Jeanie
Jeanie was designed and built by William Starling Burgess in 1921. She was built for the first British American Cup in 1921 and was one of two designed by Burgess in the competition (the other was Sheila).
Norman Skene drew up the construction plans for Jeanie from Burgess and Paine’s designs. She was similar in design to Sheila with unusually short ends for a Six, and especially so for the time. Both had a bent mast. Partly due to the masts being carried off during the races in 1921, the International Rule was changed to ban the bent mast design.
Being the first American second rule Six Metre, Jeanie was given the sail number US1. However, there were at least two other first rule Six Metres made in America. Lady Betty, designed by the Dickie Bros. and built by Frank Stone, has been called “the real US1”. An even earlier American Six Metre appears in the ISMA Archive; the 1911 Gardner Pachita, but little is known about her.
Jeanie stayed in Britain after the cup and was owned in 1922 by C B Hill of Dorset and was registered in Poole. Hill was a land agent working for Lord Wimborne. She was converted to a cruiser and dropped out the class.
Jeanie was then renamed Genesta and registered in Liverpool by architect George Edward Marshall of G E Marshall & Co, a company known for building cinemas in the early 20th century.
Jeanie, most recently renamed Jean and not to be confused with the British Camper and Nicholson Jean, was last registered having returned to Poole, and is known to have been kept out of the water on a beach. It is not known if she was dismantled or restored.
She features in the Six Metre Story “The Boats That Sailed a Century Ago.”
Click here.
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