The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-18
SHAMROCK GLIDES
 INTO THE WATER. Yacht ChriSt9ned in Presence of Distinguished Guests SHE IS A NOVEL VESSEL Sir Thoms Upton Says If the Ameri- cans Can Beat His New Boat
 They Are a Little More
 Than Human.
SHE IS A NOVEL VESSEL

Glasgow, March 17-Shamroek III. was launched today under the most success fuI conditions. Lady shaftesbury, wife of the commodore of the Royal Ulster Yacht club. christened the yacht in the presence of number of distinguished guests. shamrocks and hopefulness were much in evidence. Sir Thomas Lpton divided 2000 punches of the former in honor of St. Patrick and the new boat and voiced the Ehrlnal sentiment of hope fitness by saying:
 With just little slice of luck. the battered old mug will find d resting plaee on this side of the water"
 In a speech just after the launching. Sir Thomas said the Americas cup must now be homesick. Here they had learned lessons from the past, and they we're never more confident They had fifty years experience with American yachts and yaehtsmen and none would cheer q Shamrock victory more heartily than the Americans.
 Built on Naval Lines.
 An examination of Shamrock IT. as the yacht was revealed In the launching shed. confirmed the previous dispatches of the Associated Press, on the subject and showed that Fife had struck out boldly on entirely novel lines instead of trying to tinker or improve on either of the previous Lipton challengers. Like her predecessors, however. the Shamrock III. Is built close up to the 9O-foot water line limit. Her length over all is TAO feet. The most striking feature of the challenger is her extremely short fin. It is just 20 feet long. Her draught is 19 feet and the fin Is almost level along the level of the bottom. The lead in the hull is drawn well down to the fin, suggesting the deep body typical of the British cutter rather than the extreme nat-hoored type adapt ed from the American center board yachts and used in all the recent chal- lengers.
 American wheel steering for the first time replaces the British tller and the lesson learned with the Shamrock II through her pounding in head seas has led to longer and finer draw bow giv- ing the challenger the appearance of be- ing boat capable of negotiating com fortably any modern sea. With lesser draft and not so flat fioored as the previ- ous 6hamrocks. the challenger will Aot have 80 much stability, as Fife has either gone In for a light weight boat or he has cut down her sail area.
 Must Be Tried. There are daringly novel features in the design, the effect of which cannot be ac- curately gauged except by actual test. They suggest the possibility Of difficulty in getting the new boat to trim steer and hor pnnUda If bnWpVpr al accomplishes these objects well she will prove to be by far the most formidable challenger ever sent out.
 The underbody of the Shamrock III Is painted with white anti-fouling compo- sition. Her topsides are white and she has broad bands of green along the wa ter line and rail Her hull, frames and plates are all of nickel steel, specially made The deck Is of aluminium plates covered with wood fiber, which gives a soft foothold The workmanship of the yacht Is superb in every detail No dent, rivet or joint is visible under the polish of her paint.
 After the launching Sir Thomas Lipton said to a correspondent of the Associated Press:
 Third and Last Attempt.
 My third and perhaps my last attempt at lifting the Amerieas cup will be the most serious, and 1 think the most hope full of my efforts. The Reliance may beat us. but it will be because 1 have not got the best boat British brains and workers can produce.
 If the cup stays in America it will stay there because of the extraordinary genius of the American yacht builder. If hd can produce a style still further im- proved in his art. l shall begin to think he is a bit more than human. There Is no question but that the best boat wins in the international races. l believe the Shamrock III will come near filling that biA. To my mind. she Is a marvel in which Fife and Watson have outdone themselves. With good trial races and no accidents, her arrival in New York should maDk the coming of the most formidable challenger. ever sent over I scarcely need add that as much as I long to win and expect to win, a third defeat will only increase my admiration for people who can beat us at a game that was once our own.
 However" added Sir Thomas, laugh hgly, "a third defeat is of course quite out of the question"