Shamrock III.

Manawatu Herald, 23 April 1903, Page 2

Shamrock 111.

Sic Thomas Lipton’s confidence in the Shamrock !!!, is unshaken. He declares that the new yacht has already shown that she is the fastest and best of the three challengers for the America Cup. * THE YACHT*

A despatch from Glasgow, dated March 17tb, repots the launching of ; the yacht Shamrock 111 %-rsince dismasted—*whibh Sir Thomas Lipton is sending* over to America to meet the Reliance in the contests for tbs America Cup. Lord Shaftesbury, wife of the commodore of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, christened the yacht, in the presence of a large number of distinguished guests, y Ihanlrooka were much in evidence;’Sir Thomas Lipton dividing two thousand bunches of the former in honour of St. Patrick and the new boat, after remarking, “ With just a little slice of good luck the battered old cup will find a resting place on this side." Large crowds gathered at Denny's yards at Dumbarton, in spite of drenching rain, which, however ceased before the arrival of the special visitors’ train. A number of distinguished visitors were in attendance. Lady Shaftesbury broke the bottle, saying, “ I christen you Shamrock 111. May God bless you, and may you bring back the cup.” There was plenty of cheering as the pontoons supporting the yacht slid into the water. At a luncheon afterwards the toast “ King Ed ward and President Roosevelt " was drunk. The Lord Provost of Glasgow proposed “ Success to the Shamrock and her a owner,” saying that the only thing Sir Thomas Lipton had ever failed to do was to win the cup. Sir Thomas Lipton received a great ovation when he arose. He said none would cheer a Shamrock victory more heartily than the Americans. He paid a tribute to the Americans, saying they were generous enough to give him everything he wanted except the cup. The examination of the Shamrock 111. showed that the designer, Mr W. Fife, has struck out on entirely new lines, instead of trying to tinker or improve on either of the previous Lipton challengers. Like her predecessors, the vessel is built close to the ninety-foot waterline limit. A most striking feature is the extremely short fin. The draught is 19ft, and the fin is almost level along the bottom. The lead in the hull is drawn well down to the fin, suggesting a deep body, typical of a British cutter rather than the extrema fiatfloored type adapted from American centre-board yachts and used in all recent challengers. The American wheel for steering for the first time replaces - the British tiller. The lesson learned from the Shamrock XL, through her pounding in head seas, has led to a stronger and finerdrawn bow, giving the boat ihe appearance of being able to negotiate comfortably any moderate sea With lesser draught ahd npt so flat-fioered as previous Shamrocks, the haw challenger will not have so much stability, so Mr Fife has either gone in for a light weather boat or he has cut down the sail areas. There are daringly novel features in the design, the effect of which cannot be accurately guaged except by a trial.