regatta, 2012 Prior to the adoption of the Universal Rule, the
Seawanhaka Rule was used to govern the design of boats for inter club racing. As the Seawanhaka Rule used only two variables: Load Waterline Length (L.W.L) and Sail Area, racing boats at the time were becoming more and more extreme. Larger and larger sails atop shorter and wider boats leading either to unwieldy, and ultimately unsafe, boats or craft that simply were not competitive. • "Park Avenue" boom (
Enterprise, 1930) and "North Circular" boom (
Rainbow, 1934) developed to trim mainsail foot • Riveted aluminium mast (,
Duralumin),
Enterprise (1930) •
Genoa Jib (
Rainbow, 1934) and quadrangular jib (
Endeavour, 1934) • Development of nylon parachute (symmetric) spinnakers, including the World's largest at on
Endeavour II (1936) • Duralumin wing-mast,
Ranger (1937) All these improvements may not have been possible without the context of the America's Cup and the stability offered by the Universal Rule. The competition was biased because the British challengers had to be constructed in the country of the Challenging Yacht Club, which is still in use today, and had to sail their own hull to the venue, which is now no longer required. Yacht designer Clinton Hoadley Crane noted in his memoirs that "America's Cup racing has never led to good sportsmanship. The attitude of the New York Yacht Club [...] has been more that of a man in the forward position at war who has been ordered to hold his position at all costs – ." In 1930, Thomas Lipton spent $1,000,000 for his
Shamrock V challenge when America was facing a stock market crash, but the NYYC still built four cup defenders. The rivalry led both countries to put on a display of true technological innovations using the maximum load waterline length authorized by the rule for
Endeavour II and
Ranger in 1937. Most J Class yachts were scrapped prior to or during
World War II because steel and lead had become precious to the war effort, others languished as hulks. In the post-war era, J Class racing was deemed far too expensive, so no challenge for the America's Cup was placed until 1958 with the smaller third
International Rule 12 Metre class.
Rigging problems The original yachts carried masts, but they dismasted frequently. As a consequence, British yachtsman Sir
Richard Fairey (Chairman of
Fairey Aviation, and owner of
Shamrock V) suggested an America's Cup challenge in the smaller K-Class. The
New York Yacht Club refused the drop in size. The J Class rule was amended in 1937 to force rigs to weigh a minimum of 6,400 lb. The larger scantling would prevent the frequent dismastings that had been previously observed in the British Big Class season of 1935.
Revival By the 1980s only three J Class yachts were still in existence:
Shamrock V,
Endeavour and
Velsheda, all designed by
Charles Ernest Nicholson.
Velsheda never served for an America's Cup challenge. A revival of the J Class was triggered by
Elizabeth Meyer, who oversaw the refits of
Endeavour and
Shamrock V. For several decades
Velsheda lay derelict in the mud of the
Hamble river – she was refitted in 1984, too, and then more completely in 1997. In August 2001, as part of the celebration of the 150th Jubilee of America's Cup celebration, the three existing J Class racers were brought to the Isle of Wight for a round the island race. The creation of the J Class Association in 2000 and the launch of a new replica of
Ranger in 2004 accelerated the revival of the class. Several replicas and original designs were subsequently built and the association now organizes races for the J Class in Newport, Falmouth and Cowes. By 2017 the J Class fleet comprises nine boats:
Endeavour,
Hanuman,
Lionheart,
Rainbow,
Ranger,
Shamrock V,
Velsheda,
Topaz, and, launched in January 2017,
Svea. On March 12, 2020,
Svea and
Topaz collided while maneuvering at the start line of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua. Both boats retired from racing with damage; two sailors were injured. ==List of J Class yachts==