Charlie Barr

Charles Barr aboard the Reliance

Charles "Charlie" Barr (* 1864 in Gourock , Scotland ; † January 24, 1911 in Southampton , England) was a very successful regatta sailor.

Life path

Charlie Barr grew up in Gourock on the Firth of Clyde . Like many boys his age, he learned how to handle boats and yachts on the side. During his apprenticeship as a grocer he saw the success of his older half-brother John Barr (1845-1909), who worked as a professional sailor. Charlie Barr was hired on a fishing boat in the waters of the Clyde for a winter . The next summer, the Barr brothers transported the 22-ton sailing yacht Clara across the North Atlantic to North America in 40 days. In America, the two took part very successfully in sailing regattas with the yacht Clara . Charlie Barr settled in America. He skippered successfully Yacht Shona from Boston and continuously gained a reputation as a captain , who almost always wins Regatta prices. He led the yachts Oweene , Wasp , Gloriana , Navahoe , Vigilant and Colonia to regatta victories . Due to the outstanding regatta successes of the Clara , John Barr was selected in 1887 as skipper for the British challenge yacht Thistle , which represented the Royal Clyde Yacht Club . In the course of their regatta successes, both brothers made the acquaintance of the American yacht designer Nathanael Herreshoff . From then on, Charlie Barr sailed almost exclusively on yachts from the Herreshoff office.

Regatta successes

America's Cup

• In 1895, Charlie Barr was the skipper of the yacht Vigilant , which unsuccessfully presented itself as a candidate for the defense (defender) of the America's Cup .

America's Cup defender Columbia and Shamrock , 1899

• As in 1899, a skipper for the defenders Yacht ( English defender ) Columbia of New York Yacht Club (NYYC) of owner C. Oliver Iselin and NYYC Commodore Postley against Shamrock by Sir Thomas Lipton was sought (UK), the choice fell on Charlie Barr, who clearly defeated the Challenger.

• In 1901 Charlie Barr was again at the helm of the Columbia winner against the Shamrock II , by Sir Thomas Lipton (a 137 foot cutter, designer: George Lennox Watson ). The finishings were the closest in AC history at the time : Columbia won the first race with 1 minute and 20 seconds, Shamrock II won the second with 3 minutes and the third with 2 seconds, but Columbia had to pay 43 seconds for handicap.

Reliance , 1903

• In 1903 Charlie Barr skipped the winning yacht Reliance (designer: Nathanael Herreshoff) for his third AC victory against Shamrock III . He handled the 144-foot yacht Reliance like a small dinghy and had success with this tactic in three direct races against the Shamrock III .

More regattas

Schooner Westward , 1910

• In 1901, at the helm of the old schooner Shamrock I , he won the US $ 1,000 Lipton Cup for the new owner Frederick Tompson in a race on the Atlantic off Cape May .
• In 1904 he transferred the steel schooner Ingomar (designer: Nathanael Herreshoff) from North America to Europe and won 19 out of 22 regattas in England and Germany with this yacht.
• In 1910, Charlie Barr set a remarkable record with the 161-foot schooner Westward (designer: Nathanael Herreshoff; owner: Alexander Cochran ) launched on March 31, 1910 : Westward won all 11 races against such famous yachts as 11 starts in Europe Cicely , Germania , Hamburg , Meteor and Susanne .

Transatlantic record

Schooner Atlantic , 1904

• In 1905 he set the legendary transatlantic record for monohull sailing yachts with the 3-mast schooner Atlantic during the Kaiser's Cup Transatlantic Race (today: Rolex Transatlantic Challenge ). He covered the 2,925 nautical miles (approx. 5417 km) long distance from Sandy Hook near New Jersey to the Lizard Lighthouse ( Lizard Point ) on the coast of Cornwall in England in 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds.
  • This sailing record was only beaten 100 years later by the maxi yacht Mari-Cha IV, made from the latest materials, with 9 days, 15 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds as a monohull sailing yacht.
  • Eric Tabarly was the first sailor to the already 1,980 aluminum - trimaran Paul Ricard undercut the mythical record after 75 years with 10 days, 5 hours, 14 minutes - - but a multi-hull boat.

Honors

• In 1993, Charlie Barr was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame .

Personal

Charlie Barr was rather short in stature at 5 feet 3 inches with black hair and dark eyes. He was mentally alert, agile, fearless, and confident in his judgment. He prepared very intensively for the upcoming regattas. Studied all available sea, current and wind maps and especially his opponents. He often challenged his crew to the limit of their resilience, especially when he had new sails set during the regatta or reduced the sail area very late. In doing so, he reassured his team through his ostentatious fearlessness. Charlie Barr sailed the yacht Atlantic so uncompromisingly in the transatlantic record that he had the owner Wilson Marshall, who was also sailing, locked in his cabin when he instructed the skipper to turn down when the storm was strong . “ You hired me to win the race. And that's exactly what I intend to do! ” Charlie Barr reportedly yelled to the panicked Marshall.

Charlie Barr died unexpectedly at the age of 46 of a heart attack in his wife's arms on Jan. 24, 1911 while visiting Southampton at breakfast. He was buried in Southampton Old Cemetery .

Web links

• Charlie Barr: America's Cup Hall of Fame engl.
• The New York Times, June 4, 1905: Captain Charlie Barr, Premier of Yachting Skippers; Remarkable Record of Successful Handling of Racing Craft --- Once a Grocer's Clerk, the Call of the Sea Was Irresistible to Him --- Credit for His Latest Success Also Due to the Designer and Owner of the Atlantic. "(article on the Atlantic trans-Atlantic record.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} CAPT CHARLES BARR, NOTED SKIPPER, DEAD . New York Times. January 25, 1911. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
2. ↑ Charles BARR, "Charlie" (AC-Clopaedia, Circling Galaxy) . Website: 32nd America's Cup. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} 1993 Inductee - Charlie Barr . Herreshoff Marine Museum. Retrieved on October 6, 2008.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Captain Charlie Barr, Premier of Yachting Skippers . New York Times. June 4, 1905. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
5. ↑ Rolex Transatlantic Challenge: "Mari-Cha IV" ahead of historic sailing record . SEGLER-MAGAZIN.DE. June 1, 2005. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 7, 2008. 
6. ↑ Charles Barr . In: Some personalities associated with Southampton . City of Southampton Society. Retrieved September 25, 2011.