Lulworth (yacht)

Infobox


caption = "Tuiga" (D3) and "Lulworth" (2) in race. France, (2006)
headerstyle = background:#eee;
header1 = S/Y "Lulworth" (1920)
label2 = Type
data2 = Gaff-rigged cutter
label3 = Class
data3 = Big Class
label4 = Design
data4 = Herbert W. White (1919)
Fairlie Restaurations (2002)
Studio Faggioni (2002)
label5 = Shipwright
data5 = White Brothers (1920)
Classic Yacht Darsena (2006)
label6 = Christening
data6 = Terpsichore (1920)
Lulworth (1924)
label7 = Yacht Club
data7 = Royal Yacht Squadron (1920)
Yacht Club de Monaco (2006)
label8 = Composite Build
data8 = Mahogany planking on steel frames
label9 = Classification
data9 = Lloyd's Register
label10 = Length
data10 = LOA 46.30m
LOD 36.87m
LWL 28.64m
label11 = Beam
data11 = 7.20m
label12 = Draught
data12 = 5.20m
label13 = Displacement
data13 = 188 metric tons
label14 = Rig
data14 = 52m mast and 27m boom
Mainsail 465m²
Club topsail 133m²
Staysail 114m²
Jib 69.5m²
Jib topsail 46.5m²
Spinnaker 500m² on 20m poleThe 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, making the Podium nearly every race, taking 59 first places, 47 of which after 1924. [cite web| url=http://lulworth.nl/pages.php?id=1012| title=Prize record | publisher= Official website]

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 the 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" [cite web| url=http://wsya.mmc-online.co.uk/the_winners/index.html| title=Superyacht Awards 2007| publisher=BOAT International] . 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

*Chevalier, François. "Classic Yachts" - chapter "Lulworth" (Thomas Reed Publications 2008 - ISBN-10:1408105187)
*Rogers, Andrew "Lulworth (1920) - The Restoration of the Century" (Writewell Publications 2007)
* [http://lulworth.nl Official website]
* [http://www.lulworth.nl/pages.php?id=1014 Official website - Weld history]
* [http://fairlierestorations.com Design website]
* [http://studiofaggioni.com Design website]
* [http://cim-classicyachts.org/pdf/certificati/Lulworth.pdf 2008 rating - Comité International de la Méditerranée]
* [http://picasaweb.com/lh/view?psc=G&filter=0&q=lulworth+yacht photos - http://picasaweb.com]