THE AMERICA CUP.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 135, 14 July 1914, Page 10

THE AMERICA CUP.

SIR THOMAS LUTON'S SHAMROCK IV. The London correspondent of the "Age" on May 29th, writes that the sporting spirit does not appear to be a conspicuous feature of the preparation's for the yachting .contest for the America Cup. -There is a great deal of secrecy preserved concerning these preparations, and . there is an obvious disposition among zealous partisans to accuse the other side of unfairness and sharp practice. On the British side there are complaints that the New York Yacht Club would have refused Sir Thomas Liptoh's challenge if it had been able tp , do so,, and that it has placed all sorts of difficulties in the way of the challenger. The club is accused of adhering to an obsolete rule of measurement which creates undesirable racing machines, which can cross the Atlantic only at the risk of the lives of the crew. N

The America Cup is erroneously called the American Cup in the belief that it is an American trophy. It has been in the strongroom ol ! the • New York "Yacht Club for half a century, and the American people have naturally come to regard that an its permanent home, but originally it was a trophy of the Royal yacht squadron 'a regatta at Cowes, and was won by the schooner America in 1851. At intervals attempts have been made on the part, of British yachtsmen to regain the trophy, and 25 years ago Sir Thomas Lipton issued liis.first challenge. Up to the present he has made three unsuccessful attempts to life the cup, and during these 25 years no other British challenger /lias come forward. Each of these attempts has cost Sir Thomas Lipton about £20,000, a new yacht having to be built on each occasion at a cost of about £15,000. After an interval of eleven years since his third attempt, he has again issued a challenge, and his new yacht Shamrock IV. das launclfed at Gosport on May 2(5. The contest will take place in September, off Sandy Hook, which is outside New York hjtrbour.