New-York tribune., 1920-07-12
Measuring Of
Lipton's Sloop
Nearly Ended
fh,llcnger TO Be Launched
4 Noon and Then
Towed to Sandy Hook
By Jack Lawrence

By Jack Lawrence
8 rh. spars and sail srea Of Sir Thom-
8. rinton's Shamrock ~ will be meas
"a this morning in the yards Of the
u,,s. ss Drydock and Repair Company In
prooklyn, and at noon the challenger
81 she Americas Cup will be launched
"a towed to her Sanaw Hook anchor
- ~ the steam yacht Victoria. She
ssiI IS accompanied by the entire Lip
- 6eet. including the houseboat Kill
ss-rsv. ~ the twcnty-three-mete trial
rs.t chartered tug and several
svaller craft that fly the Bloody Hand
= ulster at their mastheads.
when the Shamrock reaches her
nooring in Sandy Hook Bay she will
!. * ,eadv for Thursdays climax to LIP
sors miilion-dollar effort to defeat the
american Resolute and win the trophy
that is emblematic of the yachting
.h.mpionship of the seven seas.
Professor Harold Webb, of Columbia
4 rsniyersity and the New York Yacht
Ilub. worked on the Shamrock with his
s "a assistants until early yesterday
i morning in order to have her hull
msssurements completed in time for
lie launching at noon to-day.
Hundreds of sightseers visited the
Morse plant yesterday in hopes of be-
;ae able to see the green cup hunter
n dYydock, but the yard was closed
and the watchmen turned everybody
away who had no business there.
Shamrock's Crew Idle
: A huge canvas apron" has been
drsped around the hull of the racer In
~
Upper Bay from soiling her newly
nsinted sides. The Resolute wore =
u similar arrangement when she was put
y oserboard on Saturday. Aside from
rubbing down the mast and boom of
the sloop with paraffine to remove the
dirt that has accumulated on the spars
since she has been in drydock, the
Shamrock's crew did no work on the
boat yesterday.
Sir Thomas's steam yacht, the Vic
toria, was moored close to the mouth
al the drydock in which the cup hunter
.is lying, but the Irish sportsman
sisiIed to pay his usual daily visit to
his GIRL as the big sloop has been
dubbed. He remained aboard the Vic
.oria and entertained few old friends
and the principal topic of conversation
!, was the death of Lord Fisher, former
!, head Of the British Admiralty. AS a
tribute to the Father of the Fleet
the Victoria's flag was flown at half
u mast.
The majority of the Shamrock's
sailors were in the navy during the
!. var and they spoke yesterday Of Lord
! Fishers death with real regret. Ten
rof the challengers foremast hands
Il wear naval decorations awarded them
for heroism. One of them, Charles
: Short, Of Port Isaac, Cornwall, was
member of the crew of the British
= hat.leship Majestic when she was sunk
via the Dardanelles.
according to Colonel Duncan F.. D.
Seil, Lipton's yachting manager, there
il only one 1rishman in the Sham
= rack's crew. He is Jim Hickey, an ex-
z pert topmast hand, whose home port
81 Belfast. All the other sailors come
from towns in Essex. 1t was announced
: yesterday that each one Of of the chal-
J isnger's men will receive bonus of
: 80 if the Shamrock lifts the cup.
Tribune Figures Interest
Unofficial measurement figures of
I both the Resolute and Shamrock,
printed in The Sunday Tribune, ap-
pesred to interest the Shamrock's crew
intensely yesterday. The time allow
anee based on these unofficial measure
:. ments would give the American de-
efender handicap of approximately 6
minutes and 80 seconds over her Brit
ish rival.
i The Shamrock's men were of the
opinion that the measureme were
I I correct The only figures they ques-
toned were those which gave her mast
Z length from deck to truck as las feet
"a Inches. They declared that the
8 = Measurement Of the spar to be taken
this morning by Professor Webb would
!. show that the height Of the stick is
Z nearer 157 feet.
The Shamrock's mast is the tallest
= ever stepped in racing yacht.
II present plans do not miscarry and
the challenger is launched promptly at
noon to-day, it is very probable that
sae may be given a brief sail stretch
ing spin off the Hook late this after
noon.
The Resolute's mainsail was raised
Yesterday as she lay at her anchorage
Inside the Sandy Hook horseshoe, but
'he proposed trial spin over the cup
course was postponed until to-day
owing to fog.
brisk breeze sprang up out of the
southwest late in the afternoon and
eiew the fog away, but the defender S
tssew had been given the afternoon off
tsad 1t was impossible to take advan-
fnse OF the improved conditions.
ihe Resolute's anchorage was moved
neout half mile in westerly direc-
iuon yesterday in order to avoid the
eko
present mooring is close to the spot
&Hnefe the Sh will anchor