Istria was a 15-metre class

15-metre class

The International Fifteen Metre Class is a construction class, meaning that the boats are not identical but are all designed to meet specific measurements in a formula, in this case the International Rule. In their heyday, Metre classes were the most important group of international yacht racing...

 racing yacht designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson

Charles Ernest Nicholson

-Biography:He was born in 1868.Nicholson's first design of note was the Redwing class. The Bembridge sailing club met in October 1896 to agree the need for a shallow draughted yacht - to allow for the shoal waters of Bembridge Harbour - which could be sailed single-handed, to replace the expensive...

 and built at the Camper & Nicholsons yard in 1912. She was the first yacht in the world with a lightweight, laminated wood construction and the first to feature a marconi topmast.

History

She was designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson

Charles Ernest Nicholson

-Biography:He was born in 1868.Nicholson's first design of note was the Redwing class. The Bembridge sailing club met in October 1896 to agree the need for a shallow draughted yacht - to allow for the shoal waters of Bembridge Harbour - which could be sailed single-handed, to replace the expensive...

 and built for Charles C. Allom in 1912. In her first season she won twenty-nine out of thirty-one starts in European waters. It was intended that the boat competed as a challenger for the 1914 America's Cup. During the trials, World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 started and the next competition was the 1920 America's Cup

1920 America's Cup

The 1920 America's Cup was the 13th challenge for the Cup and the first since 1903. It took place on the New York City harbor and consisted of a "best of five" series of races between the defender Resolute, entered by a syndicate of New York Yacht Club members headed by Henry Walters, and Shamrock...

.