Enterprise was a 1930 yacht of the J Class and successful defender of the 1930 America's Cup for the New York Yacht Club. It was ordered by a syndicate headed by Vice-Commodore Winthrop Aldrich, designed by Starling Burgess, and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company.
She was named Enterprise in honor of the six commissioned warships of the United States Navy to have borne the name up to that timeVanderbilt 1931, p.24 (see List of ships of the United States Navy named Enterprise for details), but in particular, the third of these ships. This had been a 12-gun schooner built in 1799 which saw action in the Quasi-War with France and in the First Barbary War against Tripolitania. Refitted as a brig in 1811, she fought in the War of 1812 where she captured the British brig HMS Boxer. For all these exploits, she had earned the nickname "Lucky Enterprise". Rear-Commodore Junius Morgan presented Aldrich with a model of this famous Enterprise, and the yacht sailed with this model prominently displayed in the captain's cabin.Vanderbilt 1931, p.25
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.
Aldrich's syndicate comprised:Dear 2004, p.49 Winthrop Aldrich Vincent Astor George F. Baker Floyd L. Carlisle E. Walter Clarke Harold Vanderbilt George Whitney
The syndicate named Harold S. Vanderbilt as their captain and engaged Starling Burgess to design their yacht and Herreshoff Manufacturing Company to build it. Vanderbilt proposed that Burgess base his design on an enlarged version of the M-class sloop Prestige that Burgess had previously designed for Vanderbilt.Vanderbilt 1931, p.9 However, when Burgess presented two models of an 80-foot sloop design to the syndicate for consideration in August, neither of them resembled Prestige.Vanderbilt 1931, p.9–10 The syndicate members unanimously selected one of the two designs as the basis for their defender.Vanderbilt 1931, p.10
The precise waterline length of the yacht was fixed after analysis of historical meteorological data to predict the likely wind conditions during the races, followed by experiments with a model hull at the Naval Model Basin, based on the selected design.Vanderbilt 1931, p.14 Using data from these tests, Burgess calculated the drag on the hull design as it was progressively scaled up at one-foot increments from 78 feet to 87 feet at the waterline (the J-class specification allowed for waterline lengths between 75 feet and 87 feet). By this method, he determined the minimum drag under predicted conditions would be generated with the hull scaled to a waterline length 80 feet.
To maximise sail area, Enterprise's mast was designed to the maximum height allowable under the Racing Rules: .Vanderbilt 1931, p.16 Based on this mast height, a boom length of was selected after consultation with George Ratsey, of sail-making firm Ratsey & Lapthorn.Vanderbilt 1931, p.18 Three masts were constructed for comparison: two wooden masts of different design from Nevins, and an innovative twelve-sided duralumin mast from aircraft builders Glenn L. Martin Company.Vanderbilt 1931, p.20 The duralumin mast was lighter than the lighter of the two wooden masts, and lighter than the heavier of them.
Burgess suggested using 19-strand wire for Enterprise's rigging, to achieve a 33% saving in weight. This required the development of new fittings for the ends of the lines, because the wire could not be spliced. The result was a fitting called "Tru-loc", developed for this project by the American Cable Company.Vanderbilt 1931, p.19
Sails, including four mainsails, were ordered from Ratsey & Lapthorn.Vanderbilt 1931, p.21
Enterprise's winches came mostly from Resolute, the 1920 America's Cup defender, except for three that were still in use aboard her.Vanderbilt 1931, p.22-23 In turn, some of these winches had previously been used aboard Reliance, the 1903 defender. They were donated to the syndicate by its member Commodore Walter Clark,Vanderbilt 1931, p.22 who had purchased Reliance in 1925.32nd.americascup.com The three replacement winches were ordered from Herreshoff, who had also manufactured the winches for those two yachts.Vanderbilt 1931, p.23
Her construction was of steel frames and deck beams, with wooden decks and a hull was built from very expensive Tobin bronze.Garland 1989, p.185 It is estimated that she cost $1 million to buildDear 2004, p.9 (nearly $18 million in 2022 dollars).
The syndicate placed their order to build Enterprise with Herreshoff on August 1, 1929,van der Linde 2022 who gave the project the construction number 1146.
Enterprise was launched at 8 am on April 14, 1930, and christened by her sponsor, Harriet Aldrich. Rhode Island Governor Norman S. Case attended the launch.
Support vessels The syndicate also obtained several support craft for Enterprise. These included:Dear 2004, p.64Vanderbilt 1931, p.26–29 Vanderbilt's own motor-yacht Vara, for living quarters for the afterguard Corona, which had been built as Colonia to unsuccessfully compete against Vigilant to become the America's Cup defender in 1893. She was refitted to serve as Enterprises mothership, providing living quarters for her crew, and storage for her sails and rigging. Mut, an old pilot boat fitted with a single-cylinder engine to act as a crew ferry Bystander, a specially-built 42-foot, 175-hp motorboat to act as a tender and to tow Enterprise and Corona as needed. She was commissioned from Greenport Basin and Construction Company.
Crew Under the Racing Rules, yachts were allowed a total crew of 31, including any afterguard. The afterguard comprised:Vanderbilt 1931, p.31 Winthrop Aldrich Harold Vanderbilt Starling Burgess Charles "Bubbles" Havemeyer C. Sherman Hoyt
With these five, it left a crew of 26 to sail Enterprise. The syndicate engaged:Vanderbilt 1931, p.30 Sailing master George Monsell First mate Harry Klefve Second mate Adolph Nelson Third mate Oli Larsen
Monsell was delegated to assemble the rest of his crew, some of whom had sailed on Resolute in 1920. The crew was mustered in April 1930.
Testing Enterprise sailed for the first time on April 19, 1930, with her full crew and a number of guests.Vanderbilt 1931, p.41 From then until May 9, she was taken out almost daily, and on increasingly long and demanding sails.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.41–60
Beginning on May 10, Walter Clark had arranged for his yacht Resolute to race against Enterprise to better evaluate the new yacht's characteristics and provide training for her crew.Vanderbilt 1931, p.61 Before the first of these races, a Mrs Churchman of Philadelphia, a friend of Clark's, presented the crew of Enterprise with a hamsa that became the boat's mascot and was fixed to the side of the navigator's cockpit.Vanderbilt 1931, p.62 Three days later, Enterprise began to practice against Vanitie as well.Vanderbilt 1931, p.68
These mock races were of particular significance because of a prevailing opinion that the sturdier and heavier build of Enterprise and other J-class boats would inevitably make them slower than the previous generation of yachts. This opinion was soon disproved by Enterprise's performance in May as set out in the table below:Vanderbilt 1931, pp.63–81
+ Test races of Enterprise against Resolute and Vanitie, May 1930 Date Distance (nautical miles) Competitor Winner Enterprise's time Competitor's time May 10 25.8 Resolute Enterprise 3:25:00 3:29:08 May 12 22 Resolute Enterprise 2:39:45 2:49:00 May 13 9.6 Vanitie Enterprise 2:31:00 2:33:26 May 16 32 Resolute Enterprise 3:39:24 3:51:10 May 17 22 Resolute and Vanitie Enterprise 2:29:40 2:37:02 (Resolute) 2:38:25 (Vanitie) May 21 Resolute abandoned due to weather May 22 Resolute and Vanitie abandoned due to weather May 29 29.5 Resolute Enterprise 4:10:10 4:37:20
All but the last of these mock races had taken place at Long Island Sound. On May 23, Enterprise had relocated to Newport, and the final race against Resolute was carried out there.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.79–80 They had all been carried out with the heavier of Enterprise's wooden masts, and on June 2, her duralumin mast was fitted for the first time, and tested the next day.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.83–84
The Long Island Sound series
On June 9, Enterprise returned to Glen Cove for a series of races planned in Long Island Sound by the local clubs.Vanderbilt 1931, p.89 Here she first raced against the three other yachts built as contenders to defend the America's Cup: Weetamoe, Whirlwind, and Yankee. They were joined by Resolute and Vanitie. During this series, Enterprise raced with her light wooden mast.Vanderbilt 1931, p.86
Of the series, Weetamoe won three out of four races, with the other going to Enterprise.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.90–97 Yankee arrived too late to compete in any but the fourth and last race.
This series convinced Burgess, and later Vanderbilt, that Whirlwind and Yankee were not a serious threat to Enterprise due to their longer waterline lengths.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.92, 98
The Eastern Yacht Club races
The following week, the J-class boats traveled to Newport for three races organized by the Eastern Yacht Club.Vanderbilt 1931, p.102
Enterprise won all three of these races.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.104–07 Weetamoe recorded the fastest time in the first race, but withdrew after fouling Enterprise.Vanderbilt 1931, p.103
As winner of the races, Enterprise was awarded the Commodore Charles P. Curtiss cup,Vanderbilt 1931, p.107 and a second prize was awarded to Yankee.Vanderbilt 1931, p.108
Following the races, on July 26, Enterprise was nearly wrecked twice in one day while practicing near Jamestown: first when caught in an ebb tide that nearly carried her onto the Dumpling Rocks, then when a mechanical failure with her rigging nearly forced her aground in the Narrows.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.109-110 In the former incident, a launch from cruiser USS Detroit nearby came to assist, but the danger had already passed.Vanderbilt 1931, p.109
On July 2, Enterprise was fitted with her duralumin mast again.Vanderbilt 1931, p.110
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.Vanderbilt 1931, p.113 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.
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.Vanderbilt 1931, p.135 Weetamoe won every race that she had finished.
Enterprise and Weetamoe each scored a technical victory over the other when their competitor could not finish a race.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.123,130 Likewise, Yankee scored a technical victory over Whirlwind.Vanderbilt 1931, p.130
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.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.142–59
Enterprise and Weetamoe each won three races, and Yankee won one. As part of this cruise, Enterprise won the Astor CupVanderbilt 1931, p.155 and Weetamoe won the City of Newport Cup.Vanderbilt 1931, p.159
"Park Avenue" boom and new rudder