Shamrock (yacht)
 | |
 Shamrock I (1899) | |
|---|---|
| Type | Gaff-rigged cutter |
| Class | 1883 Seawanhaka 90' Rule |
| Design | William Fife, Jr. (1898) |
| Shipyard | J. Thorneycroft & Co. |
| Dimensions | LOA 38.86m LWL 25.12m Beam 7.46m Draught 6.15m |
| Displacement | 156.9 metric tonnes |
| Rig | Lower-Mast 29.56m Top-Mast 18.90m Boom 32.61m Bowsprit 8.60m Sail Area 1214.30m² |
Shamrock was the unsuccessful Irish challenger for the 10th America's Cup in 1899 against the United States defender, Columbia.
Design
Shamrock was designed by third-generation Scottish boatbuilder, William Fife III, Jr., and built in 1898 by J. Thorneycroft & Co., at Church Wharf, Chiswick, for owner Sir Thomas Lipton of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club (and also of Lipton Tea fame).[1] However her draft was too great for construction at Chiswick and she was built at Millwall.[2]
Shamrock was built of all-metal construction, with a steel frame and a pine deck. She was skippered by Captain Archibald "Archie" Hogarth.
Career
Shamrock (also known as Shamrock I, to distinguish it from its successors) was built in 1898 under a shroud of secrecy, and christened by Lady Russell of Killowen at its launch on June 24, 1899.
During its trials it raced against the 1895 America's Cup challenger, Valkyrie III, as well as twice beating His Majesty's Yacht Britannia in regattas on the Solent. It sailed to New York for the America's Cup race in the summer of 1899. The Cup defender Columbia beat Shamrock in all three races. It returned to Britain in the autumn of 1899, towed by Lipton's steam yacht, Erin. It was subsequently refitted by Lipton and used as a "trial horse" to test the later challengers, Shamrock II, III, and IV.
References
- ^ Outing, Volume 34, Issue 2, May 1899, p. 214, The progress of the America’s rival by Arthur Inkersley
- ^ Thornycroft shipbuilding and motor works in Chiswick by Humphrey Arthure, p. 16
External links
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