In 1897 Luigi Amedeo di Savoia - Aosta Duke of the Abruzzi decided to take part to the world of sailing competitions . He turned to George Lennox Watson, who, having designed the yacht Britannia for the Royal family, was a sure guarantee of success. It was built “Bona”, a large racing yacht designed to compete with the tonnage formula. The beautiful yacht was transferred to the Mediterranean to participate to the France races in Cannes and Monte Carlo. The Duke, who personally took part to the races, acheived another set of great satisfaction. The following spring he returned to England to participate to the most important English, Scottish and Irish regattas. In 1898, the Duke was able to convince King Umberto I to promote a trophy for the following year. Thus was born the “Coppa Italia”, a series of symbolic and hardest challenges among Italian and French yachtsmen.
Membury
Tom Martin - Soutworld, Suffolk – 1928
Immediately after construction in 1928, the boat was registered at Lowestoft Custom House by PH Riley, her first owner, who used it in the waters of Norfolk. In 1985, the current owner Nick Douch discovers Membury in a yard on the Adur river at Shoreham and buy from Mr. Sulivan.
After three years she has been restored with the reconstruction of 24 frames and the new deck. Restored at new life, Membury sailed along the southern coasts of England and overlooks the Mediterranean for a cruise of six months.
In the summer of 1993, the boat loses the mast due to an extended crack, so as to convince the owner to turn it into gaff cutter, rig it had at the time of purchase in 1985. The yacht is made of pine planking in ptch pine with oak frames, deck and hatches are made of mahogany, the tree in spruce pine.
The present owners of Membury Gordon Hepworth and Peter Runeckles bought her from Nick Douch in 1997. She was then sailed down to Newton Ferrers in Devon where she is kept on a mooring up the River Yealm . Since then she has had a constant programme of repairs and improvements including a new hollow wooden mast (much lighter yet stronger ) more lead ballast to make her stiffer, a new longer bow sprit, a new HMI Sole diesel engine and some new sails.
She has been cruised by the new owners up and down the Devon and Cornish coasts and several times to the Isles of Scilliy. She has also cruised the Brittany coast as far round to Brest and Gurnsey in the East. Last year she went down the France canal from St Malo emerging on the west coast of France opposite Belle-Ile. At Benodet Membury found hersef in the middle of a classic yacht rally moored up next to Pen Duick.
Gracie
Abraham A. Schank, New York – 1868
Gracie, a shallow centerboard sloop, was modelled by A. Polhemus of Nyack, NY and designed by Abraham A. Schank. It was launched in 1868.
Originally 76'3" in overall length, it was lengthened in 1869 by two feet, and again in 1874 to 72'9". In 1879 it was completely rebuilt by David Carll to 80' overall length. Howard Chapelle notes in his book The History of American Sailing Ships, "She had a double headsail rig, with her forestay coming to the gammoning."
It barely lost to Mischief in the contested 1881 trials to defend the fourth America's Cup.
Sappho
William Townsend, New York – 1867
Sappho did not participate to the first America 's Cup in 1870, but ran the last two races against Livonia, the challenger belonging to James Ashbury in the following edition of 1871. Columbia, the other Defender selected by the NYYC, had run three races against Livonia winning twice. So, on October 21st 1871, Sappho was sailing with fresh wind beating Livonia easily (half an hour in advance). Two days later, Sappho beat Livonia tapped for 25 minutes and 27 seconds. The America's Cup remained in New York.
The following year Sappho returned to England. William P. Douglass, at that time Vice - Commodore of the NYYC, in fact, enrolled her in a race in the Channel that would end in Cherbourg, France. At the start, July 12th 1872, where participating also the schooners Guinevre and Livonia. Guinevre withdrew at the last minute and Douglass refused to run against Ashbury, which had heavily criticized the NYYC at the end of the America's Cup in 1871. Douglas, to indicate its non-competitiveness decided to start 15 minutes after Livonia, but when he reached Cherbourg, Sappho was 90 minutes ahead of the competitor.
In 1876 Sappho was sold to the Prince Sciarra de Cologne, Naples, which often raced in the French Riviera. At the death of the noble Italian, Sappho came again into the waters of the Solent. His new English owner, George Marvin, little used and then dismantled the yacht at Cowes in 1887.
Intrepid
Olin Stephens, Britton Chance, Jr. (1970)
Intrepid was designed by Olin Stephens, and was built of double-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.
Above decks, Intrepid featured a very low boom, made possible by locating the winches below decks. The low boom caused an "end-plate effect", making the mainsail more efficient. 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.
Intrepid remained competitive even against aluminium 12-metre yachts. Redesigned again, this time by her original designer Olin Stephens, Intrepid was back again for a third time in 1974, skippered by Gerry Driscoll. Intrepid came within one race of becoming the only three-time America's Cup defender in history, but lost the final race of the defender trials to Courageous, which would go on to win the Cup that year with Ted Hood at the helm. Ted Hood sold Courageous to Ted Turner who went on to win the 1977 America's Cup with her.
PAROLE
Sandbagger; Chesapeake bay – 1860
Sandbaggers are a type of broad, shallow, open or partly decked centerboard sailing boat which originated around the 1850. They carried tremendous sail area for their size. The ballast was in the form of canvas bag of 50-60 pounds of gravel that the large and active crew moved each time the boat tacked. The hulls of the boat were 20 to 30 feet long, the base of their sail could measures more twice the length of the hull, carrying up to 1600 square feet of sail.
The Parole owned by Mystic Seaport hull is only 29 feet long, but overall it is nearly 70 feet from the end of her bowsprit to the tip of her boom carries 1,313 square feet of sail. They were raced on the Hudson River and along Connecticut, Long Island shores, Chesapeake bay and New Orleans during the last half of the nineteenth century, the sport died because of the necessary size of the crew and the immense labor involved as well as a change in the racing rules in 1885.
