Boat Name: Lulu

Sail: US 72

Year Built: 1937

Designer: Sparkman & Stephens

Builder: Nevins

Owner: Rainer Muller

History: Originally built for noted sportsman and future America's Cup winner Briggs S. Cunningham and named for his wife, Lucie. Lulu was built side by side with his father in law's boat, US 77 Fun, at Henry B. Nevins yard on City Island, New York. Lulu started her career with success when she won the first edition of the King Edward VII Gold Cup match race held in Bermuda in Spring 1937, defeating KB 49 Saga. The event is now called the Bermuda Gold Cup and is a fixture on the world match racing scene. Later in the 1937 season Cunningham and Lulu won the Scandinavian Gold Cup on Long Island Sound, finally beating Henrik Ramsay on Inga Lill XXVI and Per Gedda on S 35 Tidsfordriv II in the penultimate seventh race. Lulu also appeared for a few seconds in the 1937 Fredric March/Carole Lombard film "Nothing Sacred". With Cunningham sailing Fun in teh 1938 season, Olin Stephens took the helm of Lulu, though she did not figure in that last year of sailing before hostilities broke out in Europe. Lulu was then in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the WWII years owned by William "California Bill" Horton often sailing against her near sister US 77 St Francis, ex. Fun. She came to Seattle in 1947 for Bill Boeing, Jr., who sold her to Hugh Watt. Charlie Ross purchased her in 1959, sailing the boat extensively with the Leschi and Puget Sound fleets with his brother Bob. Harry Hoffman purchased Lulu in the early 80's and performed an extensive restoration, including a novel approach to stiffening her amidships by filling the bilges with expansion foam. Harry also painted the boat bright yellow to be part of his "rainbow of sixes". Harry eventually sold her to Dr. Rob O'Neil, who sailed the boat infrequently and she eventually passed to Craig Downey. The boat had been sitting uncovered for long enough that Craig had to put in quite a bit of work to get her back out on the course. Lulu has recently seen more attention after being purchased by Rainer Muller and sailed under charter in the 2017 World Championships in Vancouver. Lulu is currently in the late stages of a full replank restoration and is expected to be sailing in Summer 2021.

Lulu at the World Championships in Vancouver - her 3rd (1973 Seattle, 1979 Seattle, 2017 Vancouver). Photo copyright Kurt Hoehne

 

 

 

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