For those unfamiliar with the Edward W. Kane and James Gubelmann IYRS Maritime Library, you may be surprised to learn that in addition to thousands of cataloged books, periodicals and A/V materials, its holdings also include a variety of rare, valuable, fragile, and scarce items. These include hundreds of charts, boat plans, letters, posters, brochures, press kits, typescript or handwritten histories, photographs, slides, films, and video tapes. Ephemera such as wearable items, burgees, flags and an impressive display of trophies, paintings, and models are also preserved, protected, and displayed among the Library’s Special Collections.
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Contents: Issue No. 9
FEATURE: The Ray Hunt 10s
FEATURE: The Great Ocean Race of 1905; Part I
EXHIBIT: Innovation in 20th Century Boats & Boatbuilding
RECENT FINDS: Dick Newick Trimaran Plans for Phil Weld
NEW DONATIONS: George O'Day Family Film Collection
FEATURED VIDEO: J-Class Yachts-- Ranger and Endeavour II
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The library has over a thousand blueprint sail plans in the Ratsey & Lapthorn collection, spanning most of the twentieth century and all of the major yacht designers. As we have been adding these works to the library’s online catalog there have been many interesting ‘finds’; among which is a group of six plans relating to C. Raymond Hunt’s famous “10s” of the 1930s and early 1940s. | |
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In the late 1930s C. Raymond Hunt was fascinated with developing a boat that combined “superior performance and low cost," as noted in Yachting magazine in 1939. Plywood made using waterproof epoxy was developed in 1934, and this provided the material that would allow the boats to be made relatively quickly and inexpensively. After a few false starts the first of these groundbreaking new designs went into production in 1937 at George Lawley & Son, in Neponset, MA; the 35-foot “225”. The library has in its collection a tracing made at Ratsey and Lapthorn of a “225” owned by the sailor Briggs Cunningham, dated June 1939.
Despite the success of the “225” in local races, it was soon realized that the price was an obstacle to wider sales. So the boat was scaled back to 24’, with a sail area of 110 square feet, and the new design was consequently christened the “110.” The library has a blueprint sail plan of the “110”, dated 25 September 1939 and revised 2 February 1940, (see above) by which time this unique boat was already selling well.
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Two other plans in the group are for versions of this design that never went into production, and appear to be unrecorded in the literature of Hunt’s designs. One is for a “260 Class”, 31’ LOA, from early 1940, and the second a “National 280 Class”, 31’ 1” LOA, from late 1944. The “260” plan was being offered by George Lawley and was drawn by Wilder B. Harris, who later went to work with Hunt after Lawley closed down operations. | |  |
The owner’s name is written on the plan by someone at Ratsey, seeming to indicate that there may have been at least one possible sale.The “280” plan is marked as being designed by Hunt and built by Haggerty & Co, Cohasset - also drawn by W.B. Harris - and is dated November 1944, which would seem to make it likely that Hunt was already setting up his own manufacturing operations, perhaps sensing the imminent closing of the Lawley yard. | | |
The final works in this group are two blueprint plans for the “International 210”; one the sail plan and the other a detail plan of sails and rigging. Both are drawn by the naval architect Arthur E. Martin, dated April 1946 and December 1945 respectively, and represent the second, and even more successful, iteration of Hunt’s unique design. We look forward to sharing other interesting plans from the Ratsey & Lapthorn collection in the coming months. --Francis Frost | |
The Great Ocean Race of 1905, by SallyAnne Santos | |
The ill-advised conditions under which the Great Ocean Race of 1905 was organized, the extreme diversity of the 11 yachts and attendant cast of characters-- ranging from English Aristocracy to American Robber Barons and from professional seamen to club amateurs, including just one woman who sailed them—makes for a compelling story. Add an egomaniacal German Emperor determined to claim (false) international naval supremacy and set the drama on the nascent 20th Century World stage… now this is a Gilded Age mini-series I would watch! | |
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I found Scott Cookman’s Atlantic: The Last Great Race of Princes, so interesting it motivated me to “navigate the stacks” for additional information on this fascinating topic. With the help of IYRS’s online database and Librarian, Francis Frost, I was able to access numerous records and contemporary accounts that shed more light onto this auspicious event and its eclectic set of competitors. We hope that you find this topic as interesting as we did and follow the multi-part story that I was able to discover thanks to the richness of supporting materials found in the IYRS Maritime Library Collection. (References linked & below.)
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Wealth has been represented in this race; vessels have been fitted out regardless of expense…it has been determined that one of the American contingent (8 total including 5 NYYC entrants) shall be the winner. — New York Herald | |
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In May 1905, the eyes of the world were focused on a no-holds barred, transatlantic yacht race that would serve as a proxy for perceived international naval supremacy. In 1888, Germany’s newly-minted (and last) Emperor, inherited little navy to speak of but was determined that Germany should emerge as a seafaring superpower. Kaiser Wilhelm II devised a shortcut to maritime bragging rights by offering a “solid” gold trophy for the winner of his propaganda-driven challenge in the form of a yacht race. Ten vessels flying the flags of the U.K. and U.S.A. spared no expense or effort in preparing for the 3000nm sprint in treacherous North Atlantic spring conditions to claim the Emperor’s Cup. The eleventh yacht, selected by the Kaiser to represent the Fatherland was actually the British-built Rainbow. He renamed her Hamburg-- but it was not lost on anyone that there was not a single German-built boat in the contest.
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The public watched with rapt interest as eleven of the fastest, most opulent yachts ever built were staged by a cast of competitors that included British nobility and American industrialists. The priceless collection onboard Lord Brassey’s Sunbeam (comprised of gifts acquired during 3 circumnavigations) was compared to the contents of the British Museum. Lord Lindsay, the 26th Earl of Crawford’s mammoth Valhalla featured several fireplaces, a grand piano and a formal dining room for 30 guests; the crew of 90 were decidedly not invited. Atlantic’s luxuries included marble floors and Tiffany skylights. This was after-all the zenith of the Gilded Age; World War I, the Stock Market Crash and Great Depression were not yet sighted on the horizon. | |
The diversity of the yacht designs, each favored in different (unpredictable) weather conditions, frustrated New York’s bookmakers who finally set odds based primarily on the experience and mettle of each captain. In our next issue of Navigating the Stacks, Part 2 of The Great Ocean Race of 1905 series will detail each the disparate yachts and the people who raced them.--SAS | |
How can anything conclusive be expected from an ocean race in which the contestants range from a schooner of 86 tons (and a yawl of 116 tons) to a full-rigged ship of 647 tons? The affair as a yacht race is the height of absurdity. —New York World | |
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The Great Ocean Race of 1905 provided a wonderful opportunity to cross-reference the eleven yachts, sailors and events through the IYRS Library Collection. The Lloyd's Register page shown here identifies three of the competitor's private signals (circled). Additional resources included:
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NEW EXHIBIT:
Innovation in Twentieth Century Boats & Boatbuilding
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The Library's next exhibit, "Innovation in Twentieth Century Boats and Boatbuilding", will be opening in February. It will feature books, plans, drawings, ephemera and more, relating to innovations that had significant effects on boat building and design, as well as others that, for one reason or another, never became mainstream. | |
Dick Newick Trimaran Plans for Phil Weld | |
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On the morning of 25 June 1980, Phil Weld sailed through the fog past Brenton Reef Light on his 50’ trimaran Moxie - 17 days, 23 hours and 12 minutes after leaving Plymouth, England. He was the first American to win the Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR), beating the previous record by 2 days and 13 hours, and the oldest winner at age 65.
Weld had been racing trimarans since 1970; first 44’ Trumpeter, then 60’ Gulf Streamer, 60’ Rogue Wave, and finally Moxie. The last three of these yachts were designed by the Martha’s Vineyard-based multihull designer Dick Newick, and the library is fortunate to have 78 diazo (or whiteprint) plans in its collection for these designs, a gift of the Weld family.
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Gulf Streamer was designed by Newick in 1973 and there are forty large plans in the collection, annotated in pen and pencil by Newick and Weld, revealing both the changes and alterations in design as well as the communication between client and designer. On 27 April 1976, heading to England to participate in that year’s OSTAR, Gulf Streamer was flipped by a wave, ironically in the Gulf Stream, and Weld and his crewmate spent four days in the upturned hull before being rescued by a passing tanker. | |
Not one to be deterred by mishap, Weld commissioned Newick to set to work on his next multihull, defiantly named Rogue Wave, and this time built by the Gougeon Brothers in Bay City, Michigan, using their WEST System of epoxy construction. Launched in August 1977, Rogue Wave was raced in the Route du Rhum in 1978, finishing third, and was planned to race in the 1980 OSTAR, however a rule change on boat length sent Newick and Weld back to the drawing board a third time - resulting finally in the triumphant 50’ Moxie.- -Francis Frost | |
Digitization Project: Recent Film Donations | |
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The Library recently received a generous donation of 80 reels of film from the family of Olympic sailor and boat builder George O'Day. These range from unique 1930s America's Cup film, to tank tests of 5.5 meter yachts, 1950s manufacturer's promotional films, later America's Cup races, and much more. As we catalog and digitize these works we will provide updates on the Library website.
Archival Playlist on IYRS's YouTube channel where you will find additional videos from the Library's collection.
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FEATURED VIDEO: J-Class Yachts--Ranger & Endeavour II | |
IYRS MARITIME LIBRARY COLLECTIONS | |
- Arthur Curtiss James Collection
- Philip Crowther America's Cup Scrapbook Collection
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Leonard Fowle, Boston Globe yacht editor scrapbooks 1923-40
- Ratsey & Lapthorn Sailmakers Plan Collection
- Museum of Yachting, Single Handed Sailors Hall of Fame
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- Gubelmann Family Collection
- The Vanderbilt Collection
- National Sailing Museum and Hall of Fame Collection
- The Walter Cronkite Collection
- Rare Vintage Books & Periodicals
- Redwood Library, Stephen Lirakis Collection
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About IYRS Maritime Library | |
Mission Statement: The IYRS Maritime Library is an educational and cultural resource, committed to the mission of IYRS and to making its collections available to students, staff and faculty as well as to scholars, researchers, and members of the general public.
IYRS Library Committee is comprised of founder James Gubelmann, interested IYRS Board members, the IYRS librarian, IYRS staff members, and qualified individuals from the surrounding community.
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Location: 4th floor of the historic 1831 John Mecray Aquidneck Mill building on the IYRS campus at 449 Thames Street, Newport, Rhode Island.
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Open to: Students, Researchers and Armchair Sailors
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Hours: Wednesday-Friday ~ 12-4pm & Saturday ~ 1-5pm
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Search: Online Catalog anytime
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Items in the library's Special Collections have been acquired through donations by private individuals and families as well as by esteemed organizations including the Redwood Library & Athenaeum, the National Sailing Hall of Fame, Salve Regina University and of course the Museum of Yachting. In addition to IYRS's searchable online catalog, which utilizes the Library of Congress system, the IYRS Maritime Library was selected to join RIAMCO-- the prestigious online gateway to the Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections.
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About Navigating the Stacks | |
Exploring the Collections of the IYRS Maritime Library
This newsletter was envisioned by IYRS Maritime Library co-founder and contributor James Gubelmann in order to illuminate the depth and richness of the Special Collections contained within. Gubelmann said, “Together with Editor, SallyAnne Santos, former Creative Director of the Museum of Yachting, we will provide insight into the library’s holdings, specifically highlighting contents of the Special Collections.”
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