The Whirlwind was a J-Class yacht designed to compete in the America’s Cup. The Whirlwind was made in reply to Lipton’s challenge in the America’s Cup, one of three others that hoped to defeat Lipton.

The Whirlwind was the second J-Class to be launched by the United States. Other J-Class yachts that hope to compete in response to this challenge were the Enterprise, Weetamoe, Yankee, and of course the Whirlwind. It was built in 1930 by George Lawley and Son, who also built the Yankee. It was designed by L. Francis Herreshoff, and was one of the larger of the J-Class boats to compete.

The Whirlwind may be large, but it is considered to be the most revolutionary of the four J-Class boats created in response to Lipton’s challenge. Francis strayed away from conventional yacht design in creating the Whirlwind, and instead experimented with many ideas. Hull shape and rig was the main target of such ideas- as he experimented with newer, more efficient types of hulls and rigs. The Whirlwind was the longest of the J-Class yachts entered into competition, and was unmatched until yachts were created in 1937, when longer yachts such as the Ranger and Endeavour II were created.

While the other J-Class contenders from the United States team were made out of expensive tobin bronze, the Whirlwind strayed away from the rest and instead used unconventional ideas. Sadly, the Whirlwind was delayed in production. Even worse, the Lloyd’s A1 scanting rules weren’t met, and the yacht could not compete as the 1930 defender of the Cup. It is unknown if the J-Class would’ve been a worthy defender anyways- as there were a few simple problems with the yachts steering and speed. Even though many parts of the boat were revolutionary for the time- other parts of the design lacked certain factors to make the boat perform well against competitors.

The steering gear of the ship made it hard to control, and it was often out performed. The ship was scrapped in 1935 along with the Enterprise. However, the memory of the yacht lives on with the unique double headsail rig that the yacht used. This rig was later adopted by the rest of the J-Class yachts. Even though it was scrapped, the yacht still made a revolutionary impact on yachts, which is very respectable and note worthy.

The Whirlwind was a great ship overall, but just didn’t have the steam to out perform competitors. It may have had some revolutionary designs and implementations, but it still lacked a few things design wise, that would put it at a disadvantage against other yachts. Things such as the double headsail rig can still be in use today- making the boat revolutionary. It is sad to know that the boat was scrapped soon after creation, as this would make a great addition to any museum or avid collector of yachts. It might not have been able to compete in Lipton’s challenge, but it is still widely considered an important and very valuable part of yacht history.