J-boat Yankee, 1930
Gelatin silver print of Willard B. Jackson.
Gift of Alison H. Jackson, 1978
M27755.J4489

J-boats were the foremost designs under the American Universal Rule of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Yankee was the strongest contender for the right to defend the America's Cup in 1930. However, when the final series of cup trials off Newport was cancelled due to poor weather, the New York Yacht Club's racing committee chose Harold Vanderbilt's Enterprise over Yankee, believing that the former sailed better in light weather. Ironically, Jackson's photograph shows Yankee in a calm sea that does little to convey her speed.

Yankee � Designed by Paine, Belknap & Skene | Built by George F. Lawley & Son, Neponset, Mass., 1930 | 126_ Length overall, 85_ Length waterline | Owned by John S. Lawrence, Charles Francis Adams, and Chandler Hovey.