Endeavour (yacht)
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''Endeavour'' is a
J-class yacht A J-Class yacht (sometimes called a "J-boat") is a single-masted racing yacht built to the specifications of Nathanael Herreshoff's Universal Rule. The J-Class are considered the peak racers of the era when the Universal Rule determined eligibi ...
built for the 1934
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 ...
by
Camper and Nicholson Camper may refer to: * A person who engages in recreational camping * A trailer (vehicle) used for camping: ** Popup camper ** Travel trailer * Truck camper * Recreational vehicle * Campervan * Camping (gaming), a tactic in video gaming. People * ...
in
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 ...
, England. She was built for
Thomas Sopwith Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS (18 January 1888 – 27 January 1989) was an English aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman. Early life Sopwith was born in Kensington, London, on 18 January 1888. He was the eig ...
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 and launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's ''
Velsheda The J-class yacht ''Velsheda'' was designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson and built in 1933 by Camper and Nicholsons at Gosport, Hampshire. She was built for businessman William Lawrence Stephenson and between 1933 and 1936, she won many races and ...
'' 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 ''Australia II'' (KA 6) is an Australian 12-metre-class America's Cup challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Skippered by John Bertrand, she was the first successful ...
'' succeeded in 1983.


Design

''Endeavour'' 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 ...
. ''Endeavour'' pioneered the Quadrilateral
genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, a twin clewed headsail offering great sail area and consequent power.


Career


America's Cup

''Endeavour'' challenged for the 1934 America's Cup and raced
New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...
defender ''
Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
''. However, the campaign was blighted by a strike of Sopwith's professional crew prior to departing for America. Forced to rely mainly on keen amateurs, who lacked the necessary experience, the campaign failed. ''Rainbow'' won with 4–2. This was one of the most contentious of the America's Cup battles and prompted the headline "Britannia rules the waves and America waives the rules."


After America's Cup

Following the America's Cup, she dominated the British sailing scene until, whilst being towed across the Atlantic to Britain in September 1937, she broke loose from her tow and was feared lost. the hulk was eventually found and returned to England, where she was laid up. For 46 years ''Endeavour'' languished through a variety of owners. In 1947, she was sold for scrap, saved only a few hours before her demolition was due. In the 1970s she sank in the
River Medina The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near Chale, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tidal estuary from Newpor ...
,
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
. ''Endeavour'' was purchased for ten pounds and patched up enough to refloat. Until the mid-1980s she was on shore at
Calshot Spit Calshot Spit is a one-mile long sand and slate, shingle bank, near the village of Calshot, located on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Or ...
, an ex-seaplane base on the edge of the
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
, Southern England. By this time she was in a desperate state, with only the hull remaining, lacking rudder, mast and keel.


Rebuild

In 1984 the hulk of ''Endeavour'' was bought by Elizabeth Meyer, who undertook a five-year project to rebuild her. The initial work was undertaken where she lay to ensure that the hull was sufficiently seaworthy to be towed to the shipyard of
Royal Huisman Royal Huisman is a Dutch shipbuilding company that specializes in the newbuild construction and refit, rebuild and renewal of sailing and motor yachts. The shipyard was established in 1884 in Ronduite as a builder of wooden workboats and fishi ...
, in Holland, who designed and installed a new rig, engine, generator and mechanical systems and fitted the interior to a very high standard. Meyer described the rebuild not only as challenging, but also beyond her financial means. In a 2014 interview with
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
she described a "restoration urge" as being "inherent in the human nature" and said that she "immediately went 'Oh no'" when she realised the enormity of this task and that it fell to her. Meyer said she had to sell real estate investments to fund the restoration and that ''Endeavour'' was chartered throughout her entire ownership. When ''Endeavour'' sailed again, on 22 June 1989, it was for the first time in 52 years. In September that year Meyer organised the first J‑Class race for over 50 years, pitting ''Endeavour'' against ''Shamrock V'' at
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
. She needed 90 professional sailors to crew the two yachts but could not afford to pay them; despite this, the appeal and prestige of the restored J‑Class was so great that she was inundated with several hundred applications. ''Endeavour'' cruised extensively and in 1999 joined the rebuilt ''Velsheda'' and ''Shamrock V'' to compete in the Antigua Classics Regatta.


21st century

Meyer sold ''Endeavour'' to
Dennis Kozlowski Leo Dennis Kozlowski (born November 16, 1946) is a former CEO of Tyco International, convicted in 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by Tyco of a $ ...
for US$15M in 2000. In 2006, she was sold again, this time to Hawaiian resident Cassio Antunes for $13.1M. In 2011, ''Endeavour'' completed an 18-month refit in New Zealand, during which a carbon-fibre mast and standing rigging were fitted and some changes were made to the deck layout. In summer 2015, it was reported that ''Endeavour'' was again for sale, with an asking price of €19,950,000.


References


External links

*
J Class ManagementSuper Yacht Times - Specifications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endeavour (Yacht) J-class yachts America's Cup challengers Individual sailing vessels Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom Sailing yachts designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson 1930s sailing yachts 1934 ships Ships built in Gosport