Endeavours crew Strike

The strike by Endeavours crew just 8 days before her departure for America with the result that 13 of her experienced crew left the boat cannot be underestimated. Endeavour had been rigorously raced that summer and her crew finely tuned. These experienced members of the crew were replaced by experienced Corinthian sailors with plenty of experience racing Dinghy’s but not racing J’s (some of them were hurriedly shipped off to Le Harve to join Dick Fairey’s Shamrock to get some experience racing a J before they left for America), being largely gentleman, these young and enthusiastic men were not accustomed to the work of deck hands. It was found despite the huge leaps forward in technology, British boats where still run like stately homes with the owners never going before the mast and crew members never offering opinions or advice. Indeed, when asked about the kind of volunteer Sopwith wonted he replied, “he wanted men who would do as they were told and didn’t want Endeavour filled with a crew giving him advice.” Time and time again when you read about the individual races the lack of experience of Endeavours crew was a big factor in a contest that came down to fine margins. In fact, Harold Vanderbilt used this inexperience to his advantage when deciding on race tactics.

The difference in the two afterguard’s was also pointed out in Ian Dears book

Endeavour was helmed by her owner T.O. M Sopwith, whilst Rainbow was helmed by Harold Vanderbilt on the wind, starts and rounding marks, Sherman Hoyt when the Genoa was set and John Parkinson when racing off the wind.

For Navigator Sopwith used a naval officer called Paul that had been employed to navigate Endeavour across the Atlantic and now had to navigate without any experience a yacht around a racecourse. For navigator Rainbow had Zenas Bliss, a mathematician who was an expert at navigating yachts around a racecourse.

Sopwith also had his fishing friend Gerald Penny to organise the amateur crew, it was thought he was there only because he was a friend of the owner. The final members of his afterguard were Charles Nicholson, Endeavours designer and Sopwith wife, both of whom had no fixed role.

Vanderbilt’s afterguard by comparison also included Starling Burgess her designer in charge of her mast and Sherman Hoyt who in addition to his helmsman duties oversaw sails and advised on tactics. After race 3 Frank Paine was brought onboard from Yankee to oversee the trimming of the problematic Parachute spinnaker. Rainbows afterguard was very much a team.

Ian Dear writes that Sopwith viewed the contest as a competition against Vanderbilt more than as an international clash between two nations, and this could well account for his rather cavalier attitude.