Sailing the J class Endeavour

>This is sailing porn. Should sailing something that fantastic in such lovely conditions be allowed on here?

I've crewed on Velsheda and you are right they are fantastic to look at, at the time there were no guardrails and no engine.
 
I was privileged to be invited for a day sailing on board in the Solent about 1990 when she had just finished the refit at Royal Huismans after being rescued and lots of money thrown at her. Words defy the experience! Simply stunning. They found the original sailing master from when she was new and invited him for the day as well. Very old, he sat in the doghouse all day, a very proud man with the biggest grin on his face.
 
>I've never seen it mentioned and it's hard to estimate, what sort of speed do these boats sail at?

When I was crewng Velsheda I was watching the analogue wind speed indicator and it was stuck at 50 knots, we found later the gusts were 80 knots, not the boat speed. So I looked up their speed and it's 12 knots upwind and downwind, although with huge rigs and three sails they are heavy displacement boats and seriously heavy sails. To put that into context it took 8 people to lift the trysail out of the locker and spinnaker is the size of a football pitch. It took 12 crew to hoist the main. If anybody is looking to buy a boat Endeavour is for sale at £17.5 million.
 
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I am sailing to Bermuda (singlehanded as usual) in late May to observe the America's Cup. Eight J Class yachts are expected to compete in a J Class regatta. This will be the highlight of the events as far as I am concerned. The competing catamarans are technological marvels but the 12 meter boats used to stir my soul.
 
Just watched some of the other clips following this one, really good, there was one in Lymington last year, a real joy to behold but makes you feel like your in a floating dustcart, stunning though all the same
 
I am sailing to Bermuda (singlehanded as usual) in late May to observe the America's Cup. Eight J Class yachts are expected to compete in a J Class regatta. This will be the highlight of the events as far as I am concerned. The competing catamarans are technological marvels but the 12 meter boats used to stir my soul.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there, Orion Jim.

The floaty flying cat things are all jolly impressive, like I suppose Formula One cars are.

BUT they don't leave any lasting impression, does anyone even remember their names ? - the J Class are a combination of Nelson's Agamemnon, Appollo 11 and James Bond's DB5, all rolled into one...:encouragement:
 
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