Westward was launched on March 31, 1910 as hull number 692 at the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. She was built for millionaire yachtsman Alexander S. Cochran at a cost of $ 118,000. Westward was designed to the International Rule by N.G. Herreshoff to compete in Europe. Westward was the biggest boat built at the time by the Herreshoff yard in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Under the command of skipper Charlie Barr, her first season proved very successful, winning every race in German waters, and eight of nine races in England.

During World War I, Westward was seized by the British government, then later sold to South African businessman T.B. Davis, having enjoyed great racing success for 20 years in the Channel Islands. In accordance to his will, Mr. Davis’ daughter had Westward scuttled on July 14, 1947, in the Hurd Deep, off Jersey, the Channel Islands.

Sources

Classic Yacht Registy of Heritage – Westward

* Noteworthy

1492 – Queen Isabella of Castille issues the Alhambra Decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.

1854 – Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Convention of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.

1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.

1917 – The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands.

1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.

1931 – TWA Flight 599 crashes near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight, including University of Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne.

1959 – The 14th Dalai Lama, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.