In 1895 William Weld challanged the yachtsmen of North Haven, Maine to a race. He used the tender from his yacht "Gitana" and unsuccessfully raced against a variety of sprit-sailed boats.That winter he went home and had a better dinghy designed and built in Salem, Mass. The next year he beat all contenders. The boat was hauled out at North Haven, and two copies were made by Henry Calderwood. The subsequent race was between Mrs. Cobb, Miss Spencer and Miss Hayward. The first boats had a sprit rigs, but this soon gave way to gaff rigs.In 1888 James Ossie Brown built four more dinghys.The fleet grew over the years and racing continued. They are still raced out of North Haven, making them the oldest continually raced class in the United States.