Even if you only have passing familiarity with America’s Cup challengers, no doubt you’ve heard of the famed Rainbow, seen here, which was launched in 1934 for Harold Vanderbilt to defend the Cup against the equally famous Endeavour. At times the battle was tough, but Rainbow won in the end. In 1937 she defended the Cup again, but this time lost to another well-known racer, Ranger. Sadly, she was sold for scrap just three years later.
But Rainbow will rise again, thanks to a savvy sailing enthusiast and Dykstra & Partners Naval Architects. A repeat client of the design studio–the former owner of Windrose of Amsterdam, which set the transatlantic schooner record at 10.5 days in 2005–has commissioned a 40-meter (131-foot) J-Class replica.
The yacht will be built in aluminum and designed in accordance with J-Class Association maximum performance rules. These rules were developed to keep the J-Class fleet alive and to encourage new-build racers, which are often made of aluminum, to enter the field. In fact, Dykstra & Partners as well as the Wolfson Unit, a UK-based consultancy service in ship and yacht design, technology, and industrial aerodynamics, developed the new Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) rule. (In a nutshell, VPP estimates the performance of a sailing yacht, given certain boat and environmental data, and the rule was created to give all designs a chance of winning based on the handicap system.)
There’s yet another reason why the Dykstra & Partners team was the right one to tap for the job. Not only have they raced on all the Js in the current fleet, but they’ve also been instrumental in the rebuilds of classic Js like Shamrock V, Velsheda, Endeavour, and Ranger. They’re also the naval architects for the new Endeavour II that will be delivered by Royal Huisman this fall.
Expect to see the new Rainbow in 2010. Just imagine the possibilities for a rematch of the 1934 Cup.
Leave a Reply