The Herreshoff schooner Elena 1930

oil on panel 24x36

Elena (owned now by William B Bell)is depicted racing Vanitie (Gerard B Lambert) off Great Point Light Nantucket in 1930. Vanitie has been re-rigged as a sloop for the defender trials for the Americas Cup of 1930.

Vanitie was originally built to contest the 1920 Americas Cup with  a gaff rig. Vanitie under the ownership of Harry Payne Whitney came out as a staysail schooner in 1926,27and 28 . In 1929 both Vanitie now owned by Gerard Lambert and Resolute where re-rigged as marconi sloops.

The Schooner Magic racing America

Oil on Panel 12x18

The First defender of the Americas Cup Magic is depicted racing the original winner of the cup the schooner America.

The Schooner Yacht America

Leaving Nantucket July 1870

Oil on Panel 28x42

The above painting depicts the schooner America under the new ownership of General Butler as she makes her way from the Eastern Yacht Club regatta at Marblehead to the New York Yacht Club Fleet at New London.

Elena racing career

A little background to the schooner Elena.

Elena 1911

Named after Queen Helena of Italy , Elena was launched on April 24^th 1911 at Bristol RI. Elena was built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing company for Mortan F Plant. Elena was the first large centerboard craft to be built since Vigilant in 1893. Of all steel construction she a near sister to Westward built in 1910. Her principal dimensions where

Specifications

Length over all 135ft

Legth on the waterline 96 feet

Beam 27ft 6 inches

Draught 17 feet

Racing Career

Her maiden season saw her victorious in the Eastern Yacht Regatta and New York Yacht Club cruise over the schooners Irolita and Enchantress. On the New York Yacht Cruise she met and defeated her near sister Westward which had just returned after a successful campaign in Europe in 1910. During the year she won both The Puritan Cup, the EYC Gold Cup.

In the 1911 season she defeated Westward 5 times out of 8 meeting. Though only 40 seconds over 231 miles separated them in the final two weeks of racing. She defeated Itolita 14 out of 17 meetings and Enchantress 8 out of 9 contests.

During 1912 and 1913 her successful racing career continued with many defeats over her rival schooners in bothe The Eastern Yacht Club and New York Yacht Club Cruises. She won 3 cups at the Atlantic Yacht Clubs regatta in 1913.,  Astor Cups in 1912 and 1913. And the Puritan Cup in 1913

In 1916 the refurbished Elena wins both the Astor and Kings Cup and races for both the Cape May and Brenton Reef Cups against the big Herreshoff schooner Katoura, winning the Cape May Cup.

Before his death in 1918 Mr Plant sold Elena to Col Vanderbilt during the winter of 1916/17.

In 1928 Elena gained her most famous victory winning the Trans Atlantic.

In 2009 A Replica was launched named Elena she can be seen most years in the Mediterranean.

Norseman 1881

Oil on Panel 12x18

The keel schooner Norseman was built in 1881 by C& R Poillon of Brooklyn for Multimillionaire property developer and prominent New York Yacht Club member Ogden Goelet. Her principal dimensions where

Length overall=131 ft

Length on the waterline 112 ft

Breadth 25ft

Depth 11ft 6

Norseman was built from oak, hackmatack( a north American Larch) and yellow pine.

Ogden Goelet used Norseman for cruising up until his death at Cowes in 1895. Under new ownership she was fitted with a 35hp auxiliary engine and renamed Alsacienne. She was successfully owned by Arch McNeil and W. T Brunt before returning to her original name Norseman in 1910 under the ownership of Charle Meyer. She appears to have passed to English ownership in the 1920s. She was eventually gutted by fire while in the ownership of Ronald Brewis in 1949.

The remains of Norseman can be found on the river Hamble near Southampton at Swanwick. See www.aquanaut.plu.com for details of the Norseman wreck.

Ogden Goelet was the instigator of the Goelet Cup , a very prestigious Cup raced for my the New York Yacht Club in the 1880s and 1890s. Upon his death the Cup was replaced by the Astor Cup still raced for.

C & R Poillon , Norsemans builder where responsible for some of the greatest American schooners built in the 1870s and 1880 including both Sappho and Dreadnaught