Yankee, built in 1930, and its veteran skipper, Charles Francis Adams, provided a surprising turn to the 1934 trials when they nearly won against the brand-new Rainbow. Harold Vanderbilt, skipper of Rainbow, wrote that Yankee's speed could be attributed to her new and sharper bow and to the new sailpower given her by a change in rig and a change in rules. Yankee's skipper, a taciturn and reserved New Englander, kept the boat in a racing trim that reflected his own taut features.