The Enterprise was a 1930 racing yacht and an America’s Cup defender. It featured a Bermuda rig sail plan requiring a triangular mainsail set from hollow tubes of duralumin that was called “Tin Mast”. The artist calls this style of painting a silhouette.

Resolute was a 1920’s keel sloop. The first defender of the America’s Cup was built under the 1905 Universal Rule. This hull was a drastic departure form earlier skimming dishes. Her smaller hull and reduced sail area limited her speed.

Columbia was a deep keel weighted with 90 tons of ballast to stabilize her sharply undercut hull. Because of this, many weight-saving innovations in hull structure had to be made, including the “bulb angles”, light but strong framing members. This hull design allowed for a greater combination of huge sail and a very flat light displacement hull made Columbia as unstable as it was fast.

Vigilant had a pared-down smooth hull made of Tobin Bronze heat-rolled metal plate. She also had a ballast keel significantly lowering her center of gravity. This made it possible to safely carry more sail in strong winds.

On a hot, sunny day, a cutter is becalmed on the run as the racer waits for a breeze on the downward leg of the race.

A cod-fishing schooner with four masts.

The U.S.S. Frigate Constitution is a 44-gun ship. Built in Boston in 1797, she is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Her nickname is “Old Ironsides”.

The Flying Cloud was launched on April 15, 1851 and was 209.5 feet at the waterline. She was 40.7 feet wide. The Flying Cloud was considered to be the fastest of all American Clippers and twice covered the route from New York to San Francisco via Cape Horn in 89 days, 8 hours.

We see a small topsail schooner coming from the Atlantic Ocean into Delaware Bay and rounding the point at Cape May, New Jersey in view of the Cape May Light.