Sceptre, sail number k 17, was the Royal Yacht Squadron’s challenger, built in Scotland, designed by David Boyd. launched in April 0f 1958.
Despite her results against Columbia, the American defender, she demonstrated many clever ideas. As is often the case, good ideas are overlooked, regardless of how good they might be, if the end result is not a winning outcome.
Another example the comes to mind is “Independence” designed in 1901 by B.B. Crowninshield for Thomas W. Lawson. The story is complicated, the point here is that she had many very innovative ideas that were clearly not lost on Nat Herreshoff, as his next design for a defender incorporated these ideas.
Columbia, was better sailed and had better sails
These photographs os “Sceptre” I took in 1975, somewhere along the south coast of England.
