Alison Langley
The Sparkman & Stephens–designed New York 32 class was launched in a single batch in 1936 by Henry B. Nevins, Inc. The boats are much sought after today and still provide good competition and cruising. From left are SIREN, FALCON, and VITESSE.
We had a race where almost nothing went wrong…but there was plenty of opportunity,” Ben Sperry said. He is the skipper and owner, with his wife, Michelle, of GENTIAN, sail No. 18 of the New York 32 class. He was remembering how GENTIAN, at age 88, won her class and placed third overall in her division in the 2024 Newport Bermuda Race. That particular race had some of the event’s most challenging weather in more than 50 years.
GENTIAN’s victory stole some of the glory from the carbon-fiber, high-performance yachting crowd, but the New York 32’s accomplishments should have been no surprise. She is a thoroughbred.
In 1935, the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) solicited candidates to replace the beloved and venerable Herreshoff New York 30s, which had been the club’s one-design racer of choice since 1905. With a new design, the NYYC hoped to give a boost to the sport of Corinthian yacht racing as well as to the club’s membership roster during the Great Depression by commissioning a modern marconi-rigged cruiser-racer. The selection committee, headed by the legendary yachtsman Robert Bavier, was searching for a yacht with speed and grace. His committee wanted a boat that was equally well suited for racing around the buoys, carrying a family on the annual yacht club cruise, and thriving in serious ocean competition.