The 1920

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

was the 13th challenge for the Cup and the first since 1903. It took place in

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

and consisted of a best-of-five series of races between the defender ''Resolute'', entered by a syndicate of

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

members headed by

Henry Walters Henry Walters (September 26, 1848 – November 30, 1931) was noted as an art collector and philanthropist, a founder of the Walters Art Gallery (now the Walters Art Museum) in Baltimore, Maryland, which he donated to the city in his 1931 will f ...

, and ''

Shamrock IV ''Shamrock IV'' was a yacht owned by Sir Thomas Lipton and designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson. She was the unsuccessful challenger in the 1920 America's Cup. - While the boat was launched in 1914, and soon towed across the Atlantic by Lipton's ...

'', the fourth in

Sir Thomas Lipton Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup ...

's line of Cup challengers.

Charles Francis Adams III Charles Francis Adams III (August 2, 1866 – June 10, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the 44th United States Secretary of the Navy under President Herbert Hoover from 1929 to 1933. He was skipper of the Resolute which ...

was the skipper of Resolute in this race. Despite being disabled in the first race and losing the second, ''Resolute'' won the final three races and in doing so retained the Cup on behalf of the NYYC, continuing the club's unbroken record of defending the America's Cup. The 1920 America's Cup was originally scheduled to take place in 1914 but was postponed upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The 13th Cup challenge was the last to take place in New York, and the first held under the Universal Rule of measurement. Due to the rule, Shamrock IV owed Resolute seven minutes time.

Lipton challenges a fourth time

Following his unsuccessful Cup challenge in 1903, Lipton, founder of the

Lipton Lipton is a British brand of tea, owned by Ekaterra. Lipton was also a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, later sold to Argyll Foods, after which the company sold only tea. The company is named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton, who fo ...

tea company, attempted to persuade the NYYC to adopt new rules of measurement for America's Cup yachts that would reduce their cost, which was widely seen to be a result of the

Seawanhaka The Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club is one of the older yacht clubs in the Western Hemisphere, ranking 18th after the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, New York Yacht Club, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Mobile Yacht Club, Pass Christian Yacht Cl ...

rule then used by the club. Despite the NYYC having adopted the new Universal Rule in 1903, formulated by Nathaniel Herreshoff, for its own races, it was reluctant to allow its use for America's Cup races and refused several challenges issued by Lipton until finally accepting in 1913.

Trials

RESOLUTE leading VANITIE at start of first elimination race

The 1914 defender selection trials pitted ''Resolute'' against ''

Vanitie Vanitie was a yacht owned by Alexander Smith Cochran that was selected to take part in selection trials for the America's Cup in 1914 against Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht '' Shamrock IV''. History On June 17, 1914 William S. Dennis was replaced b ...

''. In winning, ''Resolute'' set a course record. The races were suspended as

broke out and did not resume until 1920, at which point ''Resolute'' again secured her place as defender in trials against ''Vanitie''.

Race

The American defender ''Resolute'' won 3-2 against the challenger ''Shamrock IV''. During the first race, Shamrock IV crossed the line ahead of the start, having to circle back around and provide an early lead to Resolute. However, later in the race the shackle holding Resolute's

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...

broke, forcing the boat to complete the race only under

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...

. This provided Lipton with his first America's Cup victory, although he refused to celebrate the win. The second race was without incident and Shamrock IV won by a corrected two minutes ahead of Resolute. The following three races were under lighter conditions, which disadvantaged Shamrock IV and allowed Resolute to win. Police estimated that over 75,000 people watched the final race. The course for the race was laid out by Lewis Blix.

References

External links

''The International Yacht Race''
Technical article, ''Marine Engineering'', July 1920 by C. A. McAllister including photos. {{America'sCup America's Cup regattas