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Endeavour Sailing Yacht Charter

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Sailing yacht ‘Endeavour’ is a 130 foot J Class classic sailing sloop which was launched in 1934 and embodies one of the most formidable and famous sailing yachts in the world. Following her 2011 refit, she is in an ‘as new’ condition and is ready and waiting to give you the exhilaration of the powerful sailing of yesteryear. Her high sailing performance is matched only by her truly elegant interior accommodations and extremely high standard of craftsmanship, catering, service and facilities.

Sailing yacht Endeavour has now been almost entirely rebuilt in such a way that her quality of workmanship and sleek lines are entirely consistent with her original condition. She does, however, boast the recent technology and increased performance of a modern yacht. She has a powerful engine and generators as well as bow thrusters, an aluminium mast and boom, hydraulic winches and a water-maker and all the latest electronic entertainment and navigation and equipment one could desire.

Endeavour's saloon and dining area is an amazingly memorable space for charter guests to relax and entertain. Her interior joinery is American Cherry wood raised panels, nickel plated fixtures and locust sole.

The crew of classic charter yacht Endeavour are professional and amongst the best in the business. They include the captain, first mate, engineer, chef, steward, stewardess, as well as three deckhands. The fantastic friendly crew will pamper you with first-class service and absolutely fabulous cuisine during your yacht charter. As a lady who has been brought into the contemporary world, Endeavour provides all the modern electrical entertainment systems and yacht water toys. Have you ever helmed just a famous, powerful and impressive classic yacht? It will be no problem if you wish to spend most of your day helming the greatest yacht in the world, the mighty Endeavor under full sail!

Endeavour Specifications

Sailing yacht Endeavour has been awarded the best Refitted yacht at the 2013 World Superyacht Awards and her extensive 18month refit, which concluded in October 2011, included the replacement of the complete weather deck, new deck equipment, relocation of steel deck framing, reconfiguration of the accommodation forward and new interior.  The main engine, electrical system, electronics, air conditioning, hydraulics bow thruster and winches were all replaced.  A new carbon fibre mast was built by Southern Spars and the new interior was built in house by Yachting Developments tradesmen.  Dykstra & Partners, Naval Architects, have been instrumental in the design of the new sail plan, deck layout, and structural engineering. The interior was collaborated by John Munford and Adam Lay Design Studios to ensure the originality of the boat was maintained.  Care was taken throughout the refit to preserve as much of the vessel as practical, yet still enhance performance and improve functionality.  

Yacht Accommodation

Classic Sailing yacht Endeavour is remarkably comfortable with accommodation for up to eight guests in four staterooms - two with queen berths, one with a king berth and one with twin berths. The staterooms adjoin their own baths with lovely heated towel bars and nickel plated shower enclosures. Endeavour’s master bathroom also features an over-sized bath tub.

Amenities and Extras

Luxury classic sailing yacht Endeavour offers the following amenities for your yacht charter vacation: a Zodiac Mark 2 tender with a 25 h.p. out-board engine, two wind-surfers, a dive compressor and a water maker. In the yacht’s Saloon is a 25 inch TV with VCR and an N.A.D. music system with a CD player and there are both indoor and outdoor speakers, a large library of CDs movies etc. Her Master stateroom also provides a Hi Fi music system with a CD player. Sailing yacht Endeavour is fully air conditioned throughout the interior in all of her staterooms. The yacht has up to date modern communication and navigation electronic equipment.

Endeavour Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht Endeavour displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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Camper & Nicholsons became known for its fast, wooden racing sailing yachts, which included the famed J-Class sloops that competed in the America’s Cup Races of the early 20th century, including two J-Class boats commissioned by Sir Thomas Sopwith, Endeavour and Endeavour II.

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New full-length J-Class yacht ENDEAVOUR video

As part of a 16-page J Class special in the March issue of Yachting World, an exclusive video of ENDEAVOUR has been released.

Filmed off Cascais, Portugal, ENDEAVOUR can be seen in all her glory, running under full sail at an effortless 12 knots. Yachting World Technical Editor, Toby Hodges, described the experience of sailing ENDEAVOUR as a “dream come true”, and her performance as “sensational”.

Offered for sale exclusively through Edmiston, ENDEAVOUR is widely seen as the yacht that reignited interest in both the America’s Cup and J Class design.

Steeped in history but also offering an incredible opportunity for her future owner, ENDEAVOUR is one of only three original J’s still on the water. Having been rescued and completely restored by famous yachtswoman Elizabeth Mayer in 1989, her current owner embarked on a major refit in 2012, installing the latest sailing technology and rigging, not only creating a supreme performer but also a majestic cruiser.

You can read the full J Class and ENDEAVOUR article in the March issue of Yachting World, on sale now, or  click here  to see the online feature.

02 February 2021

Written by:

Caroline Munier

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Elizabeth Meyer – Queen of the J-Class

Elizabeth Meyer talks to Dan Houston about rescuing Endeavour , her time with the J Class, how Jackie Onassis caused a dock to sink, the founding of the IYRS and more…

Elizabeth Meyer wants to get one thing straight: “I’m not an heiress. Please don’t call me an heiress. I made my own money buying and selling land.” Her celestial blue eyes fix mine and I feel instantly guilty; not two days ago I had been saying to a colleague I was going sailing with her, and that she was, ahem, an heiress. I mean how else could she make enough money to restore her own J-Class Yacht, Endeavour – the 1934 America’s Cup British challenger?

And her grandfather, Eugene Meyer Jr, an investment banker, had bought the Washington Post, in 1933. “Yes but he bought it at a bankruptcy auction,” she corrects. “He ended up spending his fortune on it, keeping it afloat and improving it. My parents were both doctors and I was the youngest of four kids. We were brought up in Baltimore very decently but we didn’t feel super-rich. Our (Quaker) prep school and college were paid for, but back then college was a hell of a lot cheaper than it is now.” It was her aunt, Katherine Graham, who owned and published the Post during the 1970s Watergate scandal.

She remembers her grandparents from annual family reunions at Thanksgiving: “Grandpa just wanted us to have fun. Between courses he’d make us race around the table for a silver dollar – which he awarded to the wrong kid, while grandma glared and tried to make us shut up.”

I think grandpa’s influence must have been formative, because Elizabeth Meyer seems very adept at having fun. Meeting in Italy (CB277) this summer to sail the J-Class Shamrock V – the restoration of which she had managed in 1999 and 2000 – she was in generous good humour.

She travelled with that coolest of accessories, a few cases of Veuve Clicquot, which she handed out after racing, insisting for instance that Cambria’s crew, to whom we’d lost, had an equal share to ours. In light airs she had us doing a wind dance, shuffling like red Indians doing a staccato chant: “hey-yeheh-yoh” before revealing that she got that idea from Senator Ted Kennedy who helmed Endeavour in her 1990 J-Class Regatta in Boston – part of a three-year series promoting the Js’ renaissance.

Yes; the renaissance of the Js. Would it have happened without her?

Sometimes the best way to assess a person’s achievements is to imagine how things might be if they were not there. It’s difficult to imagine the number of Js sailing in the world today, with the three originals – Shamrock V, Endeavour and Velsheda, plus the new ones: Ranger, Hanuman, Lionheart and others in build – without the feisty flair of Elizabeth Meyer who literally put them back on the map with a series of very public races in the waters of the Chesapeake, New York Harbour, Newport and Boston 20 years ago.

Which means it’s also difficult to imagine the re-emergence of the Big Class in the same way, and classics becoming cool again – even the America’s Cup Jubilee in 2001 might have been very different. “Wasn’t that amazing,” she beams, when I ask her about it. “I was sailing on the 12-M Onawa (Starling Burgess, 1928) during the Round the Island race and that was like our sailing Woodstock! Now we look back and say: “Were you there?” She’d sold Endeavour by then, to Dennis Kozlowski, in 2000 for $15m.

It’s also difficult to imagine a far more benevolent project without her – the International Yacht Restoration School, which she founded in 1993 and which this year took on 61 students and to date has restored 350 boats. “That’s the best thing I did,” she says without needing to think. “The ballsiest thing I ever did was to restore Endeavour, but IYRS is my proudest achievement.” Elizabeth has always been a sailor. “My mother Mary (a Star Class sailor) sailed in the summer. And she would put us babies in the bilge of her dinghy and go sailing. She said that once she looked down and noticed that I was beginning to drown in the water in the bottom of the boat so she said: “Someone put the baby to windward of the centreboard trunk, she’s drowning.”

Fascinated by sailing “After graduating from college, aged 22, a friend of mine said we should buy a boat together, and it was then I got serious about sailing with our 1960 Concordia yawl Matinicus. She was so well designed and so beautiful that I became totally fascinated by sailing. Originally I wanted to work in a zoo. I was just out of college and volunteering at the reptile centre at the Baltimore Zoo. But I invested in some land in Martha’s Vineyard, and started a house-building business. I built or restored a lot of houses and my big claim to fame was building a house for Jackie Onassis, so I got to know her. “But you know some people involved in building houses are really rough. You’d go to the gaol on Monday morning to get your workers out to start the week. And it got to the point where I thought: yachts are so wonderful. Everybody is so lovely. So I decided to sell the business to my partners and move into yacht restoration management. I had invested in land on the Vineyard and that was where I made what I thought was quite a lot of money.” By then Elizabeth was writing for yachting magazines and in 1983 had published the hilarious Yaahting (sic), a one-off spoof magazine with off-the-wall features like ‘How to walk down a dock’, which sold 40,000 copies. “In 1984 I was doing a story on the Big Class and went to see Astra, Candida, Lulworth and Velsheda. I was sailing on Velsheda in the Solent when I saw Endeavour on the hard at Calshot Spit. And when I saw Endeavour I just went crazy. She was out of the water and had nothing inside her but she was like something out of a dream. My mother had showed me pictures of J boats as a kid, telling me we’d never see their like again and I was at college when Ian Dear’s book Enterprise to Endeavour came out. That’s a really good book and I would read it and read it and became obsessed.” Elizabeth bought the hulk of Endeavour, made her seaworthy and two years later relaunched her to take her to the Royal Huisman yard in Holland for fitting out. That same year, 1986, she founded J Class Management and also took on the restoration of Shamrock V – in America. Her dream was to see both boats racing again, in the waters where their first owners, Thomas Lipton and TOM Sopwith had pitted them against America’s finest. It wasn’t until September 1989 that Shamrock V and Endeavour sailed against each other, at Newport, Rhode Island, being skippered by America’s Cup legends Ted Turner and Gary Jobson. “I couldn’t have done that without Gary,” Elizabeth says. “That was because we needed 45 sailors for each boat and I didn’t know that many! I told him we needed 90 top sailors. We could not afford to pay them, couldn’t even give them a place to stay… not even their air fare; all we could offer was some clothing and some kudos! “Anyhow we had mailed out invitations with these forms to fill in to Gary’s contacts and the word must have gone around like wildfire because we got about 300 replies – people had photocopied the form and passed it on! In the end I think we probably had 500 people sailing in races and regattas during that period. “When the boats arrived at Newport there were around 3,000 spectator boats, it was crazy, there were more than there had been in 1937. Jackie Onassis was there too, and she saw Endeavour, and she came on the radio with her breathy voice saying could she come aboard? Well of course everybody heard it and, by the time Jackie arrived alongside Endeavour in a tender, the dock was so crowded it broke apart and sank! “That regatta was the first time Js had raced since 1937. Endeavour had met Velsheda in the Solent earlier that summer, but you honestly could not call that meeting a race. There was no course or race committee and Velsheda was so hopelessly outclassed by Endeavour we ended up sailing circles around her just to keep close.

Brain Tumour “I could not sail with Endeavour across the Atlantic back to America that summer,” Elizabeth continues. “I had to have surgery for a recurring brain tumour in June. I’d had it since I was young. I used to complain of headaches but as the youngest of four kids, and with two doctors for parents they thought I was a hypochondriac. I did not get it diagnosed until I was older. It’s right in the middle of my pituitary gland. I had to have surgery for it in ’85, ’89, ’99 and again in 2004. It’s not pleasant; they kind of lift your face off to get at it… but I went for a check up last year and the surgeon thought it had gone.” The re-emergence of the Js electrified America’s eastern seaboard, spurring a renewed interest in classic boats. “Besides Ted Turner and Gary Jobson, who spent time on each boat, we also did some exhibition racing, at places like Annapolis – keeping the boats sailing and tacking really close to each other. Then we did a regatta in Boston where the skippers were Ted Kennedy and John Carey and that was really fun. We were lucky with celebrity skippers like David Vietor and Ted Hood as well. That was because we wanted to get attention for what we were doing and they liked it too. “But I did not have anything like the amount of money needed to do it properly. By then Endeavour was 98 per cent of my net worth. We could charter and get a million bucks a year out of her – we hired her for $60,000 a week or $12,000 a day. But that still meant that I was running the boat to care for her, and not using her as much as I wanted and it was hard work. At times I just wish I could have afforded her and used her as a yacht. “We were also trying to raise the money for Shamrock’s restoration and there was a lot of pressure because in 1993 I’d founded the International Yacht Restoration School plus we were organising the Concordia Yawl reunions.” Elizabeth owned the Concordia Matinicus from 1975 through to 1993 and has written books on the Ray Hunt-designed class. It was not all hard work. In between the racing schedule Elizabeth had time to sail Endeavour to some interesting cruising destinations. “We did sail all over,” she remembers, “we went to Turkey, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Italy, the Greek Islands, the Caribbean and Alaska. We went the whole way down the West Coast of America to San Diego for the start of the America’s Cup in 95.”

Rewriting history One gets the feeling that some of her remembered frustration was from a lack of recognition. “I remember the media frenzy over yachts like Whirlwind, launched in 1986, as being 100ft long and I thought: ‘hang on I’ve restored and run two boats longer than that!’” She was also incensed by a recent omission on the J-Class website that stated the Js only got back to race together at Antigua in April 1999. “Sometimes it’s like they’re trying to expunge my piece of the class history,” she says, obviously hurt by the omission. “I think some have a hard time just admiring what we did and saying: ‘Attagirl’. It seems to me they all wish madly they had done what I did and they are still having fits about it. So I must have done something pretty cool, I guess.” Of the current situation for the J Class she says: “Now it’s become an arms race, with 3DL sails and all that carbon to make a J boat fast in modern terms. It’s really a shame, especially for the original three. Velsheda was built as 123ft long but she’s now about ten feet longer than Endeavour (130ft – 39.6m); they added 12in to her topsides, and you can see where the aluminium joins the steel. “All the decisions you make in a restoration have a cascade effect on the original boat. So for instance do you have a single engine and bow thruster or twin engines? Each decision is like a fork in the road, and it’s scary. If you are not faithful to the original you’ll lose it. But it also has to be viable. So Endeavour had had no engine, no hot water, no air con… but I needed to be able to sail and charter her. And so you have to focus on that too to give the boat a chance of surviving another 50 years. It’s when you take a boat like Shamrock, wood on metal frames, and say let’s build the whole lot out of carbon – that would be the end of the boat. That’s the end of it. The best way to keep a boat is replacing a plank at a time; using like with like. Then she knows who she is – she’s still there. That’s not a difficult principle to understand. But I would say now that my J-Class period is dealt with,” she adds. She now sails Seminole, a 1916 Lawley-built 47ft (14.3m) gaff yawl she bought in 1996 sight unseen for a dollar in California, but not restored until 2005. Together with her husband of 19 years, the shipwright Michael McCaffrey of Narragansett Shipwrights, Rhode Island, she has also restored Bystander, the 1930 42ft J-Class tender used by Harold S Vanderbilt for his America’s Cup defences. She has sailed Seminole 18,000 miles including taking a shower in a waterfall in Toba Inlet, 190 miles north of Vancouver Island BC. “It was an incredible experience. We couldn’t breathe, or see, until we powered through into sunshine again. We joked about setting up a business – The Great North Western Boatwash…” I think life is a bit like that, when you’re Elizabeth Meyer. “I was Queen of Js wasn’t I? But then some called me Queenie and now sometimes it’s just Q!” she laughs.

Ends…

[The original article featured in Classic Boat: September 2011]

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8 reasons to buy a J Class yacht

Own a piece of history with a j class yacht.

J Class yachts were the original America’s Cup racers. In 1929, tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton commissioned the build of the first J Class yacht for his fifth and last America’s Cup bid. The boat was 36.58 metre Shamrock V, which was the first and only J Class yacht to be constructed in wood.

“She was built by possibly the most famous British yachtsmen ever, Sir Thomas Lipton, who tried for years to wrestle the America's Cup from the Americans, culminating in his building Shamrock V ,” says Mike Horsley of Edmiston .

Amazingly, even though Shamrock V was the first J Class created — designed by Charles Nicholson and built by Camper & Nicholsons  — she remains in perfect condition, thanks to many refits over the years. In her most recent upgrade she received two new generators.

Sail with a J Class thoroughbred racer

J Class yachts are bred for racing, and it's their one design class that makes them so ideal for the sport. When you see Js out on the racecourse, the first thing that catches the eye — besides their staggering beauty — is that the race is so close!

When the J Class yachts started racing in the 1930s, it was under the Universal Rule, which used waterline length, displacement and sail area to control the rating. Nowadays, the fleet is made up of an intriguing mix of refitted originals and new-build replicas, some outfitted with luxurious interiors.

The new J Class Rating takes this into account, using a computational model that considers hull design, mast and sail plan to give each yacht an adjusted time. Even still, the relative difference in performance of Js is small. The J Class racing is thrilling, action-packed and always a fight to the finish.

Own an America’s Cup winner

Or a replica anyway… The original Rainbow and Ranger J Class yachts both held their own, aptly defending the America’s Cup. Harold Vanderbilt invested in J Class yachts to defend the Cup three times, with Enterprise in 1930, Rainbow in 1934, and Ranger in 1937. Although the originals didn't survive the cull for metal in WWII, replicas of both Rainbow and Ranger have since been built, which must be the next-best thing to owning the original winner.

The new 39.95 metre spectacular J Class yacht Rainbow was built by Holland Jachtbouw in 2012, based on the original Frank Paine lines of the 1934 America’s Cup winner. Rainbow was sold in 2015 .

Compete during the next America’s Cup on your J Class yacht

The J Class yachts are returning to their rightful home, the America’s Cup. The J Class Association is an active organisation, preserving the interests of the class and organising face-offs at regattas around the world. But the J Class Regatta, set to take place during the America’s Cup 2017 , will be the biggest reunion yet — both in terms of historical relevance and in number of Js on the start line, organisers predict.

Want to take part in this historical event and maybe win it all? Easy; get yourself one of the Js currently for sale. Ranger , for instance, was known as the “Super J” for her defence against Endeavour , and her replica is for sale with Northrop & Johnson .

Enjoy the unrivalled beauty of a J Class yacht

Sleek, slim and seeming to just slip through the water, the J Class yachts turn heads wherever they roam. While they were designed as racing beasts, these boats are undeniably beauties.

“One main justification for the hassle and expense of yacht ownership is that almost indefinable pride one feels when approaching one’s yacht at anchor in a beautiful bay,” says Mike Horsley of Edmiston. “There can be nothing in history more pride-inducing than a J!” It's okay to buy one because you think J Class yachts are simply the prettiest things on the water.

Be a steward of history by owning a J Class yacht

As many a classic aficionado can tell you, the joy in preserving and passing on a part of history is a main deciding factor in owning a classic yacht . It's no different with J Class yachts.

The J Class revival is largely credited to one such history lover, Elizabeth Meyer, who restored the original J Class yacht Endeavour , which was built for Sir Thomas Sopwith. The 39.56 metre iconic  Endeavour was the first J Class yacht to be restored.

“It was Endeavour that set the original comeback of the whole J fleet,” says Alex Busher of Edmiston . “Elizabeth Meyer should naturally take credit for her energy, enthusiasm and foresight at the beginning of this new [J Class] era.”

Endeavour is currently for sale with Edmiston, asking €19,950,000.

Gain entry to an elite club with a J Class yacht

When you own a J Class yacht, you are one of a select few. If your dream is to own a J Class sailing yacht, and even build your own yacht, it is possible to gain entry to this elite and private club by buying your way in and building a J design.

Holland Jachtbouw HJB, which launched Topaz in 2015, owns the exclusive rights to build two J Class yachts, Yankee and J9 . The Dutch builder has an official partnership with the J Class Association . Designed by Frank Paine, 38.1 metre Yankee was the third American J. She had a nearly straight sheerline and beautiful lines. While she was a sprightly and powerful defender, she never did take the Cup — but her designers Dykstra Naval Architects have optimised her design, and all she needs is for the right owner to bring her back to the life at HJB.

HJB also has the rights to build the previously unbuilt J Class yacht J9. Frank Paine drew the yacht as a defender for the last America’s Cup to be held with Js, but she was never built. Hoek Design has now carried out extensive research, which means if and when J9 is built, she is will be a contender on the racecourse and then some.

Experience the full package of J Class yachts

Beauty, racing brawn and technological brains combined? J Class yachts really have it all. “Apart from their obvious beauty and power under sail, they represent the apogee of technological achievement in their time,” says Mike Horsley. While the J Class yachts appear as classic beauties now, they were boundary-pushing creatures in their day, even incorporating early aircraft design.

“Owning a J Class yacht is the best medicine for someone with a passion for classic sailing yachts, both cruising and racing,” says Thys Nikkels, managing director of Dykstra Naval Architects.

The J Class yachts are also proven ocean-goers and many have comfortable, luxurious interiors, making them far more welcoming for long voyages than a modern, flat-out racing yacht.

“Although built strictly as racing machines, Shamrock and her J sisters have accomplished many remarkable voyages, including Pacific and Atlantic crossings, and work as charter yachts in different areas of the globe,” says Mike Horsley. “No other yacht design combines all these attributes in such a beautiful form.”

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J Class Yacht Endeavour listed for sale by Edmiston

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The iconic 39.56 metre classic  J Class sailing yacht  Endeavour  has been listed for sale by Alex Busher at  Edmiston & Company .

Endeavour  – yacht for sale with Edmiston & Company

Commissioned by aeroplane magnate Thomas Sopwith, she was drawn by British yacht designer, C E Nicholson, and delivered by UK yard  Camper & Nicholsons  in 1934. Her performance ahead of the 1934 America’s Cup  was superb. British attempts to regain the Cup had long been thwarted but here at last was a worthy challenger. Then, as if destined to heroic failure, mismanagement set a course that would doom the yacht to defeat.

The yacht raced for only four more years, with the last of them seeing her back in US waters acting as trial horse for Sopwith’s doomed  Endeavour II  challenge. However, while there she scored a win over the American Super J and 1937 Cup Defender  Ranger  – an achievement no other J Class yacht had ever managed.

For nearly 50 years  Endeavour  clung to a precarious existence. She and her younger sister were sold off and their lead keels were removed. Plans to convert  Endeavour  into a cruising yacht fell through, as did a number of rescue attempts while she was laid up at various locations on the South Coast of England. The last of these saw her moved to Calshot Spit, and it was there that US classic yacht enthusiast Elizabeth Meyer discovered her. She had not come seeking to buy  J Class   Endeavour , just to see the supreme leviathan, but the yacht had found her saviour – and a hands-on one, too.

The steelwork was carried out on site before the project was relocated to the Royal Huisman shipyard in Holland, and in 1989 Meyer unveiled her achievement to an astonished world. She had succeeded against all the odds, and  Endeavour  was back, her original beauty fully revealed.

In 2011/2012 she was completely refitted with no expense spared, bringing her back to fine condition and only used privately since. Accommodation is for eight guests in a master suite, two doubles with en suite facilities and a twin with bunk beds.

Lying in Palma,  Endeavour  is asking €19,950,000.

Source: http://www.boatinternational.com/2015/02/04/j-class-yacht-endeavour-listed-for-sale-by-edmiston/

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

At the helm of J Class yacht Endeavour – we get exclusive on-board access

• Toby Hodges
• March 20, 2017

Toby Hodges jumped at the chance to helm the J Class Endeavour, one of the world’s most distinguished and beautiful yachts.

The mighty press of canvas fills as her bows fall off from head to wind. As she loads up and heels, everything changes – there’s a distinct mood adjustment aboard. It’s a switch to a more serious attitude from the sailors perhaps and their respect both for the craft and the loads she creates.

It seems there’s a change in the yacht herself though. Now silent, slipping through the water Endeavour seems totally in her element.

Skipper Luke Bines relays to the trimmers “coming up ten”. Endeavour ’s tumblehome is fully immersed, water streams over the capping rails now, as she loads up and points her bow to weather. And that’s when the magic really starts.

Trimmers aboard Endeavour with Toby Hodges at the wheel.

What a day. Not many people get to take the wheel of a J Class, so to be handed the helm for four hours of sailing in ideal conditions still makes me feel giddy thinking about it.

Endeavour is not only described as the most beautiful J Class, but the 1934 America’s Cup challenger is perhaps more highly regarded than any other single yacht in the world.

She is currently up for sale and her brokers Edmiston created a unique opportunity for us to sail and photograph her from her home port of Cascais in November.

Sailing a legend

Departing the marina berth that morning was a smooth, near silent operation. Once at sea the mechanics kick in as the process of setting sail begins.

The 490sq m mainsail with its distinctive JK4 insignia is hoisted. “On the lock,” the crew finally shouts back to Bines. “Cunningham on, lazys off,” he replies.

Endeavour with twin headsails.

A mastbase winch ferociously spits out halyard tails as the foresails shoot up in the blink of an eye and I am instantly reminded of how modern technology has transformed the way a yacht designed over 80 years ago is handled.

That said, even in her 1934 launch year Endeavour was ahead of her time. Sir Thomas Sopwith and his lead engineer, Frank Murdoch, applied their aircraft design experience to the rig and deck gear of Endeavour and helped introduce a number of innovations.

These included winches that could be rowed using horizontal bars, strain gauges on rigging wire and a masthead wind vane with a windspeed repeater.

In 1934 Endeavour had a ketch mast temporarily stepped and was sailed and towed across the Atlantic where she began Britain’s closest challenge ever to lifting the America’s Cup.

Eighty-three years later, however, she is for sale lying in Palma – a turnkey original J on the eve of the biggest year ever for this class.

The 10-15 knots of wind that morning was the ideal strength for Endeavour and her 3DL cruising sails. Although Js race with genoas now, the more manageable yankee and staysail are set when cruising.

Included in Endeavour ’s sale is a brand new full set of 3Di racing sails (three hours’ use) plus spinnakers.

On taking the wheel I couldn’t help but think of who has sailed the boat over two lifetimes. Sopwith won the first two Cup matches against Vanderbilt’s Rainbow during that 1934 challenge and four out of six starts.

He certainly had the boat to win the Cup – Endeavour ’s universal appeal was sealed that year – but he was let down by a late crew change and tactical errors. And in 2012 I had the privilege of witnessing Torben Grael take this wheel and helm her to victory in St Barth when four Js raced for the first time .

I am brought back to the present by the wholly unnatural mechanical sound of winches labouring under load. The ease of a sheet vibrating through the deck, or the shudder as the mainsheet jerkily comes on, are the harsh reminders of the loads exerted aboard today’s J.

There’s a big load on that wheel too when we harden up, yet Endeavour responds handsomely to the trim of her sails. I remain in a trance, looking along 100ft of clean decks to that pin sharp bow.

An offshore breeze blows a decent, but relatively smooth ground swell. As Endeavour heels the incredible power and load of her keel-hung rudder is felt. Trying to turn that immense appendage through a tack at speed is a workout in itself, but as I hand-over-hand the spokes rhythmically, her bow starts to respond.

I quickly appreciate how necessary it is to have the mainsheet trimmer directly in front of the wheel – without coordinating with him, turning the wheel would have little effect.

A push button panel also provides the trimmer with the suite of hydraulic controls – indeed during the St Barth’s Bucket in 2012, it was designer Gerry Dijkstra who operated the traveller, cunningham, outhaul and backstay from this remote panel.

The Cariboni hydraulic rams that drive the mainsheet traveller lie hidden in lockers beneath the aft deck. These rams are a perfect example of how the deck layout has improved, saving the need for two crew and two winches when racing.

The deck of JK4 today is clean with the number of winches reduced to the minimum. Gone are the large dorades in favour of forced aircon. “She looks more like the 1934 Endeavour now than she did in the 1980s,” Bines remarked.

The inviting cherry woodwork within Endeavour ’s dining area and saloon – the latter with a working open fireplace.

The sun breaks through and the breeze rises with it, up to 17 knots now. The upwind figures of 9.5 to 10.5 knots and up to 12 knots reaching are typical for a J. But it’s the consistency with which she maintains such speed that delights. Displacement and length work perfectly to ensure Endeavour just keeps slicing through the water.

A rediscovered jewel

Endeavour ’s history is one that typifies the highs and lows of the J Class fleet. She was sold for scrap in 1947 only to be bought hours before demolition.

When American Elizabeth Meyer purchased her in 1984, after three decades laid up in Solent mudberths, Endeavour ’s resurgence, and that of the J Class, slowly began.

Meyer had Endeavour reconfigured by Dykstra & Partners, shipped to Royal Huisman and restored in the late 1980s, before cruising and racing her all around the world.

Nav station aboard Endeavour .

Twenty years later Endeavour ’s current owner commissioned a subsequent major overhaul at Yachting Developments in New Zealand. Virtually all machinery was replaced or upgraded and a new Southern Spars carbon mast stepped with ECSix rigging.

John Munford and Adam Lay reconfigured her crew accommodation, while subtly keeping an ‘original’ 1980s look to the interior.

The saloon is, as it should be, the wonderfully welcoming heart of the boat. One can imagine the lively dinner parties held around the dining table.

Guests would then move to the green leather sofa, place their liqueur on a coffee table supported by Endeavour ’s old compass binnacle, and enjoy the warmth of the working open fireplace.

Endeavour remains seaworthy in her design below. A sail locker still resides beneath the saloon sole, low and central, where it would have been originally.

In the passageway that leads to the owner’s aft cabin, is a fabulous navstation, with a U-shape leather seat that allows you to sit to a chart table facing forward or aft. The owner’s cabin features an offset berth and leecloths.

Owner’s cabin aboard J Class yacht Endeavour .

Jon Barrett was integral to both Endeavour ’s major refits. He was project manager at Huisman and the owner’s rep when she went to Yachting Developments. He knew where to source every fitting – down to where to get the stars on the light switches recast.

I asked Barrett what makes Endeavour so special. “She has a unique history. During the closest match in history, she was eventually out-sailed, but her reputation as a beautiful and fast J was well established.”

She is also resilient, he says, describing her decades of disrepair. “In the last 25 years, in addition to the normal cruising routes, she has sailed to China and Japan, to New Zealand and the fjords of Norway and Alaska. I would guess that she has trekked the globe more than most yachts and certainly more than all the current Js.”

I could not think of a more prestigious vessel to purchase – to be a guardian of – particularly in this, what could be the most historic year yet for the J Class.

Enormous primary winches aboard Endeavour.

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J-class yacht Endeavour 1934 by The Sailor - Amati - 1:35

• j-class yacht

By The Sailor August 28, 2013 in - Kit build logs for subjects built from 1901 - Present Day

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today a huge box came in. When the rigging of my Pickle is done I‘ll start with the America‘s Cup yacht Endeavour.

The 1/35 scale kit includes laser cutted parts for the deck, keel and frames, limewood and mahogany planking material, brass and wooden fittings, photo etched brass details, cloth, plans, instructions in three languages (Italian, French and English).

Endeavour is a 130-foot (40 m) J-class yacht built for the 1934 America's Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, Portsmouth Harbour, England. She was built for Sir Thomas Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast. She was launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's Velsheda and Shamrock V. She failed in her America's Cup challenge against the American defender Rainbow but came closer to lifting the cup than any other until Australia II succeeded in 1983.

(Wikipedia)

Frames and keel

Metal parts

Wooden strips for planking and the material for the mast

The deck and the wooden fittings

The building plans

The Amati kit is really impressive. The wooden parts are of good quality, only the sails are not sewn. Anyway, I can‘t wait laying the keel.

• hamilton , yvesvidal , fnkershner and 5 others

Cheers, Richard.

------------------------------ Current build: Mercury, Russian brig ,  America's Cup Yacht Endeavour (1934), Amati Completed build: HM Schooner Pickle, JoTiKa Next:

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Timothy Wood

Current Build:

Future Build:

• BlueJacket - USS Kidd (Fletcher Class Destroyer) Solid Hull
• BlueJacket - U.S.S. SAMUEL B. ROBERTS , DE413 | Butler-Class Destroyer Escort
• BlueJacket - 310' Destroyer " The famous "four-piper" of both World Wars"
• Model Shipways - Pride of Baltimore II (Topsail Schooner) 
• Model Shipways - Willie L. Bennett (Chesapeake Bay Skipjack)
• Constructo - Pilar (Ernest Hemingway's Fishing Yacht)  
• Sergal - Race Horse (Bomb Ketch)
• Classic Warships - USS Salem CA-139 (Heavy Cruiser) Resin Kit
• Pen Duick Schooner - Half Hull (Scratch Build)
• CSA Submarine Hunley (Resin Kit)
• Classic Warships - USS Washington BB-56 (Battleship) Resin Kit
• Blue Ridge Models - USS Alaska CB-1 (Resin Kit)

Completed Builds:

• 18th Century Sea Mortar
• Endeavour Half Hull by BlueJacket Ship Crafters
• Scratch Build - Atlantic (Schooner 1903) Half Hull: Winner of the 1905 Kaiser's Cup Race.
• BlueJacket 80' ELCO PT Boat 1/48 scale

Hampton Roads Ship Model Society

Thank you for doing this kit.

Richard, I'm pulling up a chair for your build as well! I also have the Amati kit but won't be starting it for awhile--you're spot on that it's a lovely kit!

Current Build:   Ariel

• Salty Sea Dog , hamilton , The Sailor and 5 others

Lovely yacht, i love theese ships. They have beautiful lines.

Will peak in for your progress

Current build(restore, bashing) BB582 "Dragen" Scale 1:12

On hold: BB534 Bolougne Etaples Scale 1:20 Not started: Model Shipways MS2040 USS Constitution 1:76

Look at that overhang! It could almost double as a harpoon! The sea is calm and yet the deck is awash.

Just take a seat. But be patient with me, first I have to finish my Pickle. Jeff, I just found your half hull build log. It‘s very nice. Yves, thanks for posting the picture.

Richard - I just found your log. She is a beautiful ship. I too have this kit on my shelf. I concern is what will the admiral say when she sees how bit it is?!! Did you notice the mast alone is nearly 5 ft tall. this is not likely to fit in a display case.

Current Builds - 18th Century Longboat , MS Syren

Completed Builds - MS Bluenose, Panart BatteStation Cross section , Endevour J Boat Half Hull, Windego Half Hull, R/C T37 Breezing Along , R/C Victoria 32, SolCat 18

On the shelf - Panart San Felipe, Euromodel Ajax, C.Mamoli America, 

The height of the mast is very impressive but not the problem. Tapering the round timber could be a really tough job.

Ah, she was such a lovely boat.  It will be nice to see the model.

Every build is a learning experience.

Current build:   SS_ Mariefred

Completed builds:   US Coast Guard Pequot     Friendship-sloop ,   Schooner  Lettie-G.-Howard ,    Spray ,   Grand-Banks-dory , 

                                                 a gaff rigged yawl ,   HOGA (YT-146 ),  Int'l Dragon Class II,     Two Edwardian Launches  

In the Gallery:   Catboat ,   International-Dragon-Class ,   Spray

• The Sailor and Nirvana

Richard, seeing how you taper the mast will be a build highlight--looking forward to learning what you come up with!

themadchemist

Wow is that a full size ironing board? This is going to be a huge replica. What's her overall length (and height), my calculations give just under 4 feet long? She should make one really impressive display. I also love seeing the non-period and working vessel builds. There are so many interesting vessels out there and this one is a definite keeper.

@ Yves, Nice photo, it really shows the inner beauty of the sail stitching. 

When she raced in the Cup she had a crew of 35! Can you imagine being the bow man on that thing?!! She is in the Caribbean now. Her new owner spent over $1M to restore her. I would love a chance to sail on board. Every year there is a classic wooden boat race in the Carib.  

Did you know you can R/C this model? Just saying...

Wow is that a full size ironing board?

To water proof the hull on this kit all you need is a layer of West systems Epoxy. And the electronics is not hard either. am I tempting you? Hmmm?

Actually the biggest challenge would be the ballasting.

• 1 month later...

The midship frames and some more parts:

The building slip for the ship‘s boat:

And the dry-fitted hull:

• Julie Mo , Q A's Revenge , malmoerik and 3 others

I like everything I see already!  Keep the photos coming in!

Q A's Revenge

Really looking forward to your progress on this as the smaller 1:80 version is high on my list.

Hi Richard:

No sooner is the Pickle done than this beauty emerges off the shelf?!?! I looked long and hard at this kit during my annual "kit acquisition season" but the size put me off - the Admiral does want to move to a bigger place, but I'm not sure this is the reason she had in mind!!

Looking forward to following this one

• The Sailor and fnkershner

current builds:   Corel HMS Bellona (1780) ; Admiralty models Echo cross-section (semi-scratch)   previous builds: MS  Phantom (scuttled, 2017); MS  Sultana (1767); Corel Brittany Sloop (scuttled, 2022); MS  Kate Cory ; MS Armed Virginia Sloop (in need of a refit); Corel Flattie; Mamoli  Gretel ; Amati  Bluenose (1921) (scuttled, 2023); AL  San Francisco  (destroyed by land krakens [i.e., cats]); Corel  Toulonnaise (1823);  MS Glad Tidings  (1937) (in need of a refit) ;  H MS Blandford  (1719) from Corel HMS Greyhound ;  Fair Rosamund  (1832) from OcCre  Dos Amigos  (missing in action) ; Amati  Hannah  (ship in a bottle);  Mamoli America (1851) ;  Bluenose  fishing schooner (1921) (scratch) ; Off-Centre Sailing Skiff (scratch)   under the bench:  MS  Emma C Barry ; MS  USS Constitution ; MS  Flying Fish ; Corel  Berlin ; a wood supplier Colonial Schooner  Hannah ; Victory Models H.M.S. Fly;  CAF Models  HMS Granado;  MS  USS Confederacy

Hi Richard,

You are off to a great start keep the please pictures coming

Current Builds;

  HMS Supply  

Completed Builds;

AL Swift 1805; Colonial Sloop Norfolk ;  HMS Victory Bow Section ;  HM Schooner Pickle

Looking at your pictures again, some of the small ribs seem to be shy of the keel whilst a couple of the larger ones are proud. Looking forward to see how you deal with this!

Thank you very much Floyd, Tim, Q A‘s Revenge, Hamilton and Jeff.

Oh boy I am so going to be getting into trouble with the Admiral.   I might just have to dig my kit out. Are going to have the drop keel exposed?

 but the size put me off -

Well, the length is a minor problem. The real problem is the height of the mast. For all I know, Amati‘s Endeavour is available in three different sizes: 1:80, 1:50 and 1:35.

• yvesvidal and hamilton

I‘m not sure about an exposed drop keel. I think, it looks strange. But the drop keel is free to move.  

This is the little one that's on my list. It's available as resin hull or plank on frame. Which one I buy depends on how easy you make the hull planking look!

http://www.westbourne-model.co.uk/acatalog/Endeavour-314-ext.html

I think the drop keel looks strange in the present context but might look more appropriate when the hull is fully planked - a matter of taste I suppose. Anyway, it will be nice to see one of these beautiful hulls in a nice large format, drop keel or not!

I agree with you all about the retractable keel. I would not show it on the finished model, although it would be cool to have some kind of mechanism (spring or others) that allows you to pull it out, with automatic retraction inside the hull. This could be a nice feature on a static model.

The lines of the hull are so pure that the lower keel would break the incredible beauty of the J class.

As for the height of the mast, unless you place the model on the floor, you will need a ladder to work on the top of it. I cannot wait to see more progress and pictures.

If you were to R/C this boat you could have a 3rd channel for the drop keel. It would help you when pointing upwind.

looks good, I have always liked Americas Cup boats , Do they make kits for the modern 12 meter Boats ? ( Ive been looking and have not found any other than plastic ones) thought about buying plans and doing a scatch build, I saw some model plans for the America3 boats (just to new of a boat)

Best Regards,

"may your sails be full of wind and the sun on your back"   Current Builds :

  Future Builds :  

N.G Herreshoff 12 1/2 Scratch Build 3/4" = 1' - 0" Scale

Completed Builds :

Volvo 65 Farr Yacht Design

Herreshoff Alerion

Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 14

Volvo Open 70

  Member : 

The Herreshoff Registry                                  Montgomery Sailboat Owners Group       Peter Kunst Sailboat Models  http://www.herreshoffregistry.org/                         http://www.msog.org/                       http:// www.facebook.com/Peter-Kunst-Sailboat-Models-1524464774524480/  

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