When a woman asked the crowd of more than 100 people at the Sippican Historical Society annual meeting Tuesday night who has sailed in a Herreshoff H-12 yacht, nearly every hand in the room went up.

That brought a smile to the face of Halsey Herreshoff, who gave a presentation on his grandfather, Nathanael Herreshoff  – the designer of the H-12 –  and the Herreshoff family’s legendary legacy in the world of sailing.

“I feel Nathanael would be amazed at the fact that these boats are so appreciated and that they have lasted,” he said.

Every summer for the past 100 years, the Beverly Yacht Club has raced Herreshoff H-12 yachts in Sippican Harbor. The group also co-sponsored Tuesday’s event at the Music Hall.

Halsey said his grandfather, Captain Nat, as he was called, designed the ship in 1914 when his colleagues asked him to create a sailing training vessel for their sons. He said his grandfather was so active and so prolific that he designed the model for the yacht, one of the most popular and enduring designs of all time, in about two days.

He said the 450 boats Herreshoff Manufacturing Company produced were “probably the first mass-produced yachts.” It’s rumored Henry Ford visited the shipyard to get ideas for his own assembly line.

The H-12, known back then as “The Buzzards Bay Boy’s Boat” was the yacht that Halsey learned to sail on, and in fact, the very yacht he learned on is on display at the Hersehooff Heritage Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island.

The museum was founded by Halsey’s father, Sidney, in 1971, and in 1992 Halsey added the America’s Cup Hall of Fame within the museum.

The Herreshoff family has a storied history with the America’s Cup, the oldest and most prestigious sailing competition in the world.

Captain Nat built every America’s Cup champion yacht from 1893 to 1920. That includes the 1903 champion, Reliance, one of the largest racing yachts ever built. The tip of the mast was 199 feet and six inches above the water and it needed a crew of 72 men to operate.

The Reliance adorns the Rhode Island state quarter, sailing in front of the Newport Bridge, something Herreshoff found peculiar.

“Here was this great big 200-foot yacht sailing under a bridge it could not pass!” he said.

While the Reliance no longer exists, the H-12s will be sailing locally every weekend this summer. The 2015 H Class Championship will be held at the Beverly Yacht Club this summer, from July 31 through Aug. 2. Forty of the boats are expected to race in Marion that weekend.

“We’re very proud of the twelve footers. They’ve been appreciated for one hundred years and hopefully will be for another hundred,” Halsey said.