– The sea, the sun, the boats… and the Mistral! – Shenandoah of Sark, Rolex Trophy star – A fellow pilot among the Classics, Madcap is at Les Voiles.
– The sea, the sun, the boats… and the Mistral! – Shenandoah of Sark, Rolex Trophy star – A fellow pilot among the Classics, Madcap is at Les Voiles.
“Shenandoah, I can’t wait to see you…” The 54.35-metre Shenandoah of Sark is undeniably one of the stars of Les Voiles and the 17th edition of the prestigious Rolex Trophy. Originally commissioned for the wealthy American banker Charles Fanhestock by architect Theodore Ferris, who was inspired by the lines of Meteor III, the yacht of the German emperor and king of Prussia, Wilhelm II, the fabulous three-mast ship built by Townsend & Downey in New York, was launched in 1902. Saved from abandonment by Baron Marcel Bich, he found the waters of Newport thanks to him for the first French campaigns of the America’s Cup. After a complete restoration, it carries approximately its original sail surface, that is 2,000 m2 at the door, but the difference is that today some spars and mast heads are reinforced. To celebrate its centenary, its owner offered her a world tour and the boat went to greet Cape Horn by nearly 50 knots of wind, during an extraordinary cruise in the canals of Patagonia. The origin of its name is also tasty. The word Shenandoah comes from the Native American and means “The Beautiful Daughter of the Stars”, a name worn by a valley in the area in western Virginia that was the scene of terrible battles during the American Civil War. But it is also an iconic song from the American folk repertoire. “Shenandoah” was indeed a cabestan “sea shanty”, a work song that accompanied the work of sailors, generating an appropriate rhythm during heavy maneuvers, especially cabestan. The song Shenandoah appeared on collections as early as 1850, but it would date back to the time when French Canadian trappers descended from the great lakes along Missouri in the 16th century.