THE AMERICA CUP

Waikato Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 5620, 28 May 1914, Page 4

THE AMERICA CUP

SHAMROCK IV. LAUNCHED

A FAIR WEATHER CRAFT.

NOT A HANDSOME YACHT

London, May 27

Sir T. Lipton's yacht Shamrock IV., built for the America Cup race, has been launched at Gosport. Her length on the waterline is 75 feet, and her greatest beam 22ft. She is not a handsgme craft, but her underwater body is described as Nicholson's finest work.

It is expected that she will develop high speed in light breezes, but will be difficult to handle in boisterous weather.

The draught of the challenger will be Uft (and 23ft with the centre board). This will be the first occasion on which a British yachtsman has competed with a centre-board boat for the America Cup—the blue ribbon of international yachting;—as this class of boat has been always more favourably looked upon by the defenders than the challengers in the past. In fact, when the deed of gift was altered, in October, 1887/ by Mr George L. Schuyler, as sole surviving owner of the cup, won by the yacht America at Cowes on August 22, 1851, and the New York Yacht Club, an unalterable provision was made to secure for the club the privilege of competing with a centre board yacht in the event of the cup at any future date passing out of its hands into the prssession of a foreign club. The clause of the deed rends as follows:—"Centre-board or sliding keel vessels shall alway be allowed to compete in any race for this cup, and no restriction nor limitation whatever shall be placed upon the use of such centre-board or sliding keel, nor shall the centre-board or sliding keel be considered a part of the vessel for any purposes of measurement." It is rather curious that on this occasion, when the British representative is taking advantage of the right to use a centreboard, the Herresholf boat, which is an aspirant for the honour of defending the cup on behalf of the New York Yacht Club, is to be a keel vessel without any centre-board, uni the designer has decided to take a penalty for excess draught.