Hub - FAMOUS YACHTS IN MALLORCA

Erica Lay owner of EL CREW International Yacht Crew Agency http://www.elcrewco.com/ erica@elcrewco.com

In 1984, Elizabeth L. Meyer purchased Endeavour, intending a full restoration, though the yacht was in poor condition after nearly 50 years of neglect, with only the hull remaining.

The J Class yacht Endeavour is a monumental figure in the annals of sailing history. Designed by the renowned naval architect Charles E Nicholson and built by the Camper & Nicholsons shipyard in Gosport in 1934 for Sir Thomas Sopwith, Endeavour was a formidable competitor in the world of yachting, particularly known for her role in the America’s Cup. In fact she’s one of the only two remaining J classes from this period (the other being Shamrock V). Sopwith was a London born aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman. An adventurous man,

Sopwith took part in the 100mile Tricar motorcycle trial in 1904 winning one of four medals. He also went hot air ballooning in 1906 and enjoyed it so much he bought his own. Sopwith was also, randomly, a fantastic ice skater and as part of the Great Britain national ice hockey 

team, won gold in the 1910 European Championships. His aviation career started that year, and after winning a cash prize for the longest flight from England to the continent, he set

up Sopwith School of Flying, closely followed by the Sopwith Aviation Company which built more than 18,000 aircraft for alied forces for WW1. In 1934 Sopwith funded, organised and

captained Endeavour. At the time, Endeavour’s technology was ground breaking. The

yacht measured 39.6m in length overall and featured a beam of 6.4m. Her design was

characterised by a sleek, narrow steel hull and a deep keel, optimised for superior per-

formance on the water. Endeavour’s primary mission was to compete in the 1934 America’s Cup, challenging the defending champion, Harold S Vanderbilt’s Rainbow. The yacht was equipped with a powerful sail plan that included a tall mast and expansive sail area, allowing Endeavour to harness the wind effectively and achieve remarkable speeds. Her design innovations were aimed at surpassing the reigning American yacht in both technical prowess and aesthetic appeal. The match was highly anticipated as Endeavour was seen as a serious contender capable of breaking America’s winning streak, especially after beating fellow Js Velsheda and Shamrock V in her first season racing. The series was fiercely contested, with En -deavour showcasing her impressive capabilities on the water. Endeavour took the first two races and hopes were high for the British side. But Rainbow’s tacticians came through and managed to win the next two races. Despite Sopwith contesting one of Rainbow’s manoeuvres, the Cup Committee ruled in favour of the Americans, and Rainbow went on to with the series 4-2 resulting with one British national newspaper headline stating “Britannia rules the waves

and America waives the rules.”! However, Endeavour’s legacy was far from diminished. She

continued racing but suffered a partial wreck in 1937 whilst being towed back across the Atlantic to the UK. The towline broke and she was set adrift – many thought she was lost but Endeavour was found and eventually made it back to England where she went was laid up. Sadly she was left to deteriorate under several owners until she was purchased by Elizabeth L

Meyer in 1984. Meyer set out to do a full restoration of the yacht, but Endeavour was in a very poor state after nearly 50 years of neglect with no rudder, mast or keel and just the hull remaining. Work started where she lay in Calshot Spit, in the South of England until she was seaworthy enough to get her to Royal Huisman in Holland where they gave her a new rig, engine, systems and a new interior. This was a huge project for Meyer who had to sell various properties to fund this labour of love, so relaunching her in 1989 was a great achievement. It was the first time Endeavour had sailed in over 50 years, so to celebrate, Meyer organised the first J Class race the world had seen in that time in Newport, Rhode Island, and despite not having money left to pay the sailors, she received hundreds of applications to crew on Endeavour and Shamrock V. Meyer went on to set up the International Yacht Restoration School in 1993. Her work in building and yacht restoration has seen her receive the president’s award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She was also involved in the restoration of the other remaining J from that era, Shamrock V. Since then Endeavour has been sold on to other owners who continue to upgrade and modernise. With a rich history and legacy like hers, we’re sure she’ll continue to dominate the waves for many years to come.