Edmiston Press Release | ENDEAVOUR

5th August 2016

Commissioned to challenge the America’s Cup in the early 1930s, Sir Thomas Sopwith applied aviation technology to Endeavour and spared nothing to make her the finest yacht of her day. From her launch in 1934 she swept through the British racing fleet and into the hearts of yachtsmen around the world.

Over the next 46 years, Endeavour’s fate often hung by a thread, only to be saved at the eleventh hour. In 1984 American yachtswoman Elizabeth Meyer rescued a near-expired Endeavour and undertook a five-year rebuild, transforming her into a modern masterpiece with a new deck, rig and interior. Endeavour sailed again on June 22, 1989, for the first time in 52 years.

More recently, her current owner undertook another major upgrade of both rig and interior before entering and winning a whole series of races and regattas. Proving the genius of her original designer, Charles E Nicholson, aided by some 21st Century innovation, Endeavour is still an incredible sailing machine and one that draws admirers and plaudits wherever she voyages.  

One of the three last remaining original J Class yachts still in existence, she is widely considered to be among the world’s most famous and important vessels. Following her last refit, Endeavour is in better condition than ever today. Her elegant and surprisingly luxurious interior, a sumptuous reimagining of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs, will sleep up to eight guests and features hand-crafted wood panelling and traditional leather furniture.

In 2017, after an absence of 80 years, J Class yachts, made up of originals and their modern-day counterparts, will return to the America’s Cup and compete in their own four-day classic regatta. Endeavour will automatically qualify to race and, as the most famous of all the Js, she may also be available for America’s Cup promotional and charter work.

Please contact Alex Busher for more information about this incredible yacht, AB@edmiston.com.