The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-18

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRATED BY
SIR THOMAS Upton.
Bunches OF Erin's Emblem Distrib-
uted for Luck-Sir Thomas Anxious
to Lift the sold Mug"

GLASGOW, March 17.-Shamrock III was
conditions. Lady Shaftesbury. wife of the
commodore of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club.
christened the yacht in the presence of a
number of distinguished guests Sir Thomas
Upton divided two hundred punches of
shamrocks in honor of st. Patrick and the
new boat, and voiced the general sentiment
of hopefulness by saying: with just
little slice of luck the battered old mug
will find resting place on this side of the
water"
Large crowds gathered at the Dennys
yard at Dumbarton in spite Of the drench-
ing rain which, however, ceased before the
arrival of the special visitors train. Sir
Thomas Upton escorted Lady Shaftesbury
to the christening dais. Among others on
the platform were the Earl and Countess
Of Mar and Kellie, Lord Overtoun, lord
provost of Glasgow. the Hon. Charles Rus
sell, Reginald Ward, William Fife and Cap
tains Wringe and Bevis. At lis p. m. Lady
Shaftesbury broke the customary bottle,
saying: II christen you Shamrock; may God
bless you and may you bring back the cup.
Then, amid the louu cheers, the pontoons
on which Shamrock III was riding slid
easily into the water. After more cheer
ing the visitors proceeded to luncheon.
In a speech after the luncheon Sir Thomas
Upton said the Americas cup must now be
homesick. Here they had learned lessons
from the past and they were never more
confident. They had fifty years experience
with American yachts and yachtsmen, and
none would cheer a Shamrock victory more
heartily than the Americans. The toast:
king Edward and President Roosevelt,
was drunk with musical honors. The lord
provost proposed Success to the Shamrock
and her owner" saying the only thing Sir
Thomas Upton ever failed to do was to lit
the trinity of Shamrocks by attaining the
friendly supremacy in British and In Amer
ican waters which ne SO dearly , Sover ssh
that some diplomatic Pferpont Morgan
would organize a vast international COM
bine. relegate the fighting navies OF the
world to the scrap heap and replace them
with Shamrocks as means or settling Diff
ferences.'
An examination of Shamrock III as the
yacht was revealed in the launching shed
Confirmed the previous dispatches on the
subject and showed that Fife had struck
out boldly on entirely novel lines instead
of the previous Upton challengers. Like
her predecessors however, the Shamrock
III is built close up to the ninety foot water
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 bot
tom. 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 fiat-foored type adapted from
the American centerboard yachts and used
in all the recent challengers.
American wheel steering for the first
time replaces the British tiller and the les
son learned with Shamrock III through her
pounding in head seas has led to longer
and finer drawn bow. giving the challenger
the appearance of being boat capable OF
negotiating comfortably any modern sea.
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 think the most hope
full of my efforts. The Reliance may beat
u.s. but Ii will not be because have not got
the best boat British brains and workmen
can produce. If the cup stays in America
ii will stay there because of the extraor-
binary genius of the American yachtbuilder
If he can produce a style still further i'm
proved 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 race. i believe Sham
rock III will come near filling that bill
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 mark the coming of
the most formidable challenger ever sent
over l scarcely need add that much as I
long to win and expect to win a third de-
feat will only increase my admiration for
a people who can beat us at game that
was once our own.
However" added Sir Thomas, laughing.
"a third defeat is. of course. quite out of
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