A NOBLE LEGEND SAILS ON

F R O M

Westward

EleonoraT O

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So declared Captain Charlie Barr at the launching of the dazzlingschooner Westward. His prophetic pronouncement would reverberatethroughout the career of this awe-inspiring vessel as she sailed her way tosuper stardom during the Golden Age of Big Class racing.

The press heralded Westward as “the new Herreshoff flyer,” and flyshe did. Less than a month after her launching on March 31, 1910, shesailed to Europe to challenge the world’s most formidable schooners inthe premier regattas of England and Germany. Sailing fast, strong, andproud, she took first place in all eleven starts during her first season.

In ensuing years, she regularly showed her stern to all of her exaltedcontemporaries, including Lulworth, Meteor II, and Germania, and racedagainst King George V’s cutter Britannia no fewer than 174 times. Sheeven took on the towering cutters built as America’s Cup challengers,and left them all in her wake more than once.

Conceived by “The Wizard of Bristol,” built for “the world’s richestbachelor,” and originally helmed by the finest captain of all time,Westward was indeed a wonder.

Westward charging along in a 1910 race in Cowes (opposite)

“She’s a wonder.”

Photo by Beken of Cowes.

Herreshoff’s Westward drawing courtesy of

Hart Nautical Collections of MIT Museum.

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TheWizard of BristolAlexander Cochran, Westward’s first owner, was anavid yachtsman who had already owned severalcompetitive vessels. He had been especiallyimpressed by the performance of the America’sCup contender Defender, designed and built byNathanael Herreshoff, and so he put the creationof his stunning new schooner in the hands of “theWizard of Bristol,” giving him free rein to specifythe very best of everything for her.

Nathanael Greene Herreshoff is certainly the mostfamous and most accomplished American yachtdesigner and builder of all time. Many believe that he isthe most outstanding in the world. For some 75 years,Captain Nat, as he was called, dominated the naval design fraternity as an innovator whocreated vessels that were advanced and extreme, but always, always beautiful.

He and his brother John founded the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company inBristol, Rhode Island, in 1876. Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Nathanael was the Chief Designer and Engineer while John primarily ran the business.John had gone blind at the age of fifteen, but he never lost his natural ability to evaluatethe seaworthiness and speed of a design.

Together, the brothers turned out several thousand vessels ranging from steamtorpedo boats for the U.S. Navy, to storied sailing and power yachts, to fine littlecatboats and dinghies. Most prominently, the Herreshoff Manufacturing Companydesigned and built all the America’s Cup defenders — all of them of course successful— from 1893 through 1920 (Vigilant, Defender, Columbia, Reliance, and Resolute), andthose years are commonly referred to as “The Herreshoff Era.” The defenders theycreated were the largest, fastest, and most expensive ever to sail in the America’s Cupraces. As if designing and building these vessels weren’t enough, Captain Nat alsohelmed some of them. The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company also built America’sCup defenders designed by Starling Burgess in 1930 (Enterprise)and 1934 (Rainbow)and, between 1890 and 1938, Herreshoff designs also won the Astor Cup (won byWestward in 1911), the Puritan Cup, and the King’s Cup.

Captain Nat was quiet to the point of being nearly uncommunicative. Consideringthe range of his inventions, it is perhaps not surprising that he kept his cards close to his

Westward on her launching day, March 31, 1910 (above) and

racing off the Isle of Wight in the summer of 1910 (below)

Launch photo courtesy of The Herreshoff Marine Museum.

Photo of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, 1894, ©Mystic Seaport, Rosenfeld Collection, Mystic, CT,

#B443; photographer: James Burton. Sailing photos, above and opposite, by Beken of Cowes.

Nathanael Greene Herreshoff

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chest. Among the many innovations with which he is credited are hydrodynamic fin andbulb keels, below-deck winches, folding propellers, sail tracks and slides, cross-cut sails,metal masts, and the formula for handicapping dissimilar yachts for racing. Captain Nateven received the first patent for a catamaran sailboat way back in 1876.

When Alexander Smith Cochran asked his captain, Charlie Barr, how he mightprevail upon Nathanael Herreshoff to design and build a schooner that could cross theAtlantic and race in Europe, Barr’s advice was as follows: “All you will have to do is runup to Bristol and tell N. G. Herreshoff you want a yacht for that purpose and be surenot to tell him how to design her for if you do he probably will not take the order. Youmay have to show him some credentials for he doesn’t like to design a large yacht unlesshe thinks the owner can afford it.” Captain Nat began the design for Westward in theautumn of 1909, and she was launched just six months later, the longest sailing yachtthat Herreshoff had built at the time.

The Wonder When Captain Charlie Barr called Westward “a wonder,” he knew whereof he spoke.Many years later, in Yachting, A Pictorial History (Viking Press 1972), author PeterHeaton hailed Westward as “perhaps the most famous of all racing schooners.” She wasalso the swiftest schooner in the world in 1910, and remains one of the fastest ever tocross a finish line. Also the largest Class-A racing schooner of her time, Westwardmeasured 41,50 meters/135 feet 4 inches on deck. In preparation for racing, hercruising rig was replaced with a taller mast, longer boom, and longer bowsprit toaccommodate a considerably greater sail area. With her racing rig stepped, she measuredan impressive 59,13 meters/194 feet overall.

Herreshoff hull number 692 was made of riveted steel, with pine decks over the steelplating. Westward’s masts were of solid Oregon pine, and when the mainmast wasstepped, it weighed four tons including the rigging and hardware. Launched on March31, 1910, Westward was a breathtaking sight to behold, her long bowsprit and taperingoverhangs creating a vision of gracefulness and a sleek and slender profile to be reckonedwith on the racecourse. Overhead, canvas blossomed like a magnificent, many-petaledflower from her towering masts as she sailed before the wind.

For nearly four decades, from 1910 until 1947, Westward’s name was always in theforefront of any discussion of yacht racing’s grandest spectacles. She not only was the fastestschooner, she also regularly left the biggest cutters behind. Even today, no account of thegreatest moments in yacht racing is complete without a deep bow to the sublime Westward. Newsclip (with misspelling of Cochran’s name) from The New York Times, April 1, 1910.

Westward, carrying a spectacular amount of sail, leads Britanniaon a downwind leg in 1927

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Westward was owned, treasured, and raced by a series of owners,each with his own intriguing story. Her first owner,Alexander Smith Cochran, was the heir to a familyfortune, while her last owner, T. B. Davis, was a self-made multimillionaire. These two men, more thanany of the others, savored the excitement of owningone of the world’s most spectacular racing yachts andsailing her to victory on the racecourse.

1910–1911: Alexander Smith CochranWestward was commissioned by Alexander SmithCochran of New York City, fabulously wealthy heir tothe Alexander Smith carpet-manufacturing empire. Hismaternal grandfather, Alexander Smith, had invented themotorized Moquette loom and founded a very successfulcarpet factory in Yonkers, New York. In later years, Cochranbecame active in the progressive Republican Party and ran for the U.S. Congress.

Cochran only briefly abdicated his position as “world’s richest bachelor,” a monikergiven him by the press, when, in 1920, he fell under the spell of the glamorous MadameGanna Walska. Ravishingly beautiful, Walska fancied herself an opera singer, but hertalent was questionable at best. People came to her concerts primarily to gaze on her andher elaborate costumes; they winced at the sound of her voice, which was describedgenerously as “tiny,” and less generously as “screeching.”

Cochran was the third of Walska’s six husbands, and their marriage lasted meremonths. Her lawyer stated that “Alexander Smith Cochran has been joy riding all overthe world, buying and selling houses and yachts by whim and caprice. If Mr. Cochranthinks that he can dispose of his wife the way he disposes of toys and playthings, he ismuch mistaken.” Walska declared “If Cochran wants to get rid of me he must pay untilit hurts for his own good.” The divorce cost him $3,000,000. By her fifth divorce,Walska was an extremely wealthy woman.

Cochran gave his money to the arts far more willingly. He donated an importantcollection of Near Eastern tapestries, books, and miniatures to the MetropolitanMuseum of Art and, at his alma mater Yale University, he founded the Elizabethan Clubwith his donation of a collection of astoundingly rare manuscripts including the first four

Alexander Cochran, Westward’s first owner, at her helm with Captain Charlie Barr (above)

Cochran helps the crew raise the mainsail (below)

Cochran in the uniform of a commander in the Royal Navy, a commission he received

in 1917 (in oval). Cochran was very pro-British and donated his large steam yacht Warrior to the

Admiralty right after the start of the war in 1914. He subsequently ordered the building of five

motor torpedo boats for the Royal Navy. These must have been among their first PT-type boats.

Photos courtesy of the Cochran family.

Alexander Cochran

Westward and Her Owners

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Shakespeare folios, a 1604 copy of Hamlet, and original essays by Francis Bacon. Hewas also a major benefactor to his hometown of Yonkers, giving the city, among otherthings, a hospital.

Cochran was on board for Westward’s maiden voyage from Rhode Island toSouthampton, deciding as he embarked to quit smoking in a dramatic way by throwingall of his cigarettes overboard. Even a man of his wealth could not purchase morecigarettes in the midst of the Atlantic, so his fate was sealed. As the story goes, he wasless than pleasant during his smoking abstinence and, as soon as they had anchored inthe Solent fourteen days later, set off to find a tobacconist.

1911-1924: Norddeutschen Regatta Verein Seefahrt, Hamburg; Clarence Charles Hatry; and Warwick BrookesWhen Cochran’s captain and friend, Charlie Barr, died of a heart attack in January1911, he was dejected and his interest in racing Westward began to languish. He hadBarr’s former mate, Chris Christensen, bring her back across the Atlantic to the U.S.,where she won the Astor Cup. At the end of the 1911 season, however, Cochran soldWestward to Norddeutschen Regatta Verein Seefahrt, Hamburg, a syndicate of Germansailors who renamed her Hamburg II. In 1912, she sailed away to join the German fleetof steel schooners. There she continued to earn first-place finishes, but her time therewould be cut short by the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

In 1919, Westward was purchased as a war prize by the flamboyant London financierClarence Hatry, who restored her original name. Hatry had begun his rise to success bytransporting Eastern European immigrants to the United States and Canada. Hesubsequently enriched his vast fortune with investments in photographic supplies,vending machines, and loan offices.

Unfortunately, Hatry was able to race Westward for just one season, the summer of1919. In the slump that followed the end of the First World War, his empire had becomeincreasingly shaky, and he had been forced to turn his attention away from Westward ashe found himself in dire financial and legal circumstances. By the time he sold her in1924, she had spent four seasons in retirement, mostly in a mud berth nearSouthampton. Westward’s next owner was London businessman Warwick Brookes, akeen yachtsman known for racing six-meters. He had also owned and raced a famous Fifeschooner, and other yachtsmen were hopeful that he would soon be racing Westward.Instead, she moved on to her fourth owner the same year.

Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt and other

guests being welcomed aboard Westward by

Alexander Cochran for the Emperor’s Cup Race

on August 3, 1910 (above)

Cochran and his guests enjoying the downwind leg

as Westward leads the fleet with Charlie Barr

at the helm (below)

Newsclip above from The New York Times, June 21, 1910.

Photos courtesy of the Cochran family.

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1924–1947: T. B. DavisWestward’s final and most devoted owner was the hero of a true rags-to-riches story.

Thomas Benjamin Frederick Davis was born on Jersey, in the Channel Islands, theson of a fisherman and ship’s carpenter. When just fifteen, he went to sea on board themerchant schooner Satellite. Off the Norfolk coast, the ship encountered a March galeand ran aground on the Haisborough Sands, and young Davis was ordered into thelongboat, tied to the ship by a painter, to stand by to receive the ship’s papers. Suddenlya huge wave struck the Satellite, broke the longboat free, and swept Davis out of sight.The Satellite managed to survive the storm and subsequently floated free, but Davis’sfamily was notified that he was lost and presumed dead. However, after nineteen hoursat sea, a frostbitten Davis was rescued by the crew of a Norwegian trading schooner.Davis arrived back on Jersey just in time to attend his own memorial service.

Davis was undeterred by his near-death experience and soon returned to the sea,served in the Royal Naval Reserve for three years, and attained his Extra Master’s ticket.He then moved to East London, on the East Coast of South Africa, where heestablished a stevedoring company that in a few short years was handling all stevedoringbusiness from East London to Mombassa. Having amassed a fortune, he returned toJersey following the First World War. A few years later, in 1924, he purchased Westward.

For the next eleven years, he raced her against the leading yachts of the era,including King George V’s cutter Britannia. These two behemoths went head to head noless than 174 times, usually leaving the rest of the fleet far behind. The king and the ex-stevedore became friends, with a mutual respect based on the fact that they were bothtrue seamen, the former trained in the Royal Navy, the latter in commercial shipping.

T. B. Davis was known for his gruff exterior and colorful language, but it was hiscompetitive nature that became legendary. A particularly memorable match took place in1932, when a southwesterly gale kept all the competitors except Britannia and Westwardat anchor. The two tacked and jockeyed for 45 miles, and when they came out from thelee of the Isle of Wight, Westward’s greater sail area not only propelled her to giddyspeeds, but also made her nearly unmanageable, requiring at times three men on thehelm. The two great ladies finally crossed the line at Southsea in a virtual photo finish.

In those days, Westward carried a crew of twenty for cruising, with another ten strongsailors coming aboard for races. In addition, she carried a sailmaker, shipwright,electrician, two chefs, two stewards, two officers, and her sailing master.

One member of the crew later recalled the day when Davis took Westward out on a90-mile course despite the race’s having been canceled for rough weather. “We weren’t far

T. B. Davis at the helm of Westward (above)

Westward leading Britannia, center, and White Heather, left, in a 1926 race (below)

Photo of T. B. Davis courtesy of Société Jersiaise. Racing photo by Beken of Cowes.

Background information on T. B. Davis’s life provided by Philip Jeune of Jersey.

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out when the wind really got up and the rain started and she lay over so far in the waterthat it seemed she would never get up again. It was really exciting, I can tell you, and Mr.Davis was so proud of the way she was getting along. He called for the log to be streamedand they did for an hour, and it recorded that we were going at eighteen-and-a-half knots!”

Despite the fact that Davis is said to have called out “Women below, ready about, leeho!” when tacking, he encouraged his daughter Marjorie to take the wheel, and shebecame so proficient she sometimes helmed when racing. When Nathanael Herreshoffread a press account of her ability, he was so charmed by the thought of the young womanat the helm that he wrote a letter of congratulations to Davis.

Westward spent her racing seasons away from Jersey, competing in Mediterraneanand British waters, but she was laid up every winter in St. Helier Harbour with a hugewooden cradle below her bow to keep her stable at low tide. It was in the off-season thatDavis himself masterminded all repairs, maintenance, and improvements to Westward.Unlike other wealthy owners of Big Class yachts, he was very much a hands-on owner.He even traveled to America to select two trees for Westward’s new masts.

King George withdrew Britannia from racing in 1935. Without his favoriteopponent, Davis decided to retire his racing flag as well. The King died the following yearand, according to his will, Britannia was sunk near the Isle of Wight in the EnglishChannel.

From then on, Davis only used Westward for cruising, fitting her with two AilsaCraig 48–60-hp six-cylinder diesel engines as well as other accoutrements designed toenhance comfort on board. Davis continued to cruise, including an extended trip toNorway and Sweden, until Westward was laid up in Dartmouth at the start of World WarII and remained there for the duration.

Davis had moved back to South Africa, and died in Durban in 1942 at the age of75. His will specified that if a new owner with sufficient means to maintain Westwardcould not be found, she should be sunk. Sadly, no member of his family felt capable oflooking after Westward and, after she had also been offered unsuccessfully to threedifferent sail-training establishments, the final clause of Davis’s will came into play. OnJuly 15, 1947, stripped of all hardware, equipment, and interior fittings, she was towedout to the Hurd Deep in a shroud of fog. At 12:45 p.m., the dynamite was ignited andWestward sank to her grave some 60 miles from her old friend Britannia.

For 37 years, Westward had graced the international yachting scene with hergrandeur, embodying the very best in design, workmanship, beauty, and speed. Herdeparture left a very large void. Photos from The Racing Schooner Westward, by C.P. Hamilton-Adams.

Marjorie Davis, at right facing camera, and guests (above)

Crew and guests of the Davises stretched out on the windward deck

while racing (below)

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Westward’s most celebrated captain was her first: CharlieBarr. A Scot who was apprenticed as a grocery clerk inGourock, a seaside fishing village on the Firth ofClyde, Barr eventually yielded to the siren song ofthe sea, joining a flounder trawler and subsequentlyfollowing his older brother to the U.S. to become ayacht skipper.

“Wee Charlie,” as he was fondly called, stoodbarely five feet three inches tall, but he was atowering force among the racing elite. A dapper manwith a waxed moustache and a cigar usually clenchedin his teeth, Barr quickly came to be regarded by all asthe best professional captain ever, in the U.S. or Europe.Known for his unflinching determination to win, he drovethe grandest of yachts to the very limit in the world’s mostfamous races. When Cochran asked him to take command of Westward, Barr had alreadydefeated America’s Cup contenders Shamrock I, II, and III and, in 1905, set thetransatlantic record aboard the noble three-masted schooner Atlantic — a record thatwould be challenged many times but not broken until a century later. In 1992, thislegendary captain was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame located on the siteof the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Barr was known for giving no quarter to his opponents. In fact, in one of Westward’sfirst competitions, in the 1910 Kiel Regatta in Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm’s schoonerNordstern (originally Meteor III) bore down on Westward, the helmsman fully expectingBarr to bear away, but that wasn’t Barr’s style. Altering course only at the last minute,Barr took no more than a glancing blow on Westward’s main rigging and steel boom.Nordstern, on the other hand, limped home with a broken bowsprit and severely damagedmast.

Famous yachting writer W. P. Stephens said of him “he took chances that wouldhave been dangerous in extreme for the average good skipper.” For this tough little Scot,however, such limitations didn’t apply.

Captain Charlie Barr

Newsclip above from The New York Times, January 25, 1911.

Photo of Captain Charles Barr, 1903 ©Mystic Seaport, Rosenfeld Collection,

Mystic, CT, #B426; photographer: James Burton.

Westward’s Most Famous Captain

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From the moment she arrived in Europe in April 1910, Westward set sail on anastounding succession of victories on the racecourse beginning with the Emperor’s Cupin the Kiel Regatta. Outsailing and outmaneuvering the other vessels, she showed hersuperiority both to windward and downwind.

With the wind blowing a steady twenty knots or more, Westward could run downwindcarrying as many as ten sails. When she came hard onto the wind, the crew wouldscramble to get the huge headsails changed as fast as possible and trim in the acres andacres of Egyptian cotton loudly going taut overhead. As the mighty hull leaned itsshoulder into the waves, the hardy crew, perhaps still gasping for breath after theirexertion (without the assistance of modern winches), would grab hold of the safety linesattached to the port and starboard bulwarks to keep then from being washed down thedramatically heeled deck into the waves rushing along the lee rail.

So intimidating was Westward that by the time she headed back to the English Channelin the summer of 1910, the owners of the British yachts she would confront next werealready planning to impose an arbitrary and sizable handicap on her. Outraged, Cochrandeclared he would not sail in their handicapped races; he would only compete in racesgoverned by the A Class of the International Rule for which Westward was built. Cochrangot his way and Westward spent the rest of the summer demonstrating her amazing prowess.

When Cochran’s captain, Charlie Barr, died suddenly in January 1911, Cochran wasdevastated and sold Westward the following autumn. Except for a brief interlude racingas Hamburg II in the fleet of German schooners, she was not fully exercised on theracecourse again until the mid 1920s, when she was purchased by T. B. Davis.

By the 1930s, most of the grand schooners she’d competed against in earlier dayswere no longer racing, and she set her cap instead for the great cutters of the day. In the1933 Lymington Cup, Westward came in first ahead of Britannia, Astra, Candida, WhiteHeather, and Shamrock V. To mark the King’s Silver Jubilee in 1934, one more greatschooner race was organized off the Isle of Wight. Competing against Altair, Cetonia,Golden Hind, and Bluenose, Westward slipped across the finish line well over a minuteahead of her closest competitor.

Westward defeated all of the cutters in the 1934 King’s Cup, and soon afterconquered every other vessel in the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Regatta, including several J-boats. Until Westward and Britannia both retired, the two rivals continued to raceregularly, with Westward usually taking line honors. King George was once heard todeclare, “Whatever we do to improve Britannia, we must beat that damned schooner.”

Newsclip at left from The New York Times, August 1, 1910.

Photo above by Beken of Cowes.

Royal London Yacht Club RaceAugust 1, 1910 — Cowes, Isle of Wight

Finishing Time Corrected TimeWestward 2.58.52 2.51.56Shamrock (cutter) 3.13.12 3.03.40Germania 3.26.31 3.26.31Meteor IV 3.31.59 3.31.59

The King’s CupAugust 8, 1934 — Cowes, Isle of Wight

Finishing Time Corrected TimeWestward 2.30.49 2.30.48Velsheda (cutter) 2.34.24 2.33.52Candida (cutter) 2.43.38 2.34.54Astra (cutter) 2.45.21 2.38.37Shamrock V (cutter) 2.46.28 2.42.56Britannia (cutter) 2.49.30 2.43.58

The Big Class racing in 1926, from left:

Lulworth, Shamrock, Westward, Britannia,and White Heather (above)

Westward on the Racecourse

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The Rebirth

On March 31, 2000 — exactly 90 years, to the day, after Westward was launched —Eleonora slid down the ways at Van der Graaf Shipyard in the Netherlands.

Painstakingly planned and very well executed, this stunning reincarnation was thevision of a Dutch entrepreneur and connoisseur of classic vessels who is dedicated tobringing back to life the grande dames of the Golden Age of yachting. With theassistance of the Hart Nautical Collections of MIT Museum, Eleonora’s designers andbuilders were able to pay close attention to the original Herreshoff ManufacturingCompany drawings every step of the way. Truly a replica of Westward, Eleonora has exactlythe same lines as the original, and was constructed using the same materials.

The passion of Eleonora’s current owner is to perpetuate the spirit of Westward andto bring to twenty-first-century admirers the amazing experience of seeing, sailing, andracing on this exquisite 160-foot schooner. Since purchasing her, his ongoing missionhas been to make Eleonora even more faithful to Westward. Through careful study ofHerreshoff’s plans and original Beken of Cowes photos of Westward, he has madealterations to the sailplan, including installing a new jackyards topsail, some newforesails, and a spinnaker pole based on Westward’s. New deck fittings and a classictender have been added, and the dimensions of new spars have been adjusted. He alsointends to install a replica of Westward’s last binnacle and bell (the originals are now inthe collection of Jersey’s Maritime Museum).

Today Eleonora continues to sail and compete in classic regattas in Europe, theCaribbean, and the U.S. In keeping with Westward’s heritage, she is always raced withstyle and sportsmanship, never forgetting that the ultimate goal is enjoyment. Eleonorais also available for charter to discriminating clients.

Witnessing the awesome majesty of Eleonora, her sails filled as she surges forward,her white wake streaming aft, no one could deny that such a captivating vessel trulypossesses a soul. Sadly, with very few exceptions, all of her predecessor’s contemporariesfrom the Golden Age are, like Westward, lost today. Thus, the only way to recapture thethrill of that era is through the creation of replicas like Eleonora. Following the originalplans as closely as possible, these carefully crafted vessels should only vary from theirforebears in regard to concessions for the safety and comfort of modern sailors andguests.

Perhaps one day it will be possible to survey the heart-stopping panorama of an entirefleet of Big Class replicas, all hoisting their massive sails to re-create those marvelousdays when kings and gentlemen competed in the grandest sailing yachts of all time. Photos by Franco Pace. Photo in oval by Gilles Martin-Raget.

Eleonora sailing in the 2006 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez (above),

at anchor in the Caribbean (below left), and in Portofino (below right)

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Eleonora has become a tangible and excitingreminder of Westward’s daunting performanceson the racecourse. Under her current owner’sstewardship, she has had impressive finishes inthe foremost classic regattas on both sides ofthe Atlantic, including those in Saint-Tropez,Cannes, Monaco, Porto Rotondo, Palma,Mahon, and Antigua.

A memorable vision thundering around themarks, Eleonora’s most recent wins haveincluded, in 2006, three major trophies in theAntigua Classic Yacht Regatta (Best Elapsed Timeof All Schooners, Best Elapsed Time in Classic Class,and Best Elapsed Time in Vintage/Classic Class), andthird place in her class in Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. In 2007,she took second place in her class in the Vele d’Epoca in Porto Rotondo, sailed to a third-place finish in her class in the Regates Royales in Cannes, and culminated her 2007racing season with a first-place win in her class in Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Eleonoraalso came in second overall in a fleet of 52 sailing superyachts racing in the 2007Superyacht Cup in Palma.

In the Concours d’Elégance at the 2003 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, Eleonora’sincredible beauty and immaculate condition caught the eye of all the judges, whopresented her with the trophy for first place overall. She was also awarded the trophy forMost Photogenic Yacht. At the 2006 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, she was againchosen the winner in her class in the Concours d’Elégance.

Dazzling all with both her swiftness and her pulchritude, Eleonora will continue tocarry the spirit of Big Class racing to classic yacht gatherings wherever she goes.

Action on deck while racing during the 2006 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta (above)

and Eleonora leading Lulworth in the 2007 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez (below)

Eleonora on the Racecourse

On Board Eleonora

Below Eleonora’s wide and uncluttered decks anatmosphere of classic ambience and luxury envelopsher guests. As they descend the grand stairway to thesaloon, they are transported to an era when theday’s racing was topped off with cucumbersandwiches and tea poured from a silver teapot.

The interior is graced with refined period-stylefurnishings and masterfully carved mahoganypaneling in the Herreshoff manner, all enhancedwith modern amenities to deliver the level of comfortexpected today on a yacht of this class. The main saloonis appointed with a large L-shaped settee, card tables andchairs, a bar with refrigerator, and fine cabinetry concealing astate-of-the-art entertainment system. To port, the dining table seats up to eight guests.

While Westward also had an elegant saloon amidships as well as a comfortableowner’s cabin, her original plan also included berths for more than 30 crew. In contrast,Eleonora offers three double staterooms and one twin stateroom. The owner’s suite fillsthe full width of the yacht aft of the main saloon. Well illuminated by multiple portholesand a large skylight, this handsome compartment is fitted with a wide double berth, built-in wardrobes, a dressing table, settee, and seating area with desk. The adjoiningbathroom offers both a shower and a bathtub. The guest staterooms are similarly fittedwith built-in desks, wardrobes, and drawers. All three have their own private ensuitebathrooms with showers.

The crew quarters, forward, feature comfortable, efficient accommodations. Thegalley is outfitted with all-stainless steel appliances as well as all the tools required for thechef to create superb meals in keeping with the five-star service always provided aboardEleonora.

On deck, Eleonora has broad spaces for sipping champagne at the end of anotherexhilarating day on the racecourse, dining under the stars, or simply relaxing in a deckchair at anchor in a picturesque bay. While the pace of modern life rushes on somewhereelse, Eleonora offers a dignified and exclusive escape. All is serene on board — that is,until the starting gun is fired once again, and this majestic reincarnation of power andbeauty surges across the line as her competitors look on in admiration.

Photos at top and in oval by Gilles Martin-Raget. Photo on bottom by Franco Pace.

Opposite, photos of column, desk, and master stateroom by Gilles Martin-Raget.

Other three photos by Franco Pace.

Companionway leading forward to the main saloon (above left), dining for eight (above right),

and the main saloon (below)

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Four details showing the fine workmanship found throughout Eleonora’s elegant interior (above), the owner’s stateroom (below left), and one of three guest staterooms (below right)

WestwardLaunched March 31, 1910

by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Bristol, Rhode Island, USA

EleonoraLaunched March 31, 2000

by Van der Graaf BV Shipyard Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Netherlands

Designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff

Length overall — 49,50 m / 160 ft

Length on deck — 41,50 m / 135 ft

Length on waterline — 29,30 m / 96 ft 1 in

Beam — 8,20 m / 27 ft 1 in

Draft — 5,20 m / 17 ft 1 in

Sail area — 1,115 sq m / 12,000 sq ft

Displacement — 214 tons

Crew — 9 • Guests — 8

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