Own a piece of history

IF YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO OWN a J-Class yacht, now's your chance. The classically beautiful ENDEAVOUR, K-4, is for sale for $21,900,000, though one suspects you could get it for a lot less. ENDEAVOUR, of course, is the 130-foot (40 m) J-Class yacht built for the 1934 America's Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England. She was built for T.O.M. Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast. ENDEAVOUR was launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's VELSHEDA and SHAMROCK V (Sir Thomas Lipton's 1930 challenger – his fifth and final Cup loss).

ENDEAVOUR failed in her America's Cup challenge 4-2 against the American defender RAINBOW owned and skippered by NYYC's Harold Vanderbilt, but came closer to lifting the cup than any other until Alan Bond's AUSTRALIA II finally succeeded in 1983. Not to mention that just before the AC Match ENDEAVOUR's professional crew went on strike against their skipper, Mr Sopwith, and her replacement amateur crew while enthusiastic lacked the necessary skill and experience to handle such a large yacht.

See the listing via BoatInternational.com. Tell 'em SAILING ILLUSTRATED sent you!