Westward Reaching Through Cowes Roads

This magnificent painting shows Westward leading the 'Big Class' on a shy reach through Cowes Roads in 1926, which is one of the fastest points of sail in the Solent. The 323-ton Westward was built by Nat Herreshoff on Rhode Island in 1910 for Alexander Cochran. With a hand-picked crew of 31 men, she was initially commanded by one of the most famous racing skippers of all time, Captain Charlie Barr. Alexander Cochran was an avid yachtsman, and had already owned several exceptional yachts. He was inspired to approach Herreshoff to build his new schooner because of the performance of the Americas Cup contender, Defender, which Herreshoff had designed and constructed.

Prominent in the world of yacht design for 75 years, ‘Captain Nat’ Herreshoff is now perhaps the best known of all American yacht builders. Captain Barr declared at the launching of the 160ft schooner, “She’s a wonder”, and the press celebrated her launch as “the new Herreshoff Flyer”. Only a month after her launch, she sailed to Europe to challenge the world’s most formidable schooners in their back yard and she won all 11 of her starts during her first season. Westward was purchased by T.B. Davis in 1924, and with her huge sail area and Davis’s hand on the wheel, she took some beating. Until recently, it was thought that these scenes of the magnificent yachts racing on the Solent were a thing of the past. However, many of the great classic yachts have been restored, or replicas have been built, providing yachting enthusiasts today with a taste of the power and beauty of a bygone era. This painting sold at Sotheby’s in December 2006 for almost £120,000.