The Mighty Westward - Steven Dews

The 323-ton Westward was built by Nat Herreshoff on Rhode Island in 1910 for Alexander Cochran. With a hand-picked crew of 31 men, she was initially commanded by one of the most famous racing skippers of all time, Captain Charlie Barr.

Alexander Cochran was an avid yachtsman, and had already owned several exceptional yachts. He was inspired to approach Nathanael Herreshoff to build his new schooner because of the performance of the Americas Cup contender, Defender, which Herreshoff had designed and constructed. Prominent in the world of yacht design for 75 years, Captain Nat Herreshoff is now perhaps the best-known of all American yacht builders.

Captain Barr declared at the launching of the 160ft schooner, “She’s a wonder”, and the press celebrated her launch as “the new Herreshoff Flyer”. Only a month after her launch, she sailed to Europe to challenge the world’s most formidable schooners in their back yard and she won all 11 of her starts during her first season.

Westward was purchased by T B Davis in 1924 and in 1934 a new set of sails was provided for her. These were so perfectly contoured that when they raced for the King's Cup at Cowes on August 8th, shown here by Steven Dews, none of the new cutters, including the J Class Velsheda and Shamrock V, could catch her. Westward was so well balanced that the owner’s young daughter, Marjorie Davis, took the helm for the last few hundred yards of the race, with the yacht traveling near to her maximum speed.

Limited Edition Print on Canvas - Edition of 50

Each canvas is hand-numbered & accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity, which is signed by the artist.

Image size: 20 x 30 inches (51 x 76 cm)
Canvas size: 24 x 34 inches (61 x 86 cm)