Joyette (1907), a queen of England returns to life for America’s Cup

Gosport, United Kingdom, 1906. Charles Ernest Nicholson signs a hull destined to become his favorite for lines and class – “the prettiest he’s ever drawn” – the most pleasing he’s ever drawn: it’s Almara, designed for Major Calverley, who, soon after her launch (1907), enrolled her in the celebrated Royal Yacht Squadron of Cowes. We have to wait until 1910, however, for this story to carry over to the present, to Naples, to the America’s Cup. In 1910 Almara changes hands and, with them, name. And here we have Joyette, Camper & Nicholson’s signature 27-footer that will be a luxury guest-boat for America’s Cup VIPs in 2027.

Joyette (1907), a queen of England returns to life for America’s Cup

Bacoli, Postiglione Shipyard. Here, shipwrights and advanced technologies meet to succeed in the feat, restoring new life to a wooden classic and, consequently, writing its future. It is in fact at the Postiglione Shipyard that Joyette is about to regain her original Edwardian style, thanks to the investment of a passionate English shipowner who decided to finance the venture. The first goal, certainly, to become a guest boat destined for VIPs and Sponsors of the America’s Cup 2027, but, more relevantly, the second, long-term goal: to return to the sea an excellent piece of yachting history, British and international.

Joyette | from the Belle Époque to the America’s Cup 2027

Conceived by the profitable and equally brilliant Charles E. Nicholson -signer of more than 200 designs, including such memorable hulls as the Avel (1896), the America’s Cup J-Classes Shamrock V (1930) e Endeavour (1934), e Bloodhound (1936), to name a few- Joyette not only represents a significant specimen of early 20th century British design, to say the least, but also represents a true testament to the output of the designer himself, who saw in her one of the best hulls of his ‘youthful’ phase (1890-1910).

Made of teak planking on oak frames, Joyette measures 27.15 meters overall and 5.18 meters at maximum beam, for a displacement of an impressive 90 tons. Originally rigged with auric ketch -typical solution for large boats of the time-. in the 1930s Joyette underwent several modifications, including a slight change in rigging and, most importantly, the installation of an engine. It would be during the 1966-1968 restoration, held at Camper & Nicholsons, however, that the stern and masts would be shortened, adapting the boat to new technical standards but distorting its identity and historical relevance.

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Fortunately, however, in 1987 Joyette was acquired by an Italian shipowner who, with the support of the National Maritime Museum (Greenwich), subjected the hull to a philological restoration, recovering the original drawings and restoring the hull to its original state thanks to various interventions carried out by Cantiere Valdettaro (Le Grazie) and Amico (Genoa). New ownership and a new restoration project arrived in 2010. Economic reasons blocked the whole thing and Joyette remained stationary in Genoa, deteriorating in condition until the current intervention, undertaken, finally, by a new ownership, moved her to Bacoli.

Coming to the present, the current refit at the Postiglione Shipyard aims, first and foremost, to restore the hull and, from a philological perspective, to recover the original auricle, as well as also the deck and sail plan, thus keeping Joyette faithful to Nicholson’s first design. Crucially, not only to bring a classic back to life, but also to provide as authentic a sailing experience as possible, while still modernizing the complex to modern navigation, safety and technology standards. Joyette’s return to the water as the host platform for the America’s Cup 2027 represents not only a celebration of craftsmanship, but also the evolution of classic boat restoration standards-a balance of historical legacy, aesthetics, and nautical performance in the contemporary context.

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