Launched as "Tioga" in 1936, this glorious ketch finished first in twenty-four of her initial thirty-seven races. Renamed "Ticonderoga" in 1946, she went on to set more elapsed time records than any ocean racer in history. "Ticonderoga" held more than thirty course records in races on several oceans, surpassing even the best performances of the hard-driven nineteenth century clipper ships. But "Ticonderoga" wasn't designed for racing. Her creator, L. Francis Herreshoff, shaped her for genteel "afternoon sailing," giving her uncommon elegance of form with a clipper bow, elliptical transom, raked rig, gilded garnish and a bathtub. it is these qualities of unsurpassed opulence and beauty, combined with her astonishing speed, that have made "Big Ti" so incomparable.

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