''Galatea'' was the unsuccessful Scottish challenger of the sixth

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 ...

race in 1886 against American defender ''Mayflower''.

Design

''Galatea'', a gaff cutter, was designed by

John Beavor-Webb John Beavor-Webb (1849 - March 11, 1927) was a British and American naval architect. He was a designer of sailing yachts, including Partridge 1885, a UK National Historic Ship and the America's Cup challengers Genesta (yacht), ''Genesta'' (1884) a ...

and built in 1885 for owner Lieutenant William Henn, R.N. of the

Royal Northern Yacht Club Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

. Henn named her after

HMS Galatea HMS ''Galatea'', after the Galatea of mythology, has been the name of eight ships in the British Royal Navy. * was a 20-gun sixth-rate post-ship launched in 1776 and broken up in 1783. * was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1794 and broken up 1 ...

, on which he had served from 1862 to 1866. The all-metal ''Galatea'' had a steel frame, a lead-filled steel keel, and a riveted steel-planked hull, painted white. The deck was teak.

Career

''Galatea'' was launched in May 1885. After a series of mostly losses in British races, the owner and his wife sailed to New York in the summer of 1886. ''Galatea'' lost both races in the September 1886 America's Cup in New York to the American defender ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

''. During these 1886 voyages, ''Galatea'' had a monkey named Peggy on board as a mascot. The monkey became ill and died and was buried in

Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...

. Following his defeat, Henn challenged General Paine of the ''Mayflower'' to a private rematch, and in the spring of 1887 was defeated again. ''Galatea'' won the Queen's Jubilee Cup Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron Regatta in Halifax N.S. 20 August 1887. From 1888 until 1894, Mr. and Mrs. Henn lived aboard ''Galatea'' in Britain. Following Lt. Henn's death in 1894, Mrs. Henn continued to live aboard the yacht until her death in 1911. In January 1912, the ''Galatea'' was sold for scrap and broken up. Deck of the cutter Galatea-1

References

External links

America's Cup's Ac-clopaediaThe 19th Century Yacht Photography of J.S. Johnston
1886 in Scotland 1886 in sports America's Cup challengers Individual sailing vessels Sailing in Scotland {{boat-stub