JclassShamrockv

Which decade has produced the most beautiful boats? The 1930s were remarkable. Not just for elegant design but for ground-breaking progress.

Smoke on the Water
Queen of the J Class
The oldest America’s Cup boat in existence

After a multi-year restoration, J Class Shamrock V returns to the water in A1 condition - arguably the finest she has been in her 96-year history.

Built in 1930 as Sir Thomas Lipton’s fifth and final challenger for the America’s Cup, she is now the oldest America’s Cup yacht in existence, whether afloat or ashore.

Every plank, frame and fitting has been painstakingly restored, preserving her remarkable heritage while preparing her for a new chapter on the racecourse.

Commissioning is complete. The Queen of the J Class is ready once again.

Next stop: the road to Naples and the 2027 America’s Cup.

“When the new America’s Cup challenger had left the temporary slipway at the Gosport yard and floated for the first time in her natural element on Monday, April 14, she looked proud enough to bring back that Cup this time. But whether Shamrock V is successful in the task for which she has been created or not, Sir Thomas Lipton will have a vessel of which he may well be proud and which all who have an eye for a boat will admire.

Unlike her predecessors, the building of this challenger has been a very happy event, pleasantly free from absurd
secrecy, taboos, rumours and contradictions. Months ago her designer, Mr. Charles Nicholson exchanged the leading measurements of his own creation with those of the American defenders.

For months the great draughty shed at Camper and Nicholson’s yard has been the meeting place of all kinds of interested persons, from the serious-minded student of yacht
architecture, who has come to learn by gazing up at the great long hull, to the slightly blasphemous Press photographer who has pushed a well-worn felt hat to the back of his head, played with glass plates and “wished to God they wouldn’t build yachts with a news value in dark sheds!”

And now Shamrock V is afloat and ready to be tuned up for her first races. What exactly is she like? It is easier to say what she is not like than to describe her with any accuracy.”

YACHTING MONTHLY Magazine May 1930

“Leaving scarcely any wake … ghosting in a light breeze”
Yachting Monthly 1930

Ted Turner lived Courageously till the age of 87 - driven, disruptive and utterly convinced of his path.

In Business. In Broadcasting. In the America’s Cup. And on Shamrock V.

From reshaping global media to conquering the America’s Cup and offshore racing, Turner brought relentless energy to every arena he entered. On land and sea alike, he challenged convention, built legacy, and helped propel sailing into a bigger modern stage.

A powerful original. A competitor. A visionary.

May he Rest in Peace.

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America’s Cup 1930 against the US defender Enterprise

BBC News - 3rd May 2026