Why the J Class’s classic lines and powerful performances continue to capture hearts

An elegant symbol of a bygone era with classic lines and power performances, the J Class retains its heritage and status, says Marilyn Mower. Discover how J Class yachts got their name, the oldest Js in the fleet, their importance in the America's Cup and the top sailing racers today.

All hail the Js

While the America’s Cup didn’t begin with the J Class, no Cup history is complete without mention of the magnificent sloops that competed in three editions between 1930 and 1937. The Big Class boats that preceded them are long gone. The 12-Metre Class that followed, enduring for 29 years and 10 Cups, was built to the International Rule. While great for ensuring level match racing, it prevented them from being a development class, and the world passed them by. As sailing historian Halsey Herreshoff said, they never really “fit the grand traditions of the Cup.”

Ah, but the Js! Not only were they state-of-the-art in their day, representing the very edge of technology, but they were also serious yachts that crossed the Atlantic on their own bottoms to compete, although some shipped racing spars and swapped them Stateside. The most extreme example is that Shamrock V crossed rigged as a ketch. 

They were thoroughbreds, beautiful and so ridiculously expensive only the gazillionaires of the day could afford to build and compete. These yachts, with their history in the America’s Cup and into the modern era, are true sailing wonders and drew attention in Barcelona as an integral part of the America’s Cup celebrations last year.

What’s in a name?

It’s J Class because that’s the letter Nathanael Herreshoff gave to boats rating 65 to 76ft (20 to 23 metres) in his Universal Rule – a rating system to calculate a Time Correction Factor (like a golf handicap) to allow disparate yachts to race. He calculated 10 classes for single-masted yachts from I through S. (Double masts were classed A to H.) 

The previous Seawanhaka 90ft (27-metre) rule encouraged long overhangs, crazy bowsprits, narrow hulls and massive sail areas in the Big Class. While Herreshoff designed 1903 Cup winner Reliance, the most outrageous exploitation of this rule,  he felt the sport would be better factoring in displacement and discouraged extreme designs.

While New York Yacht Club adopted the Universal Rule in 1903, it wasn’t until Sir Thomas Lipton’s Royal Ulster Yacht Club challenged in 1929 with Js as the regatta class that the races had no handicapping. Just 10 Js were built between 1929 and 1937, four by NYYC for the 1930 Cup Defense. Six were built in the US and four in the UK; several of the Big Class era were adapted to conform to J Class rule. Only Shamrock V, Endeavour and Velsheda survived the Second World War. When racing resumed, Js were deemed extravagant and the 12-Metre class replaced them.

The oldest J of all

Shamrock V, designed by Charles Nicholson and built of mahogany planks over a steel frame for Sir Thomas Lipton’s fifth and final Cup challenge in 1930, is the only wooden J. After winning 15 of 22 UK matches, she was defeated by Harold Vanderbilt’s defender, Enterprise. Sir Thomas Sopwell bought her in 1931 as the trial horse against his new J, Endeavour, for the next Cup Challenge. Unlike Velsheda and Endeavour, Shamrock V remained in commission until 2017.

In the 2017 America’s Cup J Class Regatta, Shamrock V suffered significant structural damage and took on water, which ruined her mechanical systems. She was sent to the UK, where she sat for years before being sold. Repairs turned into a rebuild at Saxon Wharf, directed by a passionate owner, an assist from Dykstra Naval Architects and a team led by Paul Spooner and Feargus Bryan, who put more than 100,000 working hours into restoration. Some artisans worked with hand tools used on the original build.

They salvaged what they could, and she has a new mahogany interior by Adam Lay Studio. She launched on May 24; although it will take time to reach her full potential, Shamrock V raced at the America’s Cup J Class regatta in September.

The America’s Cup hall of fame

This America’s Cup info and memorabilia repository was founded in 1992 by Halsey Herreshoff, grandson of Nathanael Herreshoff, on the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company grounds in Bristol, Rhode Island, where yachts were built for eight consecutive Cup defenses between 1893 and 1934. It includes half-hull challengers and defenders models; artefacts including spars, wheels and tank test model hulls; and special exhibits. 

The Museum’s SelecTion Committee nominates candidates annually for induction into the Hall of Fame – 90 individuals have been chosen based on ability, international recognition, character, performance and contributions to the sport. The Hall of Fame and the Herreshoff Museum are open April through December.

The yacht at the heart of the renaissance

Endeavour was designed by Charles Nicholson and built at the family yard in Gosport for Sir Thomas Sopwith in 1934. When she matched against Harold Vanderbilt’s Rainbow, she won twice. She was a top racer in the UK, although she was damaged in 1937. She was laid up during the Second World War and sold for scrap, but never dismantled. 

She was a houseboat in a mud berth when Elizabeth Meyer rescued her in 1984. Her five-year restoration at Royal Huisman, guided by Dykstra Naval Architects, resulted in a yacht so beautiful and powerful that it single-handedly rekindled interest in the Class when relaunched in 1989. 

A new owner took the helm in 2006 and she was refitted in 2010-2011 with a new deck structure, gear layout, rig and sailplan. She won the St Barths Bucket soon after, beating Shamrock V and Velsheda. The owner gave Endeavour a birthday party last April in Palma to celebrate her 90th year and is now working on a four-volume history.

First published in the September 2024 issue of BOAT International's Life Under Sail. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.