Elizabeth Meyer risked her life 's worth to restore the America 's Cup yacht Endeavour . The painstaking restoration of a shell of a boat led to a resurgence in classic yachting . Restorations have followed Meyer 's , and replicas too , with five since rebuilt , four new vessels built from scratch and two more in the offing . Meyer has family links to both the World Wars and the Suez scandal . The J - Class boats she restored were seen as the pinnacle of sail boats .
Elizabeth Meyer risked her life 's worth to restore the America 's Cup yacht Endeavour . The painstaking restoration of a shell of a boat led to a resurgence in classic yachting . Meyer has family links to both the World Wars and the Suez scandal . The J - Class boats she restored were seen as the pinnacle of sail boats .