The Class was born just one year before the United States entered WWI, and the first twelve, including ROWDY, raced hard before such sailing was temporarily curtailed. They were to be joined later by two more; RUGOSA and MARILEE and judging by how cruising racing yacht designs were to develop, these were well ahead of their time.
Her former owner Holland Duell, lawyer, distinguished WWI veteran, and New York State Senator, was to race ROWDY extensively in Long Island Sound – with many wins in the 1920s – to the end of his sailing career. Subsequently owned by a series of other lawyers, she was domiciled on the Great Lakes before moving far west to California in houseboat mode, subsequently to be rescued by Chris Madsen and restored.
Come the 2000 Millenium, while in California Graham Walker had learned of the yacht having been restored and determined to see her. “Blown away” by her scale and beauty, he was to buy her and notwithstanding the work already done, rendered her race fit with a Marconi rig more in line with Herreshoff’s own later design of 1927. These and other changes equipped her well for her notable second racing career. Rowdy is the only of the original NYYC 40s never to have her name changed. The boat is extremely well documented by the New York Times, New York Yacht Club, Larchmont Yacht Club, Herreshoff, MIT, Mystic Seaport, and Rosenfeld Collection.
Above information from Sandeman Yacht Company.
2024 – Rowdy is set to join the classic circuit once again, but this time boasting her original gaff ‘cutter’ rig.
