Lulworth (yacht)

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Tuiga (D3) and Lulworth (2) in the Régates Royales Cannes, France (2006)
S/Y Lulworth (1920)
TypeGaff-rigged cutter
ClassBig Class
DesignHerbert W. White (1919)
Fairlie Restaurations (2002)
Studio Faggioni (2002)
ShipwrightWhite Brothers (1920)
Classic Yacht Darsena (2006)
ChristeningTerpsichore (1920)
Lulworth (1924)
Yacht ClubRoyal Yacht Squadron (1920)
Yacht Club de Monaco (2006)
Composite BuildMahogany planking on steel frames
ClassificationLloyd's Register
LengthOver-All 46.30m
On-Deck 36.87m
Water-Line 28.64m
Beam7.20m
Draught5.20m
Displacement188 metric tons
Rig52m mast and 27m boom
Mainsail 465m²
Club topsail 133m²
Staysail 114m²
Jib 69.5m²
Jib topsail 46.5m²
Spinnaker 500m² on 20m pole

The Sailing Yacht Lulworth is a gaff-rigged cutter that was built in Southampton in 1920. The boat's name comes from Lulworth Castle, which belonged to her second owner, Herbert Weld Blundell, whose grandfather was a co-founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron. S/Y Lulworth was designed by Herbert W. White for Richard H. Lee, who wanted a racing boat to compete in the foremost class in Europe, the British Big Class. Because of premium spruce shortages after the First World War, her original lower-mast was made of steel instead of wood: This constraint handicaped Lulworth greatly, leaving her in the chase of older, more famous Big Class racers like the schooner Westward (1910), Edward VII's Britannia (1893) and Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock (1908). Her sail plan was updated several times to no avail, until America's Cup naval architect Charles E. Nicholson redesigned the rig with a wooden lower-mast and adjusted the keel balance. By 1924, Lulworth's flaws were corrected and she became the most accomplished racer in all consecutive seasons of the Big Class: From 1920 to 1930, she partook in 258 regattas, taking 59 first places, 47 of which after 1924.

When the Fifteenth America's Cup was contested in 1930, it saw the offspringing of the innovative J-Class designs that obsoleted all gaff-rigged racers. Despite S/Y Lulworth's early successes against the J-Class Shamrock V (1930) before the America's Cup, the Big Class was ended, and Lulworth's career was terminated. She was later berthed for many years in the mud of River Hamble where she fell into disrepair, until her hull was shipped to Italy in 1990 in the hope of refit. A meticulous renovation was started in 2002 that saved 70% of her furnishings and 80% of her steel frames. The sail plan from 1926 was replicated to recreate Lulworth's rig, which features the world's tallest wooden mast. She was relaunched in 2006 and won Boat International Magazine's World Superyacht Awards 2007: "Best refit of 2006"[1]. She is the only surviving classic yacht from the Big Class (although a replica of Westward has been launched in 2000) and is the world's largest race cutter. S/Y Lulworth currently races in the Mediterranean Sea.

Bibliography

  1. ^ "Superyacht Awards 2007". BOAT International.
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