Classic Boat — November 2017

PHOTOGRAPH Onne van der Wal

Thousands stood along Newport harbour shores and watched on spectator boats as the J-Class returned to its spiritual home in August, for the first

ever J-Class Worlds. The Js raced for the America’s Cup from Newport in the 1930s and history repeated itself in 2017 as the modern-day Js Lionheart

and Hanuman battled for the top spot. Eighty years previously, the same two designs had gone head to head in the last America’s Cup raced in Js.

Lionheart is a modern-day equivalent of one of the designs drawn for the all-conquering Ranger, which won at Newport in 1937, while Hanuman is a

modern-day equivalent of Endeavour II. Lionheart, originally designed by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens, was optimised by Hoek Design and

launched in 2011. Those watching in Newport were treated to a spectacle as good as any in the J-Class’ extraordinary history, with six yachts –

Hanuman, Lionheart, Ranger, Svea, Topaz, and Velsheda – competing over five days of racing for the world title and the season-long points trophy,

the Kohler Cup. As ever in the J fleet, thanks to its e“ective modern handicapping system, competition was tight, with frequent lead changes

throughout on Narragansett Bay. Lionheart, with her owner helming, won the title by three points ahead of Hanuman, but the final leaderboard

showed seven points between first and third place and only a 13-point di“erence from top to bottom. Ranger, the 2003 replica of the Burgess/

Stephens original, was third overall. The win topped a great summer for Hoek, after Lionheart won the overall prize in the America’s Cup Superyacht

Regatta and the special America’s Cup J-Class Regatta, held in Bermuda as part of the America’s Cup celebrations in June. The wins meant

Lionheart also won the Kohler Trophy for the J-Class season.

J-Class Worlds

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