Three legendary J-Class vessels converge, their presence echoing the golden age of British & American 1930s industrial competition and yacht racing. The early panel stitching, visible within the original cream-coloured cotton sail cloth of J-Class Endeavour, speaks of a time when sailmaking was both art and endurance. Its texture is a testament to the craftsmanship of Ratsey & Lapthorn, the world's oldest sail loft (trading continuously since 1790) and an enduring part of America's Cup history. Hand-printed using the earliest photographic Cyanotype methods, my aerial image from a helicopter, immortalises the Super J-Class Ranger, America's powerful response to Sir Thomas Sopwith's challenger Endeavour Il. Designed and launched in 1937 for Harold S. Vanderbilt, Ranger was conceived as the ultimate defender of the America's Cup. She was the first racing yacht in history to be tank-tested - at the Stephens Institute in America - her every line shaped for speed and victory.
The art piece is completed by a section from J-Class Velsheda's race-winning carbon fibre Jib. Velsheda was designed in 1933 by Charles E. Nicholson for William Lawrence Stephenson, Woolworth heir, and began racing in The Solent. Velsheda lives on now under the stewardship of Ronald de Waal, a Dutch fashion entrepreneur, whose passion has revived her once again as a formidable presence on the J-Class racing scene. This artwork weaves together a century of sailcloth technology and great sailing legends. It is a homage to legacies and the eternal souls of the sea.