Fetching The Mark

The great Herreshoff schooner Westward is a recurring theme of John Mecray. He has shown her here in the 1920’s crossing tacks with King George V’s venerable cutter Brittania, considered by many to be the greatest yacht of all time. In this situation, the crew of the Westward is not preparing to tack, indicating she is fetching the mark and therefore may gain the advantage if Brittania does not tack very soon. Despite their disparate designs, the American built Westward and famous British cutter Brittania had a long and exciting rivalry between 1910 and 1938, the end of the “golden age of yachting”.

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