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Show WHEN SIR THOMAS LIPTON FIRST PUT HIS OAR INTO RACING GAME N'ew York. April 5 The first announcement an-nouncement of a challenge from Sir Thomas Llpton was contained In a letter to the New York Yacht club from the Royal Ulster Facht club, dated August fi, 1898. After receipt of the challenge, which gave the name of Sir Thomas Llpton as 'he owner of a yacht to he called the Shamrock Sham-rock and her length on the load water wa-ter line as 89.6 feet, the club ap-1 rcintcd the following members as, the America's cud committee. J Flerpont Morgan, ex-Commodore i Edwin D Morgan. E M. Brown, Herman Her-man B Duryea and General Charles J. Paine, w ho declined to serve and i Henry L. Llppltt was appointed In his place. A committee of the Royal Ulster Yacht club, consisting of vice Commodore Com-modore it 0 Sherman Crawford, H. M. McGlldowny and Hugh C. Kelly, .f companied by the new yacht's do-j signer, William Fife Jr . and Charles i Ruescli, brought the challenge from Belfast and presented it In person to the New York Yacht club The; best three out of five races was' suggested. It was understood that J P. Morgan Mor-gan furnished the money to build the defending acbt, which was designed by the Herreshoff Manufacturing com- j pony of Bristol, R 'l, and named Co-I lumbia. Her keel was laid early In the winter of 1898, and she was launched on the evening of Juno 10, 189B, Her approximate measurements were 131 feet over all. 24.17 feet beam and 10.75 feet draught With Captain Charles Birr and a Deer Ir-land Ir-land crew on board, she had her first I trial June 25. Defender v.as put In i am i I I I commission and used as a trial boat. With Captain Uriah Hhodes In command. com-mand. Both yachts bad steel masts ' ' olumbla was dismantled August 2 I off Point Judith The Shamrock I was designed by William Fife Jr. and built by the 1 hornecrofts at Mlllwall on the Thames, she was launched Tune 24, 1890 in charge of Captain Archie Hogarth and Robert Wrlne, she crossed the Atlantic In August in tow, conveyed by the steam yacht Erin, owned by Sir Thomas Lipton Sh' covered the distance from CoweS to Sandy Hook--!)4O0 miles in 14 day and 20 hours. When officially measured, meas-ured, just before the races, it was1 lound that the Columbia would have i to allow the Shamrock 6.fU seconds,, her racing length being 101.92 feet,, and that of the American sloop 102 -18 The challenger b dimensions wore 128 feet over all. 87 69 feet water 1 line, 25 feet beam and 20 25 feet draught The ;-econd challenge from the Ro -al Ulster Yacht club was received by the New York Yacht club October 2. 19Uu, again naming Sir Thomas Upton, who was then rear-commodore of the challenging club The challenge was accepted, and the following fol-lowing committee appointed. Commodore Lewis Cass Ledyard, I Vice Commodore August Belmont, Rear Commodore C L, F Robinson. Secretary J V. S. Oddle. S Nicholson Nichol-son Kane, C. O. Iselln and E. M Brown. Messrs Robinson, Oddle, Kane and Brown have since died. Constitution Was Built. The sloop Constitution was built as j a new candidate for the defense of the club by a syndicate composed of these members: August Belmont, James Stlllman.l Oliver II Payne, F G Bourne and' Henry Walters. She was built by j the Herreshoffs, and Captain Uiias Rhodi B w as put in command. Thomas Thom-as W Lawson built the Independence in Boston for the purpose of defending the cup. but as he wa6 not a member mem-ber of the club his boat was not per- j mltted to compete against Constitution Constitu-tion and Columbia in the official trials Constitution was dismantled off Newport June 4 of that vear. and Columbia was finally Selected for the second time to defend the cup in the best three out of five races. Shamrock II. which was designed I by George L. Watson and launched from Denny's yard, at Dumbarton in April of 1901. was dismantled May 22 In the Solent, while King Edward VII was on board. She was later towed across the Atlantic In Uj duys The race6 were postponed from September Sep-tember 21 to 26 on account of President Pres-ident McKinley s death The challenge receUed by the New York Yacht club in 1902 for a race In 1903 was accepted October 16. and the dates agreed upon for the races were August 20, 22 and 25. and following fol-lowing Thursdays. Saturdays and Tuesdavs until one side had won three races The new cup defender designed de-signed and built by the Herreshoffs for a syndicate of yachtsmen beaded by J. P Morgan, was named Reliance Reli-ance She was launched prll 11 St Bristol, and she sailed iu 19 trial race against Columbia and Constitution Consti-tution Reliance was selected, she having won 18 races. And Still Another The next c hallenge was one sent b the Royal Irish Yacht club In be-balf be-balf of Sir Thomas Upton. September Septem-ber 25, 1907. it was declined by the New York Yucht club on the ground i that "the America's cup, held by this club as trustee, under the deed of , ft, is a trophy which stands preeminently pre-eminently for speed and for the utmost ut-most skill In designing, construction, managing and handling the competing compet-ing vessels, end should therefore be sailed for by the fastest and most powerful vessels that can be produced." pro-duced." Six other reasons for its declination declina-tion of the challenge were ghen by the club, the principal reason being that Sir Thomas Lipton had SOUghl lo challenge with a 68 foot ra lint sloop under fhe universal rule ot measurement. |