Launched in 1933, Velsheda was the fourth J-class yacht built in Britain.  At that time, she represented the latest in rig and sail design. Constructed from steel and fitted with an aluminium mast, rod rigging and terylene fabric sails, Velsheda won more than 40 races in her second season alone. Rescued in 1984 from the mud of the River Hamble, where she spent the 70 years after WWII, she was minimally refitted and put into service as a charter boat in the South Coast, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean.  In 1996, Velsheda was taken to Southampton Yacht Services where she was extensively refitted.  New steel stringers and ring frames strengthened her hull and she was fitted with an engine for the first time.  Her carbon mast is stepped on two 75-ton hydraulic rams that tensions the mast and rod rigging. She was able to accomplish a feat unusual for J-Class yachts by completing a circumnavigation toward the end of 1997.