Weetamoe

Last updated
Weetamoe
Class J-class
Sail no1
Designer(s) Clinton Hoadley Crane [1]
Builder Herreshoff yard
LaunchedMay 10, 1930 [2]
Owner(s) Junius Morgan syndicate [1]
Fatescrapped in 1937
Racing career
Skippers George Nichols [1]
AC Defender
Selection Series		1930 America's Cup Defender Selections Series
1934 America's Cup Defender Selections Series
Specifications
Displacement143 long tons [3] (145 metric tonnes)
Length125 ft 9 ins (32.33 m) overall; [3] 83 ft (25.3 m) at waterline [3]
Beam20 ft [3] (6.1 m)
Draft15 ft [3] (4.57 m)
Sail area7,560 sq.ft [3] (702.3 m2)

Weetamoe was a 1930 yacht of the J Class built as a contender for the New York Yacht Club's defence of the 1930 America's Cup. She was ordered by a syndicate headed by Junius Morgan, designed by Clinton Hoadley Crane, [4] and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [4] Weetamoe was unsuccessful in her bid to become the Cup defender, an honor that went to Enterprise . She continued to sail for a few years afterwards, before being scrapped in 1937.

Contents

Design and development

When the New York Yacht Club accepted Sir Thomas Lipton's challenge for the America's cup, they decided to form two syndicates to build one yacht each for the defense of the cup, and also to welcome other syndicates who might want to offer a defender. The two NYYC syndicates were to be led by Vice-Commodore Winthrop Aldrich and Rear-Commodore Junius Morgan. [5]

Morgan's syndicate comprised: [6]

Her construction was of steel frames and deck beams, with wooden decks and a hull was built from very expensive Tobin bronze. [1] [4]

She was launched on May 10, 1930. [2]

Support vessels

The syndicate also obtained several support craft for Weetamoe. These included: [7]

Crew

Under the Racing Rules, yachts were allowed a total crew of 31, including any afterguard. [8] The afterguard comprised: [6]

The syndicate engaged J. Christiensen as their sailing master, and a professional crew of Scandinavian origin. [6]

The Long Island Sound series

On June 9, the contenders, together with the J-class yachts Resolute and Vanitie , met at Glen Cove for a series of races planned in Long Island Sound by the local clubs. [9]

Of the series, Weetamoe won three out of four races, with the other going to Enterprise. [10] Yankee arrived too late to compete in any but the fourth and last race. [9]

The Eastern Yacht Club races

The following week, the J-class boats traveled to Newport for three races organized by the Eastern Yacht Club. [11]

Enterprise won all three of these races. [12] Weetamoe recorded the fastest time in the first race, but withdrew after fouling Enterprise. [13]

As winner of the races, Enterprise was awarded the Commodore Charles P. Curtiss cup, [14] and a second prize was awarded to Yankee. [15]

Observation

During the first two weeks of July 1930, the America's Cup Committee staged a series of observation races to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the four contenders to defend the cup. [16] The races were conducted by starting the yachts in pairs, with the second pair starting fifteen minutes after the first. The yachts to race in each pair were determined by lot. [16]

The end results of the observations were that Enterprise, Weetamoe, and Yankee all finished roughly the same, points-wise (14, 13, and 13 respectively), while Whirlwind had won only a single race and finished with only 8 points. [17] Weetamoe won every race that she had finished. [17]

Enterprise and Weetamoe each scored a technical victory over the other when their competitor could not finish a race. [18] Likewise, Yankee scored a technical victory over Whirlwind. [19]

New York Yacht Club annual cruise

From August 2–9, the 1930 annual cruise of the New York Yacht Club offered a final opportunity for the contenders for the defense of the America's Cup to compete with each other prior to the selection trials. The cruise consisted of several port-to=-port legs, interspersed with races over set courses. [20]

Enterprise and Weetamoe each won three races, and Yankee won one. [20] As part of this cruise, Enterprise won the Astor Cup [21] and Weetamoe won the City of Newport Cup. [22]

Trials

Formal trials between the four contenders commenced on August 20. [23] The contenders were to race in pairs, the second division starting 15 minutes after the first division, as in the observation races. [24]

Due to poor winds, only two trial races were held, [25] both won by Enterprise against Weetamoe. [26] Whirlwind was disabled in one of her races against Yankee. [27]

On the evening of August 27, the America's Cup Committee informed the afterguard of Enterprise that their yacht had been selected to defend the cup. [28]

Fate

In 1934, Weetamoe was substantially modified, being given new hull contours and a bulb keel. [4] These modifications were not successful and were eventually reversed. [4]

Weetamoe was scrapped in 1937. [29] [30] [4]

Bibliography

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Garland 1989, p.185
  2. 1 2 Dear 2004, p.50
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vanderbilt 1931, p.88
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum (n.d.)
  5. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.4
  6. 1 2 3 Dear 2004, p.49
  7. ↑ Dear 2004, p.64
  8. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.31
  9. 1 2 Vanderbilt 1931, p.89
  10. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, pp.90–97
  11. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.102
  12. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, pp.104–07
  13. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.103
  14. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.107
  15. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.108
  16. 1 2 Vanderbilt 1931, p.113
  17. 1 2 Vanderbilt 1931, p.135
  18. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, pp.123,130
  19. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.130
  20. 1 2 Vanderbilt 1931, pp.142–59
  21. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.155
  22. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, p.159
  23. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, 161
  24. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, 169
  25. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, 183–84
  26. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, pp.172–81
  27. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, 172
  28. ↑ Vanderbilt 1931, 184–85
  29. ↑ Dear 2004, p.155
  30. ↑ "1929 - 1937 :: History :: J Class Association".
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