A myth of speed
In the 20 years following her ‘triumph’ off Cowes she had sailed only six races. On this scant evidence her reputation is based. There is no doubt that she was a superb sea boat, but it is as an inshore racer that her reputation must be judged. Many subjective comments were made about her prowess, mostly by non-expert members of the press.
Yacht designers conspicuously failed to follow her lead. Yachts were modified to resemble her, but none proved conspicuously fast. The Wave Line theory, important as it was in understanding hull form and wave resistance, was not the sole answer to speed. And some yachts even reverted to ‘baggy’ flax sails.
Commodore Stevens was fortunate to have come home in profit with his reputation intact. By giving in to the urge to race Laverock that summer morning in 1851, and ruining the possibility of a surprise victory, historians say he may have kissed goodbye to a fortune in potential prize money. More likely he discovered America’s Achilles heel and, like the good gambler he was, sought to cover it up by setting an absurdly high stake, which he guessed rightly that no one would cover. With the help of a sympathetic British press, always eager to chastise their own, America laid the firm foundations of the myth of speed that survives to this day.