The
aging Sir Thomas Lipton received a thrashing at the
hands of another Vanderbilt, this time Harold S. "Mike"
Vanderbilt, who became the first owner to sail his
sailboat in America’s Cup competition.
Enterprise defeated the Nicholson-designed Shamrock
V by as much as nine minutes.
Designed by Starling Burgess (son of Edward Burgess),
Enterprise is renowned for its "Park Avenue" boom,
The large, flat boom, wide enough for a crewman to
walk its length, allowed a curve to be put into the
foot of the mainsail, thus achieving a more aerodynamic
shape.
1934 -
NEWPORT (USA)
RAINBOW
(USA) def. ENDEAVOUR (UK) - 4 / 2
Sir
T.O.M. Sopwith, the British aviation pioneer, turned
his technological ingenuity toward the water, challenging
with what has been judged as the superior sailboat,
the Nicholson-designed Endeavor.
Indeed,
like Lipton’s earlier series, Sopwith took a 2-0
lead over the NYYC’s Rainbow in the best-of-seven
match.
But the 128-foot American sailboat, designed by
Edward Burgess’ son, Starling, won the next four
races—including Race 4, marred by a controversial
luffing incident, and Race 5 in which a crewman
was fell overboard—to win the series.
1937 -
NEWPORT (USA)
RANGER
(USA) def. ENDEAVOUR II (UK) - 4 / 0
Sopwith
returned in 1937 with Endeavor II, but she proved
no match for Vanderbilt’s Ranger, at 136-feet the
largest "J" boat ever built.
One of the most remarkable points of this defense
was that it was the first of eight that involved the
legendary Olin Stephens, of Sparkman & Stevens, as
a designer. It was Stephens who pioneered and refined
the use of towing tanks in sailboat design.
