''Shamrock'' was a racing

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

built in 1898 that was the unsuccessful Irish challenger for the 1899 America's Cup against the United States defender, ''Columbia''.

Design

''Shamrock'' was designed by third-generation Scottish boatbuilder,

William Fife III William Fife Jr. (15 June 1857 – 11 August 1944), also known as William Fife III, was the third generation of a family of Scottish yacht designers and builders. In his time, William Fife designed around 600 yachts, including two contend ...

, and built in 1898 by J. Thorneycroft & Co., at Church Wharf, Chiswick, for owner

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 ...

of the

Royal Ulster Yacht Club The Royal Ulster Yacht Club is located in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, on the south shore of Belfast Lough. History The club was established in 1866 as the Ulster Yacht Club, on the impetus of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st ...

(and also of

Lipton Tea 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 ...

fame). However her draft was too great for construction at Chiswick and she was built at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. ''Shamrock'' (also known as ''Shamrock I'', to distinguish her from her successors) was built in 1898 under a shroud of secrecy, and christened by Lady Russell of

Killowen Killowen (, now spelt ''Cill Eoin''), alternatively spelt Cill Abhainn is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is near Rostrevor and on the shore of Carlingford Lough. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 159 people. It lie ...

at its launch on 26 June 1899. ''Shamrock'' featured a composite build, with manganese-bronze bottom and aluminium topside clinkerbuilt over a steel frame and a pine decking.

Career

She was initially skippered by Captain Archibald Hogarth. During her trials she raced against the 1895 America's Cup challenger, ''Valkyrie III'', as well as twice beating the Prince of Wales yacht ''Britannia'' in regattas on the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

. She 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. She returned to Britain in the autumn of 1899, towed by Lipton's steam yacht, ''Erin''. She was subsequently refitted to serve as a trial horse for ''Shamrock II'' and ''Shamrock III''.

References

External links

* * America's Cup challengers Individual sailing vessels Ships built in Chiswick Ships built in Millwall Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company {{boat-stub