The yacht is an invention of the Dutch of the 16th century. And initially they were used to hunt smugglers, pirates and criminals. They were single-masted ships of 15 to 30 metres in length with a flat or none keel and a leeboard. During the 17th century the owners were wealthy private individuals or rather companies, such as the Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC), and corporations, such as the city councils of Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp.
Utrechts Statenjacht is a replica of a yacht from 1746
The “jacht” was now used to transport executives or dignitaries from place to place to carry out their business. Another use was to entertain these people and their guests. For this purpose they were equipped with cabins, galleys and other relevant amenities.
As these small agile vessels were very good sailors, were well placed in the wind and could navigate almost in all waters, they were also used as reconnaissance and dispatch vessels.
A Yacht becalmed, by Peter Monamy, 18th century
Charles II of England spent 10 years in exile in Holland, before he returned to the English throne in 1660. His return to the throne was celebrated by the city of Amsterdam, which gave him a luxurious 60-foot yacht with a crew of 20. Her name was Mary. It was a great pleasure for him to sail up and down the Thames with her. He studied navigation and even shipbuilding and built about 20 yachts in his lifetime.
A Royal Yacht, Possibly the ‘Mary’
by L.de Man 1702
One can say that he was the first yachtsman in the world. His enthusiasm
for sailing was contagious and his brother James, Duke of York, joined
him and became an enthusiastic yachtsman as well. And so a new sport was
born. Yachting stayed the Sport of Kings for over a century, but by the
1800s yachting had grown to include participants of more than just the
crown heads of Europe. The worlds wealthiest had joined in. Yacht Clubs
were forming. The first yacht club in the world, called the Cork Water
Club, was established in Ireland in 1720, followed the Lough Ree Yacht
Club in 1770 (again in Ireland), and the Starcross Yacht Club in 1772 in
England.
Yachts of the Cumberland Society Racing on the Thames, ca. 1815 by William Harvell 1815
Today many are still registered in yacht clubs and share the
love of the sport, although the design of the ships has changed over the
centuries.
This entry was posted by jbc on Saturday, May 22nd, 2021 at 7:50 am and is filed under Tumblr.
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