 miles from Vineyard Haven to Newport. ''Enterprise'' won this leg, but a few days after the race, a question of rules came up about her use of two

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...

s at one point during the race.Vanderbilt 1931, p.153 All four yachts had been running with spinnakers to starboard, but while maneuvering, ''Enterprise'' had raised her port spinnaker before dropping her starboard spinnaker. When asked for a ruling, the Race Committee interpreted the Racing Rules to mean that a yacht could only sail with one spinnaker at a time. On the basis of this determination, ''Enterprise''s crew withdrew her from the race, which then went to ''Weetamoe''. On August 8, the four contender yachts all participated in the Astor Cup, a 15-mile windward and leeward course. Confusion arose as the yachts approached the finish because they had been instructed to finish with the Newport

lightship Lightship may refer to: * Lightvessel, a moored ship that has light beacons mounted as navigational aids * '' The Lightship'', a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski *''The Lightship (novel)'', by Siegfried Lenz on which the film ...

to starboard, but also to finish between the lightship and the committee boat.Vanderbilt 1931, p.155 However, due to a mechanical falure, the committee boat was anchored in the wrong position, and finishing between it and the lightship would mean finishing with the lightship to port. ''Weetamoe'', in the lead, did just this, but the crew of ''Enterprise'' reasoned that the only way to satisfy the course instructions was to round the lightship and cross the finish line from the other direction, which they did and signalled a protest. The Race Committee upheld the protest, and disqualified ''Weetamoe'' for not finishing the course, giving the race to ''Enterprise''. The final race of the cruise was sailed on August 9, the

City of Newport Cup A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. Again, confusion arose, this time because two other races were being held on the same day, and visibility on the course was not good. ''Whirlwind'' completely missed one of the marks and continued sailing past it, and ''Enterprise'' turned at a buoy that had been set for a different race and lost considerable time getting back on course. The race went to ''Weetamoe''. The results of the races were: The points won by the contestants for America's Cup defender during these races were:Vanderbilt 1931, p.160

Trials

Formal trials between the four contenders commenced on August 20, "to continue until the Cup Committee had selected a Defender for the America's Cup". The contenders were to race in pairs, the second division starting 15 minutes after the first division, as in the observation races.Vanderbilt 1931, 169 The first race was to be a 30-mile leeward-and-windward course. In the first division, ''Enterprise'' and ''Weetamoe'' raced neck-and-neck throughout the race and finished only 31 seconds apart, with ''Enterprise'' the winner.Vanderbilt 1931, 172 ''Yankee'' won the second division after ''Whirlwind'' became disabled. The second race, the next day, was a 30-mile triangular course, with the yachts in the same divisions as in the first race. The wind was strong and ''Weetamoe'' sailed with her mainsail reefed. A mechanical failure aboard ''Enterprise'' nearly forced her to withdraw, but Burgess was aboard and was able to devise a jury-rigged repair to keep her in the race. Even so, ''Enterprise'' won her division, and in doing so, also the all-time record for the 30-mile course that had been set by ''

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

'' in 1901.Vanderbilt 1931, 181 ''Enterprise''s record stood for about 13 minutes before being broken again by ''Yankee'' winning the second division. Trial races on August 25 and 26 were both abandoned when the contenders lay becalmed at the start line for hours. A final trial race was attempted on August 27, with ''Weetamoe'' racing ''Whirlwind'' in division 1 and ''Enterprise'' racing ''Whirlwind'' in division 2 on a 30-mile leeward-and-return course. However, during the race, the wind died and with no hope of the yachts completing the course within the 5½-hour time limit, the Race Committee called off the race. That same evening, the America's Cup Committee informed the afterguard of ''Enterprise'' that their yacht had been selected to defend the cup. The results of the trial races were: The points won by the contestants for America's Cup defender during these races were:

Competition

The first race between ''Shamrock V'' and ''Enterprise'' took place on September 13,Vanderbilt 1931, p.197 a 15-mile leeward-and-windward course.Vanderbilt 1931, p.200 The start was postponed by an hour due to lack of wind. The race was uneventful, other than the Coast Guard having to move some sightseeing steamers so as not to cut the wind for the race.Vanderbilt 1931, p.198 ''Enterprise'' won by almost three minutes. The second race, on September 15, was a triangular course, 10 miles to each leg.Vanderbilt 1931, p.202 This proved to be an even more decisive victory for ''Enterprise'', of nearly 10 minutes. The third race, on September 17, 15 miles windward and return,Vanderbilt 1931, p.207 was the most eventful of the series.Vanderbilt 1931, p.203 The way in which ''Shamrock V'' maneuvered at the start of the race raised several questions under the Racing Rules. However, trusting that ''Enterprise'' was the faster yacht anyway under the prevailing conditions, her crew chose simply to remain clear of ''Shamrock V'' and not risk a protest. The point became academic anyway, when 44 minutes into the race, ''Shamrock V''s main halyard broke, causing her mainsail to collapse and forcing her to withdraw from the race.Vanderbilt 1931, p.206 ''Enterprise'' went on to complete the course and secure a victory. The fourth race, on September 18, was again a triangular course, 10 miles to each leg.Vanderbilt 1931, p.213 ''Enterprise'' established an early lead of nine minutes on the first leg. Although ''Shamrock V'' was able to close that lead to only five minutes by the end of the race, she still finished around half a mile behind ''Enterprise''. Lipton was heard to say "I can't win, I can't win" Having won four races, ''Enterprise'' had successfully defended the America's Cup. The results of the four races were:Vanderbilt 1931, pp.200–13