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The Weld family were undoubtedly a family of great wealth, but were perhaps better known as an eminent
Catholics. On the death of his wife in 1815, Thomas Weld, the father of Joseph, was to embrace the priesthood fully
as did many other members of the family. Joseph was not to follow the example of his father and his elder brother
and in 1828 succeeded his Cardinal brother to become Squire of Lulworth. Joseph Weld (born. 27 Jan., 1777; died at Lulworth Castle, 19 Oct., 1863). Joseph's early years at Lulworth were under the guidance of a Jesuit priest, Father Charles Plowden. Thomas Weld had strong views on the education of his eldest children and in 1791 the family migrated to Liege where the Jesuits were in residence. The French revolution cut short the family stay at Liege and in 1794 Joseph entered a newly appointed college at Stonyhurst studying philosophies. It is said the school was founded on a gift to the Jesuits by the Weld family. At Stonyhurst, Joseph demonstrated an interest in ship design and a practical aptitude with his hands. He began building ship models, his first being the model of a frigate. His interest progressed and in his teens the first yacht he owned was an 18 tons burthen that he built at Lulworth with the assistance of a wheelwright from the village. In 1802 Joseph married Charlotte, the daughter of Lord Stourton, and by way of a marriage settlement Thomas Weld settled the 2,000 acre Pylewell estate near Lymington in favour of Joseph. They lived in a smaller property on the estate, which with its frontage on the Lymington river enabled him to fully indulge his interest in yachts. Pylewell a site that had been used for shipbuilding since 1688, if not earlier. The first cutter he built there was reputedly the Charlotte of 60 tons. Other cutters of note were two vessels, Julia, 40 tons and King Cole, 12 tons, both built for Joseph's younger brother, James. The first recorded Round the Island Race was won by Julia. |
Between 1800 and 1811 Joseph was actively seeking
and engaging in competitive sailing with anyone who would accept the challenge such as his neighbour Charles Sturt.
There were also a growing number of gentlemen of a similar disposition who were indulging in their sailing pursuits
from Lymington. The press of the day contained reports of various races, often referring to the yachts involved as
"gentlemen's cutters".
In later years he is remembered as one of the first to build and handle fast-sailing
yachts. One of his best known boats was "The Arrow" which he built in 1821. She was 84
tons, originally 61 ft. 9 in. long, with a beam of 18 ft. 5in.
On 10th May 1830 he launced his most famous yacht, Alarm, from Inman's yard.
She cost £20,000 (£1.10m today 2003)
but exceeded all other cutters in terms of tonnage and was the final development of racing cutters at that
time.
Alarm (shown above in her original form) was enlarged in 1852. She was one of the most famous of the early Squadron
yachts. Probably as a result of America's influence, Joseph Weld had her lengthened by 20 ft at the
bow, which was remodelled, and rigged as a schooner in 1852. This increased her tonnage to 248 tons. Joseph Weld
was both designer and builder and continued to be actively involved with Thomas Inman in the
construction of all his vessels, even with the cutter yacht Lulworth built in 1857 when he was in his eightieth year.
He died at the age of eighty-two years on October 20th, 1863. Local legend has it that he died at sea onboard
his second but smaller cutter named Lulworth
Joseph Weld was a founding father of the Isle of Wight based Royal Yacht Squadron.
There were 15 starters,
six schooners and the remainder cutters, which included Alarm and Arrow, which by that time belonged to
Thomas Chamberlayne. Off Ventnor Arrow went aground (not an uncommon experience) and and Alarm
stood by to assist and relinquished the race. In very light winds America came home just eight minutes
ahead of the smallest cutter Aurora, 47 tons, owned by Mr Thomas le Marchant.
which was known thereafter as America's Cup, named for the yacht, not the country.
America Waives the Rules
The New York Yacht Club was shameless in its determination to win at all costs, constantly
stacking the rules in favour of the defender, drawing accusations of cheating and bad sportsmanship from the likes of James
Ashbury (1870 and 1871) and Lord Dunraven (1893 and 1895). The New Yorkers were not averse to asking the
challenger to take on a whole fleet, rather than a single defender.
In the twentieth century, a new breed of self-made men entered the fray from the British side. Grocer and
tea magnate, Thomas Lipton was not granted membership of the exclusive Royal Yacht Squadron until the age
of 80, after he had mounted 5 campaigns in the name of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club. He described his failure
to win in campaigns stretching from 1899 to 1930, as the greatest disappointment of his life. But he also
attributed his long life to the cup, which he said had kept him "young, eager, buoyant and hopeful".
Another Lulworth, (pictured right) named after Joseph Weld's earlier vessel was designed by Herbert W. White and built in England
near Southampton at White Brothers Shipyard on the river Itchen in 1920 for Mr. Richard H. Lee. Her hulk was
rediscovered in recent years and is presently undergoing extensive restoration. Doubtless it will be a fine day when
she sails once more.
During this period, the British influence also began to wain, with the rise of Australian challengers,
including Sir Frank Packer, who was prominent with two unsuccessful campaigns. At least Packer won his
elimination series. Baron Bich, who made his fortune selling the Bic biro pen, made four attempts from 1970 to 1980,
but never managed to even challenge for the Cup. 
Alarm won the King's Cup in 1830 beating Mr Maxse's Miranda, in 1831 beating Lord Belfast's Louisa
and in 1832 beating the Duke of Norfolk's Arundel. Lord Belfast gained some revenge in 1831 by beating
Alarm with this Louisa for 1000 guineas in another match race. In 1833 she met Lord Belfast's new yacht
Waterwitch and, in spite of beating her by over 34 minutes, was disqualified, as the Memorials of the
Royal Yacht Squadron records, "as a result of Mr Weld's unfortunate habit of breaking the rule of
crossing an opponent on the larboard tack".
The America's Cup
In 1851 the schooner America arrived in Cowes for the racing season. The New York Yacht Club, through the
America's owner, Commodore Stevens, issued a challenge to any Schooner to be selected by the Commodore
of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Lord Fitzhardinge offered to take the challenge "provided that Mr Weld
would lend his cutter Alarm for the occasion". In the event the Squadron decided to put up a £100 cup
for the race around the Isle of Wight, which took place on the 23rd August 1851. 
in jade
Now, more than 150 years later, the British are still striving to return the America's Cup cup to its original
home. In the first 114 years, 16 British challengers crossed the Atlantic to tackle the defending New York Yacht Club, so
unsuccessfully that they managed just six wins out of 54 races. The format changed from time to time, but the
outcome was always the same: defeat for the challenger.
the Auckland Maritime MuseumThe cup itself was
donated to the Royal Yacht Squadron by the Marquis of Anglesey and the sterling silver ewer was made by the Royal
jeweller, Garrards.
The British approach was often less than hard-nosed and always amateur. When William Henn challenged in
1886, his yacht Galatea was laden with rugs, pot plants, mirrors and curtains, and the complement included
Henn's wife, a pet dog and a monkey. Dunn was easily beaten 2-0, by brand new defenders.
The Royal Dorset Yacht Club was formed in 1875 originally for the
landed gentry who would watch their large ‘J’ class yachts
racing in Weymouth bay - the club was granted an Admiralty Warrant in that year and so could prefix it’s title with
the word Royal. A famous patron was George V who sailed his yacht ‘Britannia’ competitively in the Bay
for many years. 
America's defenders were hugely wealthy, ruthless and utterly determined. Steel baron John Pierpont Morgan
was one of the richest men in the world, while Henry Vanderbilt was credited with bringing the management of a
racing yacht into the modern era. He reputedly made the British look like amateurs during the 1930s.Sir Thomas Lipton
Decline of the British
The last pre-war challenges came from aircraft manufacturer T.O.M Sopwith, who was beaten twice, in 1934
and 1937, before the modern era of multiple challenges began. The challengers now had to sail an elimination
series, as they do today, and with the introduction of the 12-metre class rule in 1958, they also had to sail
boats of a similar style. These changes greatly reduced the defender's advantage, and ultimately brought an
end to the longest winning streak in sporting history.
Nick Holroyd
