She was ordered by a syndicate headed by Landon Ketchum Thorne, designed by Lewis Francis Herreshoff,[4] and built by Lawley & Son.
[1][4] The Boston Globe suggested (perhaps jokingly) this was because the competing syndicates had already bought out the available stocks of brass on the market, but Hammond explained that this was not so, and that designer Herreshoff preferred working in wood.
[9] Whirlwind also differed from the other J-class boats in that Herreshoff was the only designer to use the maximum allowable length for the hull within the class, 87 feet (27 metres) at the waterline.
[8] In accepting Lipton's challenge, the NYYC had agreed to a term that the contenders comply with Lloyd's Register scantling rules for structural strength.
[2] In turn, this delay also affected Yankee, another contender for the defense of the Cup which was being built at the same yard, but which was blocked by Whirlwind in the building shed.
The syndicate engaged John Muir as their sailing master, and a professional crew of Scandinavian origin.
[6] On June 9, the contenders, together with the J-class yachts Resolute and Vanitie, met at Glen Cove for a series of races planned in Long Island Sound by the local clubs.
[15] The following week, the J-class boats traveled to Newport for three races organized by the Eastern Yacht Club.
[25] From August 2–9, the 1930 annual cruise of the New York Yacht Club offered a final opportunity for the contenders for the defense of the America's Cup to compete with each other prior to the selection trials.
[34] Shortly after the America's Cup competition, Whirlwind was purchased by George M. Pynchon, owner of Istalena.