The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-03-18
SHAMROCK Ill.
DULY LAUNCHED
Great Day for Sir Thomas,
Who AbOunds With
Talks.

Royal Ulster Yacht club. christened the
yacht in the presence of distinguished
guests Shamrocks and hopefulness
were much in evidence. Sir Thomas
Upton divided 1000 punches of the
former in honor of st. Patrick and the
new boat and voiced the general senti-
ment of hOpefulness by saying: With
just q little slice of luck the battered
old mug will find resting place on this
side of the water"
Large crowds gathered at the Den
nyS yards at Dumbarton, in spite of the
drenching rain. which, however, ceased
before the arrival of the special visi-
tors train. Sir Thomas Upton escort
ed Lady SALISBURY to the christening
dais. Among others on the platform
were the Earl and Countess of Mar
and Kellie, Lord OYerton, Lord Provost
Of Glasgow. the Hon. Charles Russell,
Reginald Ward, William Fife and
Capt. Wringe and BeVis.
At 1:15 p. m. Lady SALISBURY broke
the bottle saying:
Il Christen you Shamrock, may God
bless you and may you bring back the
cup"
Then, amid loud cheers, the pontoons
on which Shamrock III. rested slid
easily into the water.
After more cheering the visitors pro-
ceeded to luncheon. The toast King
drunk with much honors.
Then lord provost proposed Sue
cess to the Shamrock and Her Owner"
saying the only thing Sir Thomas Lip
ton ever failed to do was to lift the cup.
He hoped Sir Thomas would crown the
trinity of Shamrock by attaining the
friendly supremacy in British and in
American waters, which he so dearly
coveted. Lord provost also expressed
the wish that some diplomatic Pier
pont Morgan would organize a vast in
ternattonal combine, relagate the fight
ing navies of the world to the scrap
heap and replace them with Sham
rocks as means of settling differ
ences."
Sir Thomas Upton received a great
ovation when he rose to reply to the
lord provost He said the Americas
cup must now be homesick. Here they
had learned a lesson from the past and
they were never more confident. They
had fifty years experience with Amer
lean yachts and yachtsmen and now
would cheer a Shamrock victory more
heartily than the Americans.
1--WE have done everything possible
that man can do" Sir Thomas added,
''and with a little slice of luck the bat
tered old mug will find a resting place
on this side, however temporary 1t may
be-"
Continuing, Sir Thomas paid trib-
ute to American kindness, saying:
The Americans will give me every
thing l want except the cup"
During the afternoon the challenger
was towed to GreenoCk, where she will
be placed in dry dock. The yacht will
be tloated tomorrow without the pom
toons on which she was launched to-
day. Capt. Wringe and Shamrock's
crew have already taken up their quar-
tn1 N nrd hn
kilograms received by Sir Thomas was
one wishing him good luck from Sena-
tor Kearns.
An examination of Shamrock III. as
the yacht was revealed in the launch
ing shed confirmed the previous re-
ports 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
Upton challengers. Like her prede-
ceSSOrs, however, the Shamrock III. is
built close up to the ninety-foot water
line limit. Her length over all is 40
feet. The most striking feature of
the challenger is her extremely short
fin. 1t is just twenty feet long. Her
draught is nineteen feet, and the fin is
almost level along the bottom. The
lead in the hull is drawn we'll down to
the fin, suggesting the deep body typi-
cal of the British cutter, rather than
the extreme flat flOOred type adapted
from the American centerboard yachts
and used in all the recent chaIlengers,
American wheel steering, for the first
time, replaces the British tfller, and the
lesson learned with the Shamrock II,
through her pounding in head seas, has
led to a longer and finer drawn bow,
giving the challenger the appearance
of being boat capable of negotiating
comfortably any moderate sea. With
Los. flF rtrrlof 4
the previous Shamrocks, the challenger
will not have SO much stability, so
Fife has either gone in for a light
weather boat or he has cut down her
sail area. There are daring novel fea-
lures in the design, the effect of which
cannot be accurately gagged, except
by actual trial. They suggest the pos
sibility of difficulty in getting the new
boat to trim, steer and carry her can
vas. If, however, she accomplishes
these objects well she will prove to be
by far the most formidable challenger
ever sent out.
The underbody of Shamrock Ill is
painted with a white anti-fouling COM
position. Her top sides are white and
she has broad bands of green along the
water line and rail Her hull, frames
and plates are all of nickel steel, es-
pecially made. The deck is of alumni
mum plates, covered with wood fiber.
winch gives safe fOothOld. The work.
manship of the yacht is superb in every
detail, no dent, rivet or joint is visi-
bic under the polish of her paint. After
the launching Sir Thomas Upton said:
My third and perhaps my last at.
tempt at lifting the Americas cup will
be the most serious, and, l think, the
most hopeful of my efforts. The Re-
lance may beat us, but it will not be
because l have not got the best boat
British brains and workmen can pro-
duce. If the cup stays in America it
will stay there because of the eXtraor-
binary genius of the America yacht
builder. If he can produce a still fur
Their Improvement in his art, 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. 1 believe Shamrock III. will
come near filling that bill. To nv
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
mark the coming of the most formula
bic challenger ever sent over I scarce
ly need add that, much as 1 long to
win and expect to win, a third defeat
will only increase my admiration for a
people who can beat US at a game that
was once our own. However" added
Sir Thomas, laughing, "a defeat is, of
course, quite out of the question"