The 1930 America's Cup was the 14th challenge for the Cup. It took place in Newport and consisted of a series of races between the defender Enterprise, entered by a syndicate of New York Yacht Club members headed by Winthrop Aldrich, and Shamrock V, the fifth in Sir Thomas Lipton's line of Cup challengers.The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum (n.d.)Rayner 2022, p.58
Background On May 5, 1929, Sir Thomas Lipton issued a new challenge for the America's Cup, including details of his challenging yacht, Shamrock V.Vanderbilt 1931, p.5 Like its predecessors, Shamrock V had been built by Charles Nicholson, with Lipton telling him that this time "the Americans ... would be just as pleased as anyone else to see me win."D'Antonio 2010, p.305
The challenge was unanimously accepted at a special meeting of the New York Yacht Club on May 16.Vanderbilt 1931, p.4 At the same meeting, the club decided to form two syndicates to build one yacht each for the defense of the cup, and also to welcome other syndicates who might want to offer a defender. The two syndicates formed directly by the NYYC were to be led by Vice-Commodore Winthrop Aldrich and Rear-Commodore Junius Morgan.Dear 2004, p.45Garland 1989, p.185 They were joined by a third New York syndicate headed by and managed by Landon K. Thorne and a fourth syndicate that was nominally attached to the NYYC for the purpose of eligibility for the race, but was composed of members of Boston's Eastern Yacht Club.
During May and June, the NYYC and RUYC negotiated the conditions of the challenge.Vanderbilt 1931, p.6 Changes to the terms of the competition since the previous challenge of 1920 included: that the races be held off Newport, instead of Sandy Hook that the match consist of the best of seven races, instead of the best of five that the yachts be built to the J-class standard, therefore eliminating the need to calculate handicaps for substantially different yacht designs that the yachts be Marconi rigged that the yachts comply with Lloyd's Register scantling rules for structural strength
The implications of this final point were that the challenger would not be disadvantaged by having a hull built strong enough to meet the current safety standards for a trans-Atlantic crossing (and therefore heavier than the previous generation of racing yachts), and that it would also preclude the yachts Resolute and Vanitie from defending the Cup. Both had been built to defend the Cup in the 1914 challenge (postponed and raced in 1920), with Resolute winning. However, neither Resolute nor Vanitie were built sturdily enough to meet the new regulations, therefore requiring the construction of new yachts for the defense.
The relocation to Newport was to accommodate the tall masts of the J-class; too tall to pass under many of the bridges over the East River.
Additionally, the Cup Committee specified that to be evaluated as a defender, yachts would need to have at least one spare mast constructed.Dear 2004, p.52 This stipulation was made because of the eleven previous yachts built for evaluation as Cup defenders in previous years, five had lost their masts at some point.
Aldrich's syndicate named Harold S. Vanderbilt as their captain and engaged Starling Burgess to design their yacht and Herreshoff Manufacturing Company to build it. They would name their yacht Enterprise. Morgan's syndicate also commissioned Herreshoff to build their yacht, and gave it the name Weetamoe. Two other contenders for the defense of the Cup, Whirlwind, and Yankee were built by Lawley & Son.
+ Contenders for the defence of the 1930 America's Cup Sail number Name Owner Manager Designer Builder Skipper 1 Weetamoe Junius Morgan syndicate Clinton Crane Herreshoff Manufacturing Company George Nichols 2 Whirlwind Landon K. Thorne syndicate Landon K. Thorne Francis Herreshoff Lawley & Son Landon K. Thorne 3 Yankee Boston–Marblehead Syndicate, a.k.a. the Eastern Yacht Club Syndicate John S. Lawrence Frank C. Paine Lawley & Son Charles F. Adams 4 Enterprise Winthrop Aldrich syndicate Harold S. Vanderbilt Starling Burgess Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Harold S. Vanderbilt
Over $3 million was spent on building the four contenders,Dear 2004, p.49 around $1 million of this on Enterprise aloneDear 2004, p.9 (around $54 million and $18 million in 2022 dollars).
In a major departure from previous competitions, the various contenders were quite open with each other about their designs and approaches, replacing the secrecy with which the designs had been treated in the past.Dear 2004, p.50
Defense contender pre-trial races Prior to the formal selection trials, the four yachts competing to become the Cup defender raced numerous times between June and August 1930.
The Long Island Sound series On June 9, the contenders, together with Resolute and Vanitie, met at Glen Cove for a series of races planned in Long Island Sound by the local clubs.Vanderbilt 1931, p.89
A huge flotilla of spectator craft attended the first of these races, including some 200 small motorboats, and two large steamers chartered by the New York Yacht Club.Vanderbilt 1931, p.88 About a dozen Coast Guard motorboats were stationed to keep the course clear, however wakes from some of the spectator boats caused a minor disruption to the race as the yachts crossed them.Vanderbilt 1931, p.90
Of the series, Weetamoe won three out of four races, with the other going to Enterprise.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.90–97 Yankee arrived too late to compete in any but the fourth and last race.
+ The Long Island Sound series, June 1930 Event Date Distance (nautical miles) Winner Enterprise's time Resolute's time Vanitie's time Weetamoe's time Whirlwind's time Yankee's time Special New York Yacht Club race for J-class boats June 11 23.5 Enterprise 3:16:51 3:48:46 3:23:20 3:37:23 3:28:58 dns New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta 1930 June 12 27.2 Weetamoe 3:34:40 3:49:28 3:38:46 3:33:09 3:54:48 dns Special Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club race for J-class boats June 16 19.6 Weetamoe 2:07:02 2:12:50 2:27:36 2:05:49 2:07:47 dns June 17 19.5 Weetamoe 2:02:59 2:13:21 2:08:03 2:02:05 2:05:40 2:04:49dns=did not start
A fifth race in the series had been proposed for June 18 off Stamford, but was abandoned due to lack of entries.Vanderbilt 1931, p.98
Points from races towards the racing season were awarded on the basis of: 1 point for starting a race, plus 1 point for each boat defeated. Therefore, at the end of this series, the points collected were:
+ Points won in the Long Island Sound series, June 1930 Boat Points Enterprise 18 Weetamoe 18 Whirlwind 10 Yankee 4
The Eastern Yacht Club races The following week, the J-class boats traveled to Newport for three races organized by the Eastern Yacht Club.Vanderbilt 1931, p.102 Once again, a large spectator fleet attended the first race, including a steamer that the sponsoring club had brought from Boston.
The first race proved eventful when Weetamoe failed to give way as required to Enterprise leeward of her while they were maneuvering towards the start line (see Racing Rules of Sailing). This caused the latter boat to stand off to avoid a collision and immediately signal a protest. Although Weetamoe finished the race first, her skipper acknowledged the foul and withdrew, leaving Enterprise the winner.Vanderbilt 1931, p.103
In the second race, while Enterprise led the other boats towards the second mark, her crew spotted a buoy with a red flag that appeared to them identical to the first mark they had already rounded.Vanderbilt 1931, p.105 Although about two miles from where they were expecting to find it, they believed this to be the second mark and turned. The other five boats followed. Only after the finish of the race were the crews informed by the Race Committee that they had all turned at the wrong point and that the second buoy had been a fishing trawl buoy. However, since all competitors had made the same mistake, and acknowledging the similarity of the buoys, the committee decided to let the race stand.
The results of the races were:Vanderbilt 1931, pp.104–07
+ The Eastern Yacht Club races, June 1930 Date Distance (nautical miles) Winner Enterprise's time Resolute's time Vanitie's time Weetamoe's time Whirlwind's time Yankee's time June 23 28.5 Enterprise 3:10:16 dns 3:15:16 Withdrawn(3:08:19) 3:14:35 3:12:25 June 24 27.8 Enterprise 2:55:52 3:03:42 3:03:10 2:57:28 3:02:22 2:56:31 June 25 28.5 Enterprise 3:15:51 3:26:58 3:23:21 3:17:25 3:26:34 3:19:06dns=did not start
The points won by the contestants for America's Cup defender during these races were:Vanderbilt 1931, p.108
+ Points won in the Eastern Yacht Club races, June 1930 Boat Points Enterprise 17 Weetamoe 9 Whirlwind 8 Yankee 13
As winner of the races, Enterprise was awarded the Commodore Charles P. Curtiss cup,Vanderbilt 1931, p.107 and a second prize was awarded to Yankee.
Observation During the first two weeks of July 1930, the America's Cup Committee staged a series of observation races to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the four contenders to defend the cup.Vanderbilt 1931, p.113 The races were conducted by starting the yachts in pairs, with the second pair starting fifteen minutes after the first. The yachts to race in each pair were determined by lot.
In all, ten of these races were staged between July 7 and July 17, although due to weather and mechanical failures, not every race could be completed.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.113–35 A further two races had been scheduled for July 18 and 19 but were not conducted.
The first four races proceeded without incident, with Weetamoe recording four wins, Enterprise two, and Whirlwind and Yankee one each.Vanderbilt 1931, pp.114–22
In the fifth race, on July 11, Enterprise and Weetamoe competed in the first division.Vanderbilt 1931, p.123 During the first leg of the race, Weetamoes mainsail failed, forcing her to withdraw from the race. The committee then signalled Enterprise to withdraw as well, thereby granting Enterprise a technical victory.Vanderbilt 1931, p.122
The sixth race, on July 12, was marred by very light winds. The start time was delayed by 2½ hours before there was even enough wind for the competitors to get underway,Vanderbilt 1931, p.126 and when Enterprise and Whirlwind started in the second division, the yachts of the first division were less than a mile ahead. By the time Enterprise rounded the second mark, she was ahead of not only Whirlwind, but the other two yachts as well.Vanderbilt 1931, p.127 The America's Cup rules of the time specified that if neither boat in a race had finished the course in 5½ hours, the race would be declared void.Vanderbilt 1931, p.225 Therefore, on this day, the first division race was voided for this reason: Weetamoe crossed the line only after 5 hours 44 minutes, leading Yankee, which was awarded a "did not finish". In the second division, Enterprise completed the race with just over 1½ minutes left to spare, meaning that the race was still valid and earning Whirlwind a second place even though she took 6 hours 10 minutes to complete the course.
Weather on the day of race seven, July 14, was quite the opposite: overcast and a 22-knot wind blowing.Vanderbilt 1931, p.129 Enterprise raced Weetamoe in the first division, both yachts with their mailsails reefed.Vanderbilt 1931, p.130 Enterprises mainsail tore, forcing her to withdraw from the race, and giving Weetamoe a technical victory. Something similar happened in the second division where both yachts were running under full sail: the headboard tore out of Whirlwinds mainsail, forcing her withdrawal and granting technical victory to Yankee. No yacht actually completed the course that day.
The wind died again on the day of race eight, July 15. Whirlwind and Yankee were taking lay days, so only Enterprise and Weetamoe raced.Vanderbilt 1931, p.131 Even so, the wind was so poor that the committee canceled the race after 1½ hours.