The
J-class yacht ''Velsheda'' was designed by
Charles Ernest Nicholson
Charles Ernest Nicholson (12 May 1868 – 26 February 1954) was a British yacht designer.
Biography
He was born in 1868, one of four sons and six daughters of Benjamin Nicholson (1828-1906), also a yacht designer, and the original Nicholson of ...
and built in 1933 by
Camper and Nicholsons at
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. She was built for businessman William Lawrence Stephenson and between 1933 and 1936, she won many races and competed with other yachts of her era such as ''
Britannia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
'', ''
Endeavour'' 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 ...
''.
History
Initial career
Designed by
Charles Ernest Nicholson
Charles Ernest Nicholson (12 May 1868 – 26 February 1954) was a British yacht designer.
Biography
He was born in 1868, one of four sons and six daughters of Benjamin Nicholson (1828-1906), also a yacht designer, and the original Nicholson of ...
and built by Camper & Nicholsons in 1933 for Mr W.L. Stephenson, managing director of
Woolworth retail shops, she was built in 1933 at Gosport. She was Nicholson's second design for a J Class and Stephenson's second big yacht. ''Velsheda'' was named after Stephenson's three daughters, Velma, Sheila and Daphne. She raced with the greatest names in classic yachting including ''
Britannia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
'', ''
Endeavour'' 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 ...
'' between 1933 and 1936.
In her second season she won more than 40 races and achieved an outstanding record of success at regattas from
Southend to
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to:
Places
* Dartmouth, Devon, England
** Dartmouth Harbour
* Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States
* Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia
Institutions
* Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
. Other venues included
Torbay,
Swanage
Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...
and of course the
Solent, all under the control of the very famous Captain Fred Mountifield. The permanent racing crew at that time was probably around 16 men and this would have been augmented to around 30 for racing. When not required for sail changes, spare crew were moved to below decks.
In her 1930s heyday, she represented the most advanced technical design for spars, rigging, sails, deck gear and ropes. Her masts were aluminium, made by bending plates and riveting them together. Sails were made from the new Terylene threads and deck gear now included winches for easier handling of sheets. The standing rigging was solid rod, even in the 1930s, but with so much stretch in the rigging and systems it was inevitable that J Class masts could not be held in column and would collapse in stronger winds. In anything above a force 3, there was serious concern about holding the rig in place without collapse.
Below decks accommodation was limited to just the main saloon, owners quarters aft, and storage for sails and equipment forward.
By 1937 she was laid up in a mud berth on the
River Hamble
The River Hamble is located in south Hampshire, England. It rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for through Botley, Bursledon, and Lower Swanwick before entering Southampton Water between Hamble Common and Warsash.
The Hamble is tidal fo ...
and became derelict. Many sailors remember visiting her - one recalls sailing in the annual Warming Pan race at
Hamble, and all the visiting crew being taken up the river to their overnight accommodation on ''Velsheda''.
Subsequent restoration
![Velsheda1996](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Velsheda1996.JPG)
''Velsheda'' was rescued from her Hamble mud berth in 1984 by Terry Brabant, who economically refitted her for charter work with a new steel mast and limited interior. Work was carried out by a traditional boat builder Christopher Peterson and a big team of workers. Still without an engine she sailed regularly along the UK south coast on charter work and occasionally ventured to the Mediterranean and Caribbean. She had a chequered career: whilst on charter during the early 1990s ''Velsheda'' visited the UK east coast where she found herself on the beach on a falling tide; fortunately she was recovered safely.
Occasionally she raced in the annual
Round the Island Race
The Round the Island Race is an annual yacht race around the Isle of Wight. It starts and finishes in Cowes, and is organised by the Island Sailing Club. The course is about long. It was first held in 1931, it was sponsored by JP Morgan Asset ...
and although in poor condition, she was still an impressive sight, competing the 60 mile course in quick time. She was laid up and moored at Gosport in 1995/6.
She was purchased in 1996 as a bare hull from the bankrupt C & N yard in Portsmouth Harbour. Southampton Yacht Services on the
River Itchen were then commissioned to undertake a major rebuild including a new one piece carbon fibre mast and inboard diesel engine installation for the first time. She was re-launched in November 1997.
[. J Class Yachts. Retrieved on 2011-05-07.]
Dutch businessman Ronald de Waal (from European retail fashion chain
WE, formerly HIJ/HEY/ZIJ) bought ''Velsheda'' in 1999 and has campaigned her extensively in the Maxi and classic racing circuits in the Caribbean and in the Mediterranean sea.
Gallery
Image:J_Class_Yacht_Racing_9_(7615882226).jpg, Racing against '' Rainbow'' (foreground) in the 2012 J-Class Solent regatta
Image:J Class Yacht Racing 8 (7615881426).jpg, Racing under 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 ...
against '' Ranger'' (left) in the 2012 J-Class Solent regatta
Image:Velsheda_-_J_Class_Yacht_-_J-K7_(8104768603).jpg, Sailing under mainsail and genoa jib
A genoa sail is a type of large jib or staysail that extends past the mast and so overlaps the main sail when viewed from the side, sometimes eliminating it.
It was originally called an "overlapping jib" and later a genoa jib. It is used on singl ...
Image:Velsheda_-_J_Class_Yacht_-_J-K7_(8104977269).jpg, Sailing under mainsail and spinnaker
Image:Velsheda - J Class Yacht - J-K7 (8104773907).jpg, ''Velsheda'' under sail at the J-Class regatta
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...
in Falmouth, 2012
Image:Velsheda - J Class Yacht - J-K7 (8104856413).jpg, ''Velsheda'' under sail - crew are sitting on the gunwale
The gunwale () is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat.
Originally the structure was the "gun wale" on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firing ...
Image:Velsheda - J Class Yacht - J-K7 (8104980937).jpg, ''Velshedas crew at the J-Class regatta in Falmouth, 2012
Image:Velsheda - J Class Yacht - J-K7 (8104966133).jpg, ''Velsheda'' under sail at the J-Class regatta in Falmouth, 2012
References
External links
J-class yacht historySpecifications & Photos of ''Velsheda'' - SYTDykstra Naval ArchitectsThe 'Immortal' J-class Velsheda; sail number J-K7
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velsheda (Yacht)
J-class yachts
Ships built in Gosport
1933 ships
Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom
Sailing yachts of the United Kingdom
1930s sailing yachts
Sailing yachts designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson