Newport’s Defense Bid in Hands of an Old Salt

Methode, Precision, Discipline.

The printed words, a gift from French racing sailors, hang framed on Halsey Herreshoff’s office wall. But they are much more than words, they are a master sailor’s inspiration and creed.

For when it comes to sailing, few can compare to Herreshoff. And when it comes to the America’s Cup, he and his family have no equal.

“I’ve been close to the Cup all my life,” says Herreshoff, a lanky man of 53 who has raced in a record-equaling four America’s Cup races, including his last one in 1983 as navigator on Dennis Conner’s losing boat, Liberty.

Herreshoff is still involved in the Cup, although in the most unlikely of circumstances. He’s preparing for the next Cup races all right but not as a sailor. Instead he is leading Rhode Island’s effort to bring the Cup defense back to Newport, where it was held for 53 years.

He is leading the charge as the head of a 27-member commission appointed by the governor, Edward DiPrete. “Halsey seems to feel that our chances are strong enough that we should pursue it,” says DiPrete.

Herreshoff himself acknowledges that Newport is behind in the bad air left by the front runner, San Diego. But in picking Herreshoff, the state has selected someone who feels the emotions of the Cup, understands its history and is, indeed, part of its roots.

They called Halsey’s grandfather the the Wizard of Bristol. Nathanael Herreshoff was the object of much sailing lore. An energetic boat designer and yachtsman, he built scores of vessels at the family’s Bristol boat yard, which was in operation for 100 years until it closed after World War II.

His legacy is seen on sailing boats that still ply the world’s oceans. He is credited with developing the first steam-powered fishing trawler and the first steam-powered yacht in the 1860s. Later, Nathanael built the prototype torpedo boats, which led to today’s destroyers and frigates.

It was said of his brother, John, also an accomplished boat builder and designer even though blind, that he could run his hand along the hull of a yacht and, if it met his standards, simply say, “Yes.”

Much of Nathanael’s fame rests with the America’s Cup. Eight times, from 1893 to 1934, he designed and built the winning boats, large vessels in excess of 80 feet and with crews of 20 or more. There stands a museum today in Bristol dedicated to this naval legend.

It was in such stout sailing stock that Halsey immersed his life, becoming a naval architect and yacht designer in his own right.

Today, Halsey is the Bristol town administrator, the highest elected official in town, and he has some ideas about how to improve the America’s Cup. He favors, for example, going back to bigger boats with large crews, rather than sticking to the 12-meter boats now used in the Cup races.

And he also suggests that money for all of the American racing syndicates be pooled and distributed according to a qualification formula. This, he says, would help ensure that the best boat and the best crew represents the United States. As for Rhode Island’s efforts, he says he wants to explore the idea of perhaps having a New England lottery that would help fund construction of facilities needed to hold the defense in Newport.

“Our people here have loved this cup,” he said, in an office filled with sailing memorabilia. “We’ve got people who just live this thing.”

Like others in the state, he believes a Cup defense in San Diego, because of its light winds, would be boring. “San Diego is one of the nicest cities in America, but the winds are light and I think it will be dull.

“One thing about Newport, maybe you get a wind shift at the end of a leg and, if it favors you, you win the race.”

Halsey hopes, however faintly, that the committee that selects the Cup defense location will do so dispassionately. Ever the salesman for Newport, he says, “If you look at it objectively--using good sailing conditions, a good harbor, a nice, interesting town with amenities and spirit--it’s Newport.”