Endeavour (Yacht)
| 320px Endeavour under sail in Long Beach CA with the Queen Mary at her stern. | |
| Career |  United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Owner: | Sir Thomas Sopwith 20px RYS |
| Builder: | Camper & Nicholsons |
| Commissioned: | 1934 |
| Out of service: | Laid Up 1938 |
| Honours and awards: | America's Cup Challenger |
| Career | Template:Country data US |
| Owner: |
1984: Elizabeth Meyer 2000: L. Dennis Kozlowski |
| Reinstated: | 1989 |
| Status: | Restored |
| Career | Template:Country data CAY |
| Owner: | 2006: Cassio Antunes |
| Port of registry: | George Town |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | J-class yacht |
| Displacement: | 143 tons |
| Length: |
129 ft 6 in (39.5 m)(overall) 88 ft 2 in (26.9 m)(waterline) |
| Beam: | 22 ft (6.71 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft 9 in (4.5 m) |
| Notes: | Sail area: 7,651 sq ft (710.8 m2) |
Endeavour a 130 foot J-class yacht built for the 1934 America's Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, Portsmouth Harbour, England. She was built for Thomas Sopwith 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 launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's Velsheda and Shamrock V. She failed in her America's Cup challenge against the American defender Rainbow but came closer than any other until Australia II succeeded in 1983.
America's Cup
Endeavour pioneered the Quadrilateral genoa a twin clewed headsail offering great sail area and consequent power. This design is still in use in the J's today. The boat also featured a larger and improved spinnaker. However the campaign was blighted by a strike of Sopwith's professional crew prior to departing for the USA. Forced to rely mainly on keen amateurs who lacked the necessary experience, the campaign failed. 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"
History
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[1]. She was however eventually found and returned to England where she was laid up. For 46 years Endeavour languished through a variety of owners, she was sold for scrap in 1947 being saved only a few hours before her demolition was due. In the 1970s she sank in the River Medina, Isle of Wight, she was rescued having been purchased for ten pounds and patched up to refloat her. Until the mid 1980s she was on shore at Calshot Spit an ex seaplane base on the edge of the New Forest, Southern England. By this time she was in a desperate state, with only the hull remaining, lacking rudder, mast and keel.
Rebuild
She was bought by Elizabeth Meyer in 1984 who undertook a five year project to rebuild her. The initial work having to be undertaken where she lay to ensure the hull was seaworthy to be towed to the Royal Huisman shipyard, Holland. They designed and installed a new rig, engine, generator and mechanical systems and fitted the interior to a very high standard. Endeavour sailed again, on June 22, 1989, for the first time in 52 years.[2]
Elizabeth Meyer sold her to L. Dennis Kozlowski for $15m in 2000[3]; She was again sold in 2006 for a reputed $13m to Hawaii resident Cassio Antunes.[4]
After her rebuild she cruised extensively and in 1999 joined the rebuilt Velsheda and Shamrock V to compete in the Antigua Classics Regatta.
External links
References
de:Endeavour (Yacht) fr:Endeavour (yacht) sv:Endeavour (båt)
