THE GREAT FINAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 July 1920, Page 5

THE GREAT FINAL

FOR AMERICA CUP,

RESOLUTE WINS. • UPTON’S HOPES GONE. (Per Press Extraordinary.) An extraordinary message from Vancouver says ; Resolute won the America Cup. NEW YORK, July 27. 1 Another start was made in the America Cup race in a three knot light east wind. The yachts have to brat to windward down the Jersey coast, south south-west from Ambrose lightship fifteen miles, and run heme. Both

failed to cross the line before tho expiration of the two minutes from the official starting time, both therefore at 2,17 flat, the Shamrock led across. HISTORY OF THE CUP. SEVENTY YEARS OF BRITISH ENDEAVOUR. Sir Thomas Lipton’s defeat is the end of nearly 70 years’ effort on the part of Great Britain to gain tho yacht ing premiership of the world, typified by the America Cup. Sir Thomas lias been the silo challenger in the field since 1893.

Sir Thomas Lipton entered the lists in 1889, succeeding Lord Dun raven as the British champion. Lord Dum-a - en had raced for the trophy in 1893 and 1895, with the schooner Valkyrie IT. and the cutter Valkyrie 111. which a J were beaten respectively by the cutterrigged yachts Vigilant and Defender. The peer’s connection w’th the contest is remembered most for, a series of unseemly wrangles with the New York Yacht Club about the conditions under which tlie race were to be sailed, and no one regretted his retirement.

Sir Thomas Lipton puts things on a better footing. His great wealth enabled him to build a challenger, Shamrock 1., such as previous contestants could not contemplate. The cup races thus developed into contests between specially-constituted racing machines, which were all but useless for cruising or any other purpose.

EARLY SHAMROCKS BEATEN. The Shamrock’s race took place on October 16, 17, and 20, 1899, her opponent being the Columbia. In spite of failure, ,Sir Thomas Lipton almost immediately inade-<plans for another assault on the Cup, and Shamrock IT. was built. The races came off in September, 1901, and produced the most exciting finishes in the history of the Cup. The first of the series was won by the old Columbia, by 1 min 20 sec ; the second by 3min 35 sec. the third by only 41sec. The two boats were remarkably, evenly matched, and in the three races they sailed more than 90 miles, yet Columbia beat Shamrock IT. by a total of only 5 min 36 secs. This was■ “corrected time,” after reckoning time allowance; the total actual sailing-time margin was only 3min 27 sec.

In the succeeding years ilobody else seemed anxious to try for the Cup, so Sir Thomas Lipton challenged again, stating: —“In thus desiring an opportunity of malting a third attempt to obtain possession of the America Cup 1 hope I may not be deemed importunate or unduly covetous of the precious trophy so long and securely held in trust by the New York Yacht Club.” Shamrock 111. and Reliance, the new American yacht, built at a cost ot 175,000 dol. came together in August and September, 1803 the two greatest racing yachts ever seen. Again the Britisher was disappointed, the Reliance winning two races by 7 >m:n 3scc and 1 min 19, sec, respectively, while in the third race The Shamrock was lost in the fog. Yet Sir Thomas was not discouraged. In 1907 he asked the New York,.Yacht Club to accept a challenge, und,er the American or Universal rule of measurement, instead of the existing rule, which had tended to produce freak boats amongst the Cup defenders, which did not have to cross the Atlantic. The club would not consent, and again refused in 1912. Sir Thomas then suggested that he be allowed to challenge with a 75-footer, instead of a 90-foofer, as allowed by the old rule. The chib did not object, but claimed to be allowed to defend the Cup with a 90-footer, without any time allowance to the smaller boat. Naturally, Sir Thomas Lipton would not agree to this, and a further delay

ensued. Eventually ho offered to build a new 90-footer, whereupon the club suddenly agreed to a race between 75-footers built under the Universal rule. WAR INTERVENES.

On Ihe basis of this agreement, Sir Thomas - brought out Shamrock IV. built at Gosport in 1914, by Mr. Charles E. Nicholson. She was being towed across the Atlantic by her owner s steam yacht Erin —afterwards sunk a-> a naval auxiliary—when the wireless announced the outbreak of war with Germany. The two vessels reached Hew York in safety, and tire Shamrock was hauled up. So she remain ed until after tire Armistice, when Sir Thomas approached the New' York Club for a race in 1919. The Americans, however, asked fer more time, and it was agreed limit the contest should take place in 1920. All was not well, as it turned out, for a dispute developed from a new, proposal by the defenders that the races should be sailed on their club course, off Newport, Rhode Island, instead of over the historic course off Sandy Hook. Ihe challenger would not agree and eventually the proposal was abandoned. THE NEW CHALLENGER.

Shamrock IV. attracted a great deal of interest and criticism when she ivas launched in 1914. Some of the critics did not hesitate to describe her as a “nautical crime,” for she completely shattered all English building precedents. “An Englishman has dared to do something original,” was an American comment. Mr. Nicholson was persuaded a little while ago to describe the vessel. He said : “The challenger is the first boat, ever built in England under the American measurement rule. She differs greatly from the defenders Resolute and Van i tie. . “Shamrock, although a composite boat, is virtually a wooden one. She

lias a multi-skin planking of three thicknesses. r £he two inner are diagonal, and the outer gne runs fore and aft. She has no timber or frames, in the ordinary sense, and but few wel frames, widely spaced. Some of these frames are of steel, and others of aluminium. Instead of ordinary frames she has longitudinal wood stringers. ‘‘Her deck is very I'ght of ply wood, covered with canvas. Most of her deck beams are of wood. Her steel sheer strake and deck stringer plate are those usually worked into composite yachts, Tht challenger came across the Atlantic without any damage or straining of the slightest, “Her mast, instead of being of steel, is a hollow wood one, and it is not e\en braced with steel. It is the biggest hollow wood spar ever made. “She has a much fuller bow than the defender, and is longer'keeled than she is. “Her aluminium frames are in perfect condition. Some of the aluminium deck fastenings will have to be renewed but that is all. Her giant wood mast was examined just in time to save It; her sails are in good condition, and will be used again,”

SHAMROCK’S LINES CHANGED. Important changes were made in the hull of Shamrock IV. before she, was launched at City Island on May 26 last, These were expected to reduce her time allowance to the defender from seven or eight minutes to less than four minutes.

“No designer ever made such, drastic changes ,jn a cup boat on the eve of a blue ribbon contest” (wrote W. U. Swan in the New York “Post” early in May). “A few have reduced their sail area and gained a few seconds in fine allowance, but it has remained for Nicholson to practically scrap his bow plan and change it from broad full entrance to a narrow V shaped affair, apparently because he feared that, while his big cutter might show her heels to the defender, the lead would not be sufficient to gather up those precious minutes. Another alteration has been the cut-

ting off of some five feet in her fin keel, seemingly in the hope that in reducing the wetted surface the boat would prove faster in light airs, such as prevail off Sandy Hook from mid July until October.” According to another paper, the yacht’s bow and "turderbody have been changed so much that she never would bo recognised by yachtsmen who saw her six years ago. Six tons of lead have been cut off the forward part of her finn and “lagged” to the bottom of the keel.

THE DEFENDER AND THE CUP. Resolute, the chosen defender of the cup, was built in 1*914, from designs by the famous Nat Herrcshoff. Her general dimensions are lC6ft 3in. over all ; 75ft on the waterline; 21ft 2:n extreme breadth, and about 12ft draught Resolute was built by a syndicate of members of the Now York Yacht Club. The syndicate was headed by Henry Walters, erstwhile commodore of the club, with Arthur Curtiss James, Frederick G. Bourne, Cornelius Vaudei hilt, George F. Baker, jum, and J. V. ?Jorgan as the other members. In addition to Captain Emmons, there were to be on board Charles Francis Adams IT. of Boston, who was to hold the wheel ; George A. Cormack, secretary of the New York Yacht Club, and John Parkinson. All served as members of the afterguard in 1914. EARLY CUP RACES. The America Cup is named after the now famous yacht America, which was taken to England in 1851 by Commodore John C. Stevens, founder of the New York Yacht Club, to take part m the Great Exhibition Regatta at Cowes.

Then the American vessel, which had a waterline length'of SOft, and was of novel design, beat 1A British vessels in an open race round the Isle of Wight, winning a 100-guinea cup provided by the Royal Yacht Club, in trust, as a permanent challenge cup, open to competition by any organised yacht club of any foreign country. The first race for the cup as an international trophy was sailed in 1870, when the American Magic beat the English Cambria, by 39 min 12sec. in 3 hrs 58mins 26 sec. The English-built Livonia took part in three races the Jioxli year against the Columbia, and two against the Sappho, winning one, in which the Columbia was disabled, but finished ISmin lOsec behind. This was the only instance, until this year, of a British boat warning even an individual race. Other contests were held in-1876, 1881, 1885, 1885, 1837,