Description

ELEONORA WESTWARD SAILBOAT (Ntrl)

FULLY BUILT AND READY TO DISPLAY MUSEUM QUALITY SHIP MODEL

Dimension approx.: 24″ (long) x 5″ (wide) x 28″ (high)
The model is already built. THIS IS NOT A MODEL SHIP KIT

When Eleonora was launched on March 31, 2000 — exactly ninety years to the day after the debut of the legendary schooner Westward — she was more than a replica. She was a resurrection. Built at the Van der Graaf shipyard in the Netherlands, Eleonora faithfully recreated the lines, proportions, and spirit of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff’s most celebrated racing schooner, a yacht once hailed as the fastest in the world. Her steel hull and modern systems brought 21st‑century reliability, but her soul remained firmly rooted in the Golden Age of yachting.

The story begins with Westward, Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.’s hull number 692, launched in Bristol, Rhode Island, on March 31, 1910. Designed under the new International Rule of 1908, she was the largest yacht ever built to that standard — a 162‑foot gaff schooner with breathtaking power and balance. Owned by American industrialist Alexander Cochran and skippered by the legendary Captain Charlie Barr, Westward dominated the great racing circuits of Europe.

Her victories were spectacular. In German waters she outran Kaiser Wilhelm’s fleet; in British regattas she famously beat Shamrock by fifteen minutes. Her rivals included the great names of the era — Britannia, Lulworth, Meteor II — and she often bested them all. Barr’s sudden death in 1911 paused her career, but Westward returned to racing in the 1920s under new ownership, continuing to duel with Britannia until her retirement in 1935. In 1947, after decades of service, she was scuttled off Jersey — a quiet end for a yacht that had once ruled the racing world.

Eleonora was conceived to bring that lost masterpiece back to life. Using Herreshoff’s original drawings, Van der Graaf’s craftsmen recreated the schooner with extraordinary fidelity. Her dimensions match Westward exactly:

LOA: 162 ft 5 in (49.5 m)
LOD: 136 ft 2 in (41.5 m)
Beam: 26 ft 8 in (8.12 m)
Draft: 17 ft 1 in (5.20 m)
Displacement: 214 tons

Her gaff‑rigged sailplan mirrors the 1910 original, while refinements by her owner — including new jackyard topsails, updated foresails, and a classic tender — enhance her performance in modern classic‑yacht regattas. Below decks, teak joinery and traditional craftsmanship blend seamlessly with discreet modern comforts. Auxiliary power comes from a Baudouin 6R 124SR engine, giving her the reliability needed for contemporary cruising.

Since her launch, Eleonora has become a fixture of the classic‑yacht circuit, turning heads at Mediterranean and Caribbean regattas and hosting distinguished guests. She sails with the same grace, power, and balance that made Westward a legend, yet she does so with the safety and comfort expected of a modern superyacht.

More importantly, Eleonora preserves something intangible: the sensation of commanding a great Herreshoff schooner at full stride, her long overhangs slicing through the sea, her towering gaff sails drawing her forward with effortless majesty.

Eleonora is not merely a replica — she is a continuation. A vessel that carries forward the genius of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, the competitive fire of early 20th‑century racing, and the romance of an era when schooners were the queens of the regatta course. Through her, Westward sails again, as alive and commanding today as she was in 1910.