12 meter yacht intrepid

Sparkman & Stephens INTREPID

Sail Number: US-22

Type: 12 Metre (Third Rule)

Intrepid Specifications:

LOA: 64’0″ / 19.50m – LWL: 48’0″ / 14.63m – Beam: 12’3″ / 3.73m – Draft: 9’0” / 2.74m – Design Number: 1834 – Designer: Olin J. Stephens – Original Owner: Intrepid Syndicate, U.S.A. – Current Owner: John P. Curtain, Jr. (Intrepid Charters LLC) – Former name(s) Windancer Year Built: 1967 – Built By: Minneford Yacht Yard, City Island, NY – Hull Material: Double-planked mahogany on white oak frames – Gross Displacement: 60,000 lbs / 27,215kg – Sail Area: 1,756 sq ft

Historical:

Designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built and launched by the Minneford Yacht Yard, City Island, NY in 1967. Design number 1834 was S&S’s 6th 12 Metre, incorporating a revolutionizing innovative hull shape, first fin and skeg configuration with a trim tab. Adding to greater stability the crew and winches were moved below deck to facilitate a lower innovative bending boom, with the top portion of the mast was made out of titanium. She easily won the 1967 America’s Cup Races 4-0 against Dame Pattie.

For the 1970 Cup defense INTREPID was modified by Britton Chance. Her keel was redesigned and recast, she was given a longer waterline, a reduced wetted area and her weight increased. She became the second yacht (after Columbia 1899 and 1901) to successfully defend the America’s Cup twice, the first 12 metre to do so. Intrepid won the Caritas Cup (NYYC) in 1970 and the Chandler Hovey Gold Bowl (NYYC) in 1967 and 1970.

Redesigned yet again by Olin Stephens and his team at S&S, she was back again for a third time in 1974 under the command of Californian Gerry Driscoll. Intrepid came within one race of becoming the only three time America’s Cup Defender in history, losing the final race of the Defender trials to Ted Hood on the brand new Courageous.

Intrepid had many home ports from Miami, FL to Seattle, WA to Monaco, FRA where she was briefly owned by the L’Association Francaise pour La Coupe de l’Amerique (Marcel Bich) in 1979. From there she was returned to the US to Luskegon MI, renamed Windancer and was hired for charters on Lake Champlain. In 1993, Intrepid Sailing Inc. brought her to Seekonk, MA, she was run aground on the Nantucket breakwater in 1994.

Now owned by Intrepid Charters LLC (John P. Curtain, Jr.) she was completely rebuilt at Brewer’s Cove Haven Marina in Barrington, RI under the direction of Herb Marshall (American Eagle) and George Hill (Weatherly) of America’s Cup Charters. She had a new deck and deck beams, floor timbers, ring frames, bottom planking and ballast keel. She is actively sailed and raced in the Newport fleet.

Chartering Information: America’s Cup Charters

Content Credit: The Twelve Metre Class by Dyer Jones & Luigi Lang | America’s Cup Charters

Provenance. (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

Owner: (1967-1971) – Intrepid Syndicate, U.S.A. Captain: Bus” Mosbacher (1967 America’s Cup Winner) Captain: Bill Ficker (1970 America’s Cup Winner) Owner: (1971-1972) – International Oceanographic Foundation, Miami Owner: (1972-1976) – George F. Jewett Captain: Gerry Driscoll (1974 Defender Trials) Owner: (1976-1978) – Robert H. Fendler, Seattle, WA Owner: (1978-1980) – Pierre G. Goemans, Monaco Owner: (1979) – Marcel Bich (AFCA) Owner: (1993-1996) – Intrepid Sailing Inc Owner: (1996) – John P. Curtin, Jr. (Intrepid Charters LLC)

Related posts:

• Gaff-Rigged Ketch LEADER
• John G. Alden MAYAN
• Ernest Collins NORADA
• L.F. Herreshoff “Quiet Tune”

Leave a Comment Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Address:

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

This 12-Metre proved a breakthrough in design and Olin Stephens regards ‘Intrepid’ as his “most innovative twelve”.

She was the first to separate the rudder from the keel, include a ‘bustle’ or a ‘kicker’ and use a trim tab.   The steering system involved two rudders in tandem, a deep one on the keel and a shallow one on the skeg.   This was used to drive the boat to windward and enable a quicker turn when tacking.   Stephens’ design also involved locating all the winches below deck allowing the ‘kicker’ to hold the boom down low which in turn reduced the “induced drag”.

The design was so successful that ‘Intrepid’ successfully defended the America’s Cup twice, in 1967 and 1970.   By 1974 the newer and lighter Stephens design, ‘ Courageous ‘ took on the defenders role.

12-Metre World Championships, 2019

SHARE THIS:

• Yachts for Sale

Recently updated...

Write an Article

Covering news on classic yachting worldwide is a tall ask and with your input Classic Yacht Info can expose stories from your own back yard.

We are keen to hear about everything from local regattas and classic events to a local restoration or yachting adventure. Pictures are welcome and ideal for making the article more engaging.

With a site that has been created with the assistance of an international group of classic yacht enthusiasts we value your input and with your help we strive to make CYI more up-to-date and more informative than ever.

Please register and get in touch if you would like to contribute.

choose your language:

We’re passionate about Classic Yachts here at CYI, and we welcome submissions from all over the globe!

Captain, rigger, sail-maker or chef – if you’d like to write for CYI just let us know!

Email [email protected] to be set up as a Contributor, and share your Classic thoughts with the world.

ClassicYachtInfo.com has the largest database of classic yachts on the internet.

We’re continually working to keep it accurate and up-to-date, and we greatly appreciate contributions of any type. If you spot an error, or you have some information on a yacht and would like to contribute, please jump on in!

Don’t be shy…. Breeze on!

• Sell Your Yacht

Abordage - Custom Ship Models - Handcrafted Boat Models - Half Hulls

No products

Product successfully added to your shopping cart

There are 0 items in your cart. there is 1 item in your cart..

Please login or create account

• Log in/Create account
• Custom Models
• Custom Desk Models
• Custom Half Models
• ---------------------
• La Boutique
• America's Cup Boats
• Classic Yachts
• Historic Ships
• Motor Boats
• Desk Models
• Other Models and prototypes
• Half Models
• Half models with wooden frame

Intrepid 1967

Reference SMA-24

Condition: New product

Display all pictures

Really well done, this plank-on-bulkhead with tropical hardwood model of the Intrepid won the America's Cup in 1967 and again in 1970.

More details

This product is no longer in stock

Availability date:

Add to cart

• americascup

Intrepid is a 12-metre class yacht which won the America's Cup in 1967 and again in 1970.

Intrepid was designed by Olin Stephens, and was built of d ouble-planked mahogany on white oak frames . She featured important innovations both above and below the waterline.

The rudder was separated from the keel and a trim tab was added. This new general underbody type, with relatively minor refinements, was used on every subsequent Cup boat until the 12-metre Australia II's winged keel of 1983.

In 1967 Intrepid was skippered by Emil "Bus" Mosbacher, and defeated Australian challenger Dame Pattie. Redesigned in 1970 by Britton Chance, Jr. and skippered by Bill Ficker that year, she defeated another Australian challenger, Gretel II.

From wikipedia

Be the first to write your review !

Customer ratings and reviews

• America's Cup Boats
• Custom Sail Boats
• Custom Power Boats
• Other Models & Prototypes
• Trophies And Awards
• Display Cases

Manufacturers

• Alerion Express
• Atlantic Boat Company

Viewed products

The 12m Class and the America’s Cup By Halsey C. Herreshoff

Credit: www.herreshoff.org

The 150-year history of the America’s Cup, the oldest and most distinguished prize in world sport, is summarized from the author’s vantage point of belonging to a family of boat designers and builders who contributed to the dominance of American yachts from the beginning into the 1980s. Particulars and performances of the most important designs are described from AMERICA to the current International America’s Cup Class.

Introduction

The America’s Cup is the Holy Grail of yacht racing. It is much more. This Cup, in competition for a period of 150 years, is the oldest and most distinguished trophy in all sport, outdating the World Cup, Davis Cup, Stanley Cup, Walker Cup, and all others of significance. Excepting the lavish excesses of big time modern professional sport, more talent, effort, and money have been devoted to the America’s Cup than for any other sport competitions. From the standpoint of naval architecture, America’s Cup intensity has inspired countless design breakthroughs, fallout from which benefit all yachts today to an extent generally unrealized by those who sail. Here, a highly focused pursuit of excellence has provided quality, boldness, and dedication to be the best. The most elegant hull lines, most efficient construction, best sails, and most skillful sailing techniques have evolved from America’s Cup competition.

For 132 years (1851 to 1983), the United States enjoyed the longest winning streak in all sport. There were close calls but always the U.S. won the series and most of the individual races. Through that time, American yachts were generally, though not always, the fastest; thus, it may be fairly stated that victories followed very much from technical prowess.

As with any ship design, a sailing yacht embodies many necessary elements, which must dovetail to accomplish its mission. What is nice about America’s Cup design is that the only mission is speed, maneuverability and reliability to best a single match race rival around a closed course. Size, weight, wetted surface, hull form, light but strong construction, efficient rigs with good sails, sea kindliness and maneuverability are necessary. In general the successful boats embody acceptable or superior selections in the above categories. Bold innovation has been rewarded, but nearly always, extremes have failed. In a series of yacht races encompassing generally a variety of wind and sea conditions, an overall good boat wins.

It is appropriate to divide America’s Cup history into seven logical chronological divisions. The outstanding or most interesting yacht of each period will be addressed herewith. Listed below are the America’s Cup competitions by era with the names of the winning and defeated yachts respectively. In each case the focus yacht is in boldface type.

The l2-Metre era: 1958-1987

Following World War II, the conventional wisdom on both sides of the Atlantic was that the America’s Cup was done. The world was rebuilding and there seemed little prospect of funding further J boats given their assumed greatly accelerated cost. The Cup itself remained the pride of the New York Yacht Club, continually on display in the trophy room of the 44th Street Club House. Most of us expected it to just remain there for a long time, perhaps never to be raced for again.

Enter Commodores Henry Sears and Henry Morgan of the New York Yacht Club. By petitioning the Supreme Court of the State of New York, they modified the Deed of Gift to allow smaller yachts without the previous demand that challengers must cross the ocean on their own bottoms. It was agreed to compete in the International 12-Metre Class, which had provided excellent racing for several years before the war. Designed to the rather tight specifications of the International Rule, these boats did not really fit the grand traditions of the Cup but nevertheless provided nearly three decades of some of the finest match racing ever.

1958-1987: The 12-Metres 1958 COLUMBIA vs. SCEPTRE 1962 WEATHERLY vs. GRETEL 1964 CONSTELLATION vs. SOVEREIGN 1967 INTREPID vs. DAME PATTIE 1970 INTREPID vs. GRETEL II 1974 COURAGEOUS vs. SOUTHERN CROSS 1977 COURAGEOUS vs. AUSTRALIA 1980 FREEDOM vs. AUSTRALIA 1983 AUSTRALIA II vs. LIBERTY 1987 STARS & STRIPES vs. KOOKABURRA III

I can write more knowledgeably about the 12-Metre era than any other, as I was an active participant for 25 years and an observer for the full 29 years. Through acquaintance with Harry Sears, I was excused from other duties as a naval officer to sail aboard COLUMBIA, the 1958 Cup Defender, as bowman. Sailing aboard the 12’s in most of their seasons, I participated in four America’s Cup series, a total of 20 races; it was all about the greatest fun I’ve ever had.

The International Rule is an inelegant arbitrary formula that controls and restricts the design of these boats within narrow limits. There is a minimum length, maximum draft, maximum rig heights, and a set relation between length and displacement. Scantlings first in wood and later in aluminum are tightly controlled by specifics of the rule, Nevertheless, innovation in design particularly by Olin Stephens brought about nearly continual improvement of the boats, and the design edge of the United States long seemed to assure retention of the Cup as it did over many matches through 1980.

Curiously, some of the finest racing of all was in the finals of the first selection trials between COLUMBIA, sailed by Briggs Cunningham and designed by Sparkman & Stephens against Stephens prewar 12-Metre VIM. These were great tactical battles with racing margins of a few seconds in many races. The Cup race itself that year was a walk; SCEPTRE was a quite inferior design that had never faced competition before the match. As had happened a few times before, WEATHERLY, a weak American boat, won in 1962 by the brilliance of Bus Mobacher, her skipper. That was the first year of an Australian challenger and GRETEL won a race demonstrating the aggressive posture of Australian sailors.

Another S&S yacht, CONSTELLATION won in 1964. She was a quite elegant all-round boat, which was selected as Cup Defender over the large and powerful AMERICAN EAGLE, which was only superior in heavy weather. This should have been a tip off to the future but the true significance of having to design the smallest possible 12-Metre for Newport conditions was not generally appreciated until Australia II lifted the Cup in 1983. The reason 12-Metres form an exception to the axiom “design big” is the idiosyncrasy of the rule, particularly the prescription of increased displacement with length.

Olin Stephens’ INTREPID of 1967 was a breakthrough yacht. Wetted surface was drastically reduced with a shorter keel and separate rudder and the boat had numerous refinements. With outstanding management and the skill of Mosbacher again as skipper, INTREPID was unbeatable. The quest for further breakthroughs led to some peculiar and unsuccessful designs over the next two seasons.

The 1970 match was saved by repeat defense of INTREPID. In 1974, Olin Stephens designed another very fine boat, COURAGEOUS. Built of aluminum under new scantling rules, COURAGEOUS was powerful and superior in a breeze but did not easily defeat INTREPID, striving for a third defense. The selection trials reduced to a memorable sudden-death race in a 30-knot northeast breeze that COURAGEOUS won through both superior speed and better sailing. While I personally believe that Stephens’s 1977 boat, ENTERPRISE, was a further improvement in the same direction, Ted Turner sailing COURAGEOUS beat her out for the defense. Though not of demonstrably different dimensions, FREEDOM of 1980 seemed very superior. One difference was lower freeboard – providing a lower center of gravity and less hull windage. The new ingredient was a brilliant program of development of sails, gear and crew established by skipper Dennis Conner over a two-year program. The success of the program altered America’s Cup procedures from then on. Even with that, FREEDOM did lose one of the races of the match principally owing to a light-air advantage of Australia employing a rule-beating mainsail that gave her superior windward speed in light air.

Then, in 1983, the unthinkable happened in Newport when AUSTRALIA II beat LIBERTY in “The Race of the Century,” the sudden-death seventh race of that match. AUSTRALIA II was the best 12-Metre yacht to sail in the 25-year history of competition at Newport. Her extraordinary and controversial winged keel was, of course, the conspicuous feature. The ballyhoo about that masked the significant facts that AUSTRALIA II was the first boat to go to minimum 12-Metre length and displacement and that she had significantly less wetted surface than any other Twelve; this latter fact won the Cup! Less wetted surface followed naturally from a smaller boat but also from a keel of radically small planform. Where that had failed 13 years earlier in VALIANT with a conventional keel, it succeeded in spades on AUSTRALIA II because the winged keel provided sufficient hydrodynamic lift (side force) without the conventional large area. Because 12’s have draft limited by a function of length, they crave more draft or the equivalent effect. The lift-enhancing action of the “end plate” wings provided that very effectively.

While the racing ended at Newport in 1983 with the victory by the wonderful AUSTRALIA II, the subsequent events are equally interesting. Dennis Conner took charge again and with a brilliantly conceived and executed plan won back the Cup the first time sailing Twelves in the challenging waters of western Australia. The final STARS & STRIPES was a one-weather boat, big and powerful for the consistent “Doctor” (strong winds) of Freemantle. Others did not have the strength of their convictions to go with such a big and powerful boat. Dennis’s crew and tactics were admirable in this most wonderful challenge at a spectacular sailing locale.

The one-weather quality of STARS & STRIPES was abundantly clear from her total failure to win light-weather 12-Metre races in European waters later in 1987. An AUSTRALIA II type boat was needed there or would have been for continued 12-Metre races in Newport or San Diego.

François Chevalier et Jacques Taglang

mardi 30 octobre 2012

Britton chance - america'cup - intrepid 1970 - chancegger 1970 - mariner 1974 - stars & stripes 1987 - stars & stripes 1988 catamaran - twelve meter boat, britton chance jr. 1940-2012 american yacht designer  , we learned with great sadness the death of britton chance jr. on october 12, 2012. for us he will remain the lead designer of the successful 12 meter stars & stripes us-55 (1987 america’s cup campaign in perth, australia) and the amazing wing cat stars & stripes (1988 america’s cup campaign in san diego, usa)..

Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire.

© 2024 12 Metre Yacht Club, All rights reserved.

Secondary address

Related members, related boats.

Event Details

• Meet the ITMA Team
• Class Rules
• Class By-Laws

12mR Database

• Measurement Certificates
• The 12mR Class by Luigi Lang & Dyer Jones- Volume 1
• The 12mR Class by Luigi Lang & Dyer Jones- Volume 2
• 2024 PORQUEROLLES
• 2023 NEWPORT
• 2021 HELSINKI
• 2019 NEWPORT
• 2014 BARCELONA
• 2011 FLENSBURG
• WORLD CHAMPIONS
• 2017-2019 Series
• 2021 Regattas
• 2020 Regattas
• 2019 Regattas
• 2018 Regattas
• 2017 Regattas
• 2016 Regattas
• 2015 Regattas
• 2014 Regattas
• 2013 Regattas
• 2012 Regattas
• 2011 Regattas
• AMERICAS FLEET
• NORTHERN EUROPE FLEET
• SOUTHERN EUROPE FLEET
• Americas Fleet
• N. Europe Fleet
• S. Europe Fleet
• Coupe de France Series
• AZZURRA III (I-10)
• CRUSADER (K-24)
• LEGACY (KZ-5)
• VANITY V (K-5)
• VICTORY ’83 (K-22)
• WINGS (K-15)
• 12mRs for Charter
• 12mR Brand Guide
• 12mR Team Store

WORK IN PROGRESS…

Advance, KA-7

America II, US-42

America II, US-44

America II, US-46

American Eagle, US-21

Anitra, US-5

Aschanti III, G-3

Atalanta, K-5

Australia II, KA-6

Australia III, KA-9

Australia IV, KA-9

Australia, KA-5

Azzurra II, I-8

Azzurra III, I-10

Azzurra IV, I-11

Azzurra, I-4

Bloodhound, K-101

Blue Marlin, FIN-1

Canada I, KC-1

Canada II, KC-2

Cerigo, B-1

Challenge 12, KA-10

Challenge France, F-8

Chancegger, F-4

Clipper, US-32

Columbia, US-16

Constellation, US-20

Courageous, US-26

Crusader II, K-25

Crusader, K-24

Dame Pattie, KA-2

Danseuse, E-7

Davo III, E-9

Defender, US-33

Eagle, US-60

Easterner, US-18

Eileen, E-21

Emilia, I-2

Enterprise, US-27

Erne Signe, E-8

Evaine, K-2

Figaro III, N-1

Figaro IV, N-12

Figaro IV, N-6

Flica II, K-14

Flica, K-16

Foxhound, K-126

France I, F-1

France II (project)

France II, F-2

France III, F-3

Fraternitas

Freedom, US-30

French Kiss, F-7

Gleam, US-11

Gretel II, KA-3

Gretel, KA-1

Heart of America, US-51

Heatherbell

Heritage, US-23

Independence, US-28

Intrepid, US-22

Isolde, US-2

Italia I, I-7

Italia II, I-9

Iyruna, K-11

Javotte, E-5

Jenetta, K-1

Kiwi Magic, KZ-7

Kookaburra (project)

Kookaburra I, KA-11

Kookaburra II, KA-12

Kookaburra III, KA-15

La Spina, I-1

Lady, NOR-63

Le Cid, N-2

Legacy, KZ-5

Liberty, US-40

Lionheart, K-18

Little Astra

Magic, US-38

Mariner, US-25

Miquette, K-14

Mitena, US-10

Modesty, K-4

Mouette, K-15

Moyana 1926, K-3

Moyana 1929, K-3

Moyana II, K-8

Mylne Project #159

Nefertiti, US-19

New Zealand, KZ-3

Nini Anker, N-15

Noresca, K-9

Northern Light, US-14

Nyala, US-12

Onawa, US-6

Princess Svanevit, S-2

Sceptre, K-17

Seven Seas of Porto, US-9

Skeaf IV, E-5

South Australia, KA-8

Southern Cross, KA-4

Sovereign, K-12

Sphinx, G-4

Spirit of America, US-34

Stars & Stripes ’83, US-53

Stars & Stripes ’85, US-54

Stars & Stripes ’86, US-56

Stars & Stripes ’87, US-55

Steak ‘N Kidney, KA-14

Stiarna, K-218

Storm, E-31

Sverige, G-5

Tatjana, K-2

Tomahawk, K-13

Trivia, K-10

True North II

True North, KC-87

Tycoon, US-3

U.S.A, US-61

USA (E-1), US-49

Valiant, US-24

Vanity V, K-5

Vanity, K-1

Vema III, N-11

Veronica, K-10

Victory of Burnham, K-21

Victory ’83, K-22

Vineta, E-10

Waiandance, US-1

Weatherly, US-17

Westra, K-4

White Heather

White Streak

Wings, K-15

Zelita, K-9

Zoraida, K-8

• AUD$ Australian AUD
• CAD$ Canadian CAD
• CNY Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY
• EUR€ Euro EUR
• HKD Hong Kong Dollar HKD
• ILS Israel Shekel ILS
• JPY Japan Yen JPY
• NZ$ New Zealand NZD
• £ Pound Sterling GBP
• RUB Russia Ruble RUB
• SGD Singapore Dollar SGD
• CHF Swiss Franc CHF
• US$ US Dollar USD

Your shopping cart is empty!

• Seashells 245
• Marine Creatures 312
• All Other Animals 668
• Monkeys, Lemurs etc 137
• Butterflies 283
• Elephants 30
• Fossils, Prehistoric etc 123
• Insects 235
• Marsupials and Monotremes 72
• Reptiles etc 136
• Antique Maps Of The World 16
• Antique Maps Of North America 47
• Antique Maps Of South America 15
• Antique Maps Of Asia 50
• Antique Maps Of Europe And UK 161
• Antique Maps Of Oceania 21
• Antique Maps Of The Arctic And Antarctica 5
• Antique Celestial Maps And Astronomy 26
• Antique Maps Of Africa 15
• All Other Birds 729
• Birds' Nests & Eggs 314
• Birds of Prey 158
• Parrots 138
• Poultry 197
• Finches 114
• Game Birds 120
• Hummingbirds 88
• Seabirds 217
• Water Birds 407
• Bouquets 87
• Edible Plants 464
• Floral 1890
• Leaves, Foliage etc 363
• Orchids 195
• Palm Trees 42
• Seaweeds 170
• Bromeliads 26
• Carnivorous Plants 21
• Mushrooms 9
• Pompeii 111
• The Age Of Discovery 50
• Cakes and Desserts 79
• Fruit and Vegetables 321
• Savouries 29
• Central American People 9
• Fashion 161
• Asian People 85
• North American People 35
• European People 535
• Australian and Oceania People 104
• African People 21
• Military People 120
• South American People 35
• Other Pacific 12
• North America 62
• Central America 32
• Egypt and Holy Lands 266
• New Zealand 76
• Australia 12
• Other Pacific 18
• South America 54
• Science 147
• Technology and Industry 273
• Transport 264
• Medicine and Anatomy 107
• Architecture 536
• Astronomy 34
• Heraldry 114
• Music and Manuscripts 139
• Vintage Hot Air Balloons 12
• Yachting 52
• High Resolution Scans
• Login Or Register
• How to order
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Join newsletter list. Get 10% off
• Antique Print Appraisal / Valuation
• Sports And Pastimes

America's Cup yacht: Intrepid 1967 and 1970

• Availability: 3
• Artist / Collection: John Gardner
• Product Code: FRP28890
• Description
• Specifications

34 x 23.5cm (13.2 x 9.1 inches). Intrepid is a 12-metre class yacht which won the America's Cup in 1967 and again in 1970. Intrepid was designed by Olin Stephens, and was built of double-planked mahogany on white oak frames

This high quality vintage lithograph was made in Great Britain in the early 1970s. The paper is thick and light creamy white in excellent condition and is blank on the reverse side.

• More From Same Artist / Collection

• Subscriber login
• Day pass login
• Calendar submission login
• TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Intrepid wins Herreshoff 12-meter challenge regatta

Register to post events

If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here .

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue .

The Herreshoff Marine Museum / America’s Cup Hall of Fame hosted its first-ever 12-meter regatta on Sunday, June 20. The two-hour, two-race regatta was held off Rose Island in Newport Harbor under sunny skies with a cool 15-kilometer breeze out of the south. In other words, a perfect June day to be on the water.

The Chalice Challenge, as it was playfully named, was the result of four vessels being offered as a live auction prize for Herreshoff’s Perseverance Gala, a virtual event they hosted in December. The owners of these vessels, through the charter company ‘Americas Cup Charters,’ generously donated the vessels for two-hour sails.

Herreshoff trustee and Bristol resident Stevie Eddleston, however, had a better idea: “Let‘s put together a match race and pit these vessels against each other!” Reaching out to all of the winners to determine interest was met with a resounding yes. The naming of the race followed shortly thereafter with Director of Advancement Ted Regan and trustee Steve Eddleston brainstorming at Aidan’s.

The 12-meter vessels included: Onawa, Intrepid, Heritage, Weatherly and at the last moment another trustee and owner of a boatyard in Maine offered up Gleam to enjoin her 12-meter sisters on the bay.

Bill Lynn, Herreshoff Marie Museum CEO, created the race course. All of the teams worked hard trying to capture the Chalice Challenge but apparently the teammates aboard Intrepid worked the hardest as they won both races handily and emerged as victors, taking the crystal Chalice Challenge to the home of their team captain and another trustee and fellow Bristolian, Steve Kloeblen.

All teams and their professional crews met at the Clarke Cook House Sky Bar (aka 12M Yacht Club) for cold beverages, warm food and lively conversation.

Other items that may interest you

Eagles unable to keep pace with Clippers

Portsmouth edged by rebels in ot thriller, 21-20, townies remain undefeated upon return to division i …, wildcats search for chemistry after championship ….

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Enterprise: Is this restored 12 Metre the best yacht to never contest the America’s Cup?

• November 19, 2019

Enterprise is a 1977 S&S-designed 12 Metre, originally built to defend the America’s Cup, and fully restored in time for this year’s 12 Metre World Championships in Rhode Island. Dave Powlison reports

Among the 21 elegant Twelves lining the docks at Rhode Island’s Fort Adams for this summer’s 12 Metre World Championship, sat a yacht that for many was a huge disappointment. Enterprise , built for the 1977 America’s Cup , had everything going for her, but never got the invitation to the Cup she seemed destined to receive. Today, she’s arguably the best set-up 12 Metre in the world.

Designed by Olin Stephens and David Pedrick at Sparkman & Stephens, and built of aluminium at the Minneford Yacht Yard, Enterprise boasted a number of firsts. She was the first design to be tank-tested on a large scale, with a handful of models measuring roughly 7m each, in tanks designed for the aerospace and military industries.

Results from those tests suggested that over a typical 24-mile America’s Cup course in an average 10-knot wind, Enterprise would be a minute faster than her rivals.  Enterprise was also the first yacht to pioneer laminate sails, using plastic films to stabilise the more conventional Dacron. Her sails included the ‘garbage bag’, a light airs genoa that (in colour, at least) suggested its moniker.

Enterprise posted two race wins in the 2019 12 Metre World Championships. Photo: Ian Roman

The 1977 Challenger matches were a rematch of the 1974 Courageous v Intrepid rivalry between upstart west coaster Lowell North and eastern establishment sailor Ted Hood.

At North’s right hand was sailmaking wunderkind John Marshall, who would be a dominant presence in Cup competitions for years to come. Many of Enterprise ’s crew had cut their 12 Metre teeth on Intrepid ’s successful 1970 Cup defence. In fact, Intrepid was brought out of retirement and trucked to San Diego to spar with the new design.

Yet it was Courageous , a 1974 design, that secured the spot to defend the Cup ( Courageous successfully saw off Alan Bond’s Australia in the Cup match). So what went wrong for Enterprise ? Anyone who knows the boat well won’t hesitate to respond. “ Enterprise had a foretriangle dimension that was about three feet shorter than what was conventional,” Marshall explained to me recently.

Enterprise hull is now painted battleship grey – the original colour was white

Most 12s have a 24ft foretriangle, give or take a bit. Enterprise ’s was 21ft. “Computer predictions that evaluated flow over surfaces suggested this would give us an edge,” Marshall recalled. But when it came to tacking, getting the stiff headsails quickly across was a challenge, as there was now 3ft more sail that had to pass around the front of the mast.

“The jib didn’t fill quite as quickly, and we didn’t accelerate quite as quickly coming out of tacks,” Marshall adds. In the early challenger races, Enterprise performed well. But as the summer progressed, Courageous got distinctly better. “Once the difference got down to being pretty small, and the boats were always close together, tacking performance became much more important.”

Consider that it wasn’t unheard of for 12 Metres to do over 50 tacks on a four-mile beat, and it’s clear why the writing was on the wall.

Article continues below…

Maiden refit: How Tracy Edwards’ sailing legend was brought back to life

Few yachts, and fewer skippers, become truly famous – famous in the sense that the everyman on the street would…

Fujin: The inside story of this carbon catamaran’s Caribbean refit

After Fujin capsized during the 2018 RORC Caribbean 600 race it would have been understandable if owner Greg Slyngstad had…

Back to her best

Fast-forward to 2019 and Enterprise is back in fighting form. After stints in the Med she had been donated to the US Merchant Marine Academy Sailing Foundation.

With the impetus of the forthcoming 2019 Worlds in Newport, a major refit was begun in earnest. Tommy Rich, from New England Boatworks, which carried out the refit, recalls: “The boat had been bastardised. They had put a flush deck on it and a bogus interior, and it was basically in a state of disrepair.”

The refit was done over roughly two years, and in that time virtually everything on the boat was upgraded or replaced, except the hull and framework.

The hull structure is one of the few parts of the boat that remains original

Rich explains: “S&S, along with David Pedrick, designed a new keel. The boat got a more modern spade rudder to replace the old, barn-door type, and a more modern deck. That included new cockpits and a spinnaker pole trough – basically all the working deck – as well as a new chainplate structure.”

The boat received a new rig: an aluminium mast, as per the class rules, but with carbon used everywhere else, as well as all-new Harken hydraulics. And, of course, the ‘J’ foretriangle dimension is at 24ft once again.

For this level of investment in time and money, there was just one goal: to win the World Championship. Enterprise was chartered by Clay Deutsch for the summer, but the race started even before she had hit the water. “The challenge for us has been the calendar,” says Deutsch. “We didn’t have the boat in a position to go sailing until the end of May. And it’s pretty humbling how long it takes to get these boats dialed in.”

Double wheels: outer one for steering; inner one for trim tab control

Nevertheless, her pedigree showed quickly. In her first competition in Newport this summer, Enterprise posted a pair of 1sts in the two final races. In the 2019 World Championship in Newport she finished a solid 2nd overall in the Modern Division to the more seasoned Challenge XII .

For Deutsch, the 12 Metre seed was planted long ago. “When I was a kid, while other kids had baseball and football cards, I had an Intrepid scrapbook, and I have always fantasised about 12 Metres. Then, out of the blue this past winter, North Sails’ Mike Toppa came to me with, ‘What about Enterprise ?’ It was the furthest thing from my mind, and I just figured we wouldn’t be there.”

But Deutsch was persuaded, and work shifted into a frenzied pitch at New England Boatworks. “I remember when I first looked at it, and it was in a million pieces, and I said: ‘I’m not a professional, but my amateur opinion is that this boat has no chance of being ready.’

Asymmetric foredeck hatches – the port hatch has a roller on the aft side for spinnaker take downs

“But Ben Quatromoni, the project manager, and his team jumped on it, working around the clock, and we made it to the starting line.” Today Enterprise ’s decks today are remarkably spartan for a 12 Metre: it’s 1977 meets 2019 technology, with lots of carbon. “The boat setup is complicated,” says Quatromoni, “but it’s very user-friendly.”

The port foredeck hatch has a roller on the aft side, TP52 -style, for the string take down spinnaker system. Once around the roller, the chute is pulled through a Dacron tube that runs to the stern. With the grinders working in unison, the sail disappears in five seconds.

Control lines run through custom-made carbon ‘trumpets’, allowing them move effortlessly out of sight. Carbon reels take up the halyards. These are ratchet system reels, where one control line spins the reel, bringing the halyard in, and another control line releases it. Unlike those reels, the spinnaker take-down reel is powered off the pedestals.

The spinnaker take down bag; the spinnaker comes down through the forward deck hatch and is pulled through this long Dacron bag

The aluminium cockpit has been lowered to get the grinders down and allow the boom to just avoid grazing the deck when fully sheeted in. But the boom is low. “Man, is it crowded,” says Deutsch. “I can barely fit under the boom – when we’re tacking, I’m literally down on all fours.”

The port and starboard jib trimmer pits have hydraulic controls for the jib tack and jib leads, which is standard for the Twelves. As on most 12 Metres, below decks is anything but simple.

The 150ft of mainsheet runs from the traveller car up into the boom, forward to the gooseneck, below deck, then aft to a turning block where it goes up into the mainsheet pod. Rather than using a winch for the traveller, the car is controlled by a Harken magic wheel below decks, with a 17:1 purchase.

With so many hydraulic systems, continual pumping is required to keep them pressurised, and the aft cockpit pedestal is set up to run a rotary pump, mounted below, for that purpose. For trimmers, there’s no downtime. Once they’ve finished trimming, it’s back to pumping to keep the hydraulics powered up.

The workmanship on many of the systems is truly extraordinary. The turning blocks for the spinnaker sheet and guy are so inconspicuous as to be barely noticeable. The traveller control line looks as if it has been simply laid on deck.  Enterprise ’s original white hull is now battleship grey. Coupled with black spars, the effect is stunning.

Specification

LOA: 20.15m (66ft 1in) LWL : 13.41m (44ft 0in) Beam: 3.78m   ( 12ft 5in) Draught: 3.78m   ( 12ft 5in) Displacement: 25.7 tonnes Sail area: 168m 2  (1,808ft 2 ) Design: Sparkman & Stephens Year: 1977 Builder: Minneford Yacht Yard, Inc.

About the author

Dave Powlison has been writing about sailing since the late 1970s and is currently an editor-at-large for Sailing World magazine. When not writing, he races Etchells and an RS Aeros in Vermont, USA.

First published in the November 2019 edition of Yachting World.

• Private Charters: (401) 849-5868
• Ticketed Sails: (401) 846-9886

l2 US 23 Heritage

1970 america’s cup contender and ocean racing champion.

Skippered by Charley Morgan, Heritage sailed a close campaign for the 1970 Cup but was ultimately eliminated by Intrepid in the Defender’s series. Heritage’s 1970 Cup campaign was only the “first act” before hitting her stride as an offshore racer.

l2 US 22 Intrepid

1967 & 1970 winner of the america's cup.

l2 US 21 American Eagle

Ted turner’s famous champion.

A merican Eagle , sporting one of the most prestigious racer records in ocean racing history, continues to display a rare and memorable opportunity for you and your guests. Take the wheel and sense the sheer power and exhilaration that only the illustrious 12’s can provide.

l2 US l7 Weatherly

1962 america's cup winner.

The acclaimed yacht designer Philip Rhodes, designed only one 12 Meter in his career, the Cup winner Weatherly ! One of only three surviving wooden America’s Cup Defenders in the world, Weatherly is a true legend in American sailing history.

l2 US 11 Gleam

1937 vintage 12 - trial horse in 1958 & 1962 cups.

Built in 1937, the vintage 12 Meter Gleam was influential in the development of the longest running class of yachts used in the America’s Cup. The legendary lineup of helmsmen, Briggs Cunningham, Lee Loomis and Harold Vanderbilt, became so fond of Gleam that they built their own 12 Meters to join the class.

l2 US 6 Onawa

A classic beauty.

Tender to Intrepid

Scout  is a 19 foot rigid hard bottom inflatable. Designed and built by RIBCRAFT in MA to be a luxury tender for use in all conditions. This rib provides unmatched performance for a boat of its size.

Other Classic Yachts

America’s Cup Charters is a full-service yacht charter company. We represent distinctive classic sailing and power yachts available for charter out of Newport, RI and along the New England coast. 

Have questions?

©2022 America’s Cup Charters. All Rights Reserved.