Every yacht designer facing a blank sheet of paper seeks the same elusive ideal: to create a vessel that combines radiant grace with uncompromised speed. This is the story of such a yacht, perhaps the most radiant and graceful of them all and surely the speediest. Ticonderoga or “Big Ti”, as she is affectionately known, was designed in 1935 by L. Francis Herreshoff as a simple family daysailer. With a handsome clipper bow, raked rig and perfect sheer, she was a deliberate throwback to 19th-Century elegance. Yet, Herreshoff shaped her underbody for speed in a futuristic way that has stood the test of time beyond anyone’s expectations.

Edition: 1997