Arizona republican., 1914-07-05
IS
GREAT YACHT
Reports of Sir Thomas Lip
toms Shamrock w Indi-
cate Boat to Be Most
Dangerous Yet Sent to
This Side

! l1lS Olue
| NEW YORK, July 4.-American
yaehtsmen who are in close touch
with the preparations being made by
Sir Thomas Upton for his fourth at
tempt to lift the America cup. have
recently received an interesting an
alysis of the preliminary showing of
| Shamrock ". According to this re-
port the challenger designed by Chas.
Nicholson is likely to prove the most
dangerous yacht ever sent across the
Atlantic in quest of the famous tro-
ply. Although the English yachting
experts will not commit themselves
regarding the chances of the chal-
lenger as yet the impression appears
to be growing that if Shamrock ".
makes the ocean trip without strain
| ing she will prove far more formid-
able than any of the Shamrocks OK
Valkyries that raced for the cup be-
tween 1898 and 1908.
AS in the case with the cup de-
Tense yachts Resolute, Defiance and
Vanitie, there still remains much to
be done on Shamrock ". before she
sails for America late this month.
| Several changes in rig and ballast
| have already been made and the eX-
! perimenting and drilling of the crew
will continue until the challenger is
put under jury rig foc the long voy-
| age to the cup course. All this ex-
perimenting and improving meets
with the entire approval of the Eng
lish yachting experts, but when it
comes to the crew and skipper the
same confidence and support is lack
ing. In fact the command and man
ming of the yacht is the subject of
much talk. and wide divergence of
opinion. The old yachting hands,
while acknowledging that Captain
Burton, who is to command. is pro-
badly the best racing man in Great
Britain today, do not like the idea
Of Captain Sycamore. with all his ex-
perience of racing off Sandy Hook,
being entirely eliminated.
This move was doubtless decided
CURED in 1903, owing to a sort of
dual command. This year Captain
Burton will be in sole command He
will have as his assistant, however,
Captain Turner. who acted in a
similar capacity for Burton in most
of the big races in English waters
and recently on Si- Thomas Liptons
+ of l.
IN English regattas Aside from the
lack of experience in America cup
races, some doubt is expressed among
racing yachtsmen whether these two
VIII get as much out of the crew as
would Captain Sycamore, who is bet
ter known among the men forming
the crew.
a yachtsman who has had experi-
ence with each of the Yachts Sir
thomas has sent across the Atlantic
expresses the opinion that one of the
chief causes of failure in the mast
mas been the lack of training, of the
crews of the Shamrocks. The Ameri-
cans. he points out, spend weeks in
getting their crews into training and
N' h'N- SiicS DIRE put through
practice OF lowering and raising sails
until orders given by the CAPTAIN
are carried out with a quickness that
ls a marvel and surprise to English
yachtsmen. While the Americans are
practiclng, he said, the British crews
take life easy. The result is seen
when the race is on, since auickness
IN carrying out orders marks the
difference between success and de-
feat
That Captain Burton realizes This
is shown by the fact that the sham
rock w. men are being drilled hard
er than any previous cup-challeng-
ing crew. Those who are inclined
TO be pessimistic, however. contend
that the real test will come when tbe
amateur skipper of Shamrock " en-
beavers to arouse the enthusiasm in
the crew necessary for to bring about
the utmost speed and harmony
among It's individual members. They
hold to the opinion that veteran
professional like Captain Sycamore
can always get better results from,
the men before the mast than an
amateur. Time alone can solve This
problem, which is of far greater i'm.
portance than would appear from,
surface indicat iopc