Jenetta: Back and better than ever

The 2021 12 Metre World Championship is being held August 17-21, with nine vintage teams crossing tacks in Helsinki, Finland. Each boat has a story, with one in particular left for dead but now back and better than ever.

From the drafting table of renowned Scots naval architect Alfred Mylne and launched in 1939, Jenetta (K-1) design #395 was one of four 12mRs commissioned by Sir William Burton.

An accomplished gentleman sailor and president of the International Yacht Racing Union (now World Sailing), Burton had served as helmsman on Sir Thomas Lipton’s J-Class Shamrock IV for the 1920 America’s Cup.

Jenetta (K-1) joined the English 12mR racing scene at Cowes (GBR) along with Tomahawk (K-13), Flica II (K-14), and Vim (US-15). With her long waterline, K-1 was fast but Vim with Harold Vanderbilt at the helm was nearly unbeatable. On only one occasion did Jenetta prevail when she won a 27 nm race by just 2 seconds!

After Burton’s death in 1942, Jenetta’s ownership passed to A.W. Steven and in 1953 to the Urry family of Vancouver (CAN) who converted her to a ketch in 1957. As her condition progressively declined throughout the 1960s and ’70s, she was removed from Lloyd’s Register in 1976 and sank into Pitt Lake in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

It was there where Jenetta was rescued by Oliver Berking in 2009 to become the third 12mR brought back to life at the Robbe & Berking Shipyard in Germany. Work began in 2017 and she was relaunched on May 25, 2019.

Although only her lead keel, some planking, and end sections of her deck and hull were saved, original Mylne designs were used to rebuild parts that were irretrievably lost. Since her “re-birth” she has proved to be as fast as originally envisioned by Mylne. With her long sleek waterline and unique tartan plaid topsides (representing the University of Glasgow, Mylne’s alma mater), she is a head-turner!

Now, with state-of-the-art deck layouts, hardware and sail plans throughout the Vintage fleet, Vim no longer has the Vanderbilt advantage. For the past two seasons, Jenetta has been very competitive with the top 12s in the Baltic fleet. Heading for the 2021 12mR Worlds, Jenetta current owners and crew have high expectations.

Event details: https://12mrworlds.com/

Jenetta emerging from the bottom of Lake Pitt in 2009 (left) and from Robbe & Berking Shipyard in 2019 (right). © Robbe & Berking