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| Architect | Nathanael Greene Herreshoff |
| Builder | Herreshoff Manufacturing Company |
| Owner | Vanderbilt, William Rockefeller |
| Club | New York Yacht Club |
| Skipper | Charles BARR |
| Type | Cotre aurique |
| Length HT | 43,80 m |
| Draft | 5,97 m |
| larger mast | 31,98 m |
| Boom | 34,14 m |
| Displacement | 175 tons |
| Sail area | 1 500 m² |
Shamrock III
Challenger
Shamrock III
| Architect | William Fife III, Jr |
| Builder | William Denny & Brothers |
| Owner | Sir Thomas Lipton |
| Club | Royal Ulster Yacht Club |
| Skipper | Robert WRINGE |
| Type | sloop |
| Length hors-tout | 41 m |
| Draft | 6,05 m |
| larger mast | 46,55 m |
| Boom | 31,90 m |
| Displacement | 166,6 tons |
| Surface de Sail area | 1315 m² |
The winner
n 1903, the class rules imposed only one major constraint on Herreshoff: the waterline length of the sailboat could not exceed 27.43 m. The architect designed a flat, shallow hull, like that of a scow. The surprise came, among other things, from Reliance's overhangs: 6.70 m at the bow, 7.92 m at the stern. Upwind, in a seven or eight knot breeze, the waterline length increased from 27.43 m to nearly 40 meters... A guarantee of speed! The keel, shaped like a fin, extended very low. This ease of heeling was only possible because Herreshoff achieved the feat of creating the largest sail area ever seen on a single mast: 1,501 m² (nearly 186 m² more than Shamrock III). Nathanael also equipped Reliance with countless innovations: a Tobin bronze hull, a welded steel mast supporting a telescopic boom that retracts into the larger mast, two-speed winches, sheets and backstays operated under an aluminum deck covered in cork, a hollow rudder that can be filled with water or emptied at will... It will take all the skill of its skipper, Charlie Barr, to ensure the yacht experiences no mechanical problems.
The looser
- August 22, 1st leg, 30 miles, outward course upwind, return downwind: Shamrock III is beaten by Reliance by 7 minutes 03 seconds on corrected time. - August 25, 2nd leg, 30 miles, triangular course: Shamrock III is beaten by Reliance by 1 minute 19 seconds on corrected time. - September 3, 3rd leg, 40 miles outward course upwind, return downwind: Shamrock II is beaten by Reliance. Shamrock III is forced to retire. During the final leg, the fog rolled in and visibility was almost zero. Shamrock III lost its way while Reliance, skippered by Charlie Barr, crossed the finish line. Realizing his mistake, Captain Robert Wringe retired and headed back to his anchorage… Shamrock III was more decisively beaten than Shamrock II had been in 1901.