Genesta 1885

Hand-crafted plank-on-frame wood hull with light varnished topsides, mahogany varnished bottom paint .

Hull size: 60cm.

Board size: 75cm X 20cm

John Beavor-Webb was born in August 1849 in Ireland. He attended Trinity College, Dublin, with the aim of becoming an engineer. An excellent racer, he raced his 25-foot Itchen and won 10 out of 12 races. In 1875, he worked with the modeler-builder Dan Hatchen, and had a part in the design and construction of the 5-ton yacht Freda.

He then devoted himself to yacht design and composite construction, in metal and wood, and then in iron or steel. In 1884, he built Genesta, a composite construction cutter, for Sir Richard Sutton. He also had an order for Lieutenant William Henn, a second steel cutter, Galatea. 

John Beavor-Webb in fact issued  a dual challenge with Genesta and Galatea. A good racing man, Beavor-Webb steered Genesta with Captain John Carter. His performance in the second race against Puritan was to be for a long time engraved in the memory of the yachtsmen who witnessed the race.

There was a crowd in attendance at the launch of the third America's Cup defender designed and built by the Herreshoff brothers. As ever, the boat has been built in an utmost secrecy, forbidding the access of the yard to every journalists and photographers. This time the defender helm was put in the hands of Charles Barr. This was the first time that the famous Scottish skipper, living in he States for some years , had been entrusted with a defender. Captain Nat  was to be his co-skipper.

As John Brown predicted, Columbia's steel mast broke after the first trials, due to electrolysis. It was replaced by another in Oregon pine for the rest of the trials. The final race was held on October 20th. The struggle was hard and none of the two teams managed to take a decisive advantage till the last mark. The two were now both fighting against the wind. They heeled over impressively, stemposts dipping into the spray and lifting immense cascades of water.Throughout this first windward beat, Archie Hogarth tried all he knew to escape Columbia, who was controlling him mercilessly. Columbia obviously cut better through the choppy sea, whereas Shamrock had to force her way through and tossed violently the Defender flying her mainsail, staysail and jib, performed marvellously and hauled the wind without losing speed, her sais always full. Scarcely 5 minutes after rounding the mark, Columbia had the race in her pocket. Shamrock tacked first after 20 mninutes, followed the Americans. The difference separating the two yachts could now be seen, since, from the same initial point, Columbia was already 1/8 mile to windward of the Irish. Barr decided to slacken off to avoid breakages and to make sure of victory, as he was a quarter of a mile to windward of his pursuer, and won easily.

The American skipper and the defender had fulfilled their contract, with their three crushing victories over Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht. Columbia had no difficulty in beating Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock, designed by Fife Jr III. Before his promise to come back to the following America's Cup, Sir Thomas Lipton paid tribute to his rival: "Mister Herreshoff has shown that he is the greatest yacht designer in the world".