Valkyrie III
| Valkyrie III | ||
|---|---|---|
| Technical data (overview) | ||
| Rigging : | 1-mast racing cutter | |
| Sail class: | Big-Class ( America's Cup ) | |
| Length over all ( Lüa ): | 39.31 m | |
| Length ( waterline ): | 26.65 m | |
| Width over all ( Büa ): | 7.92 m | |
| Draft : | 5.97 m | |
| Displacement : | 166.9 tons | |
| Main mast height: | 29.50 m | |
| Top mast height: | 16.89 m | |
| Boom length : | 32.00 m | |
| Bowsprit : | 9.98 m | |
| Sail area: | 1172.52 m² | |
| Sailmaker: | Ratsey, Cowes | |
| Motorization: | unavailable | |
| Constructor: | George Lennox Watson | |
| Construction year: | 1895 | |
| Launch: | May 27, 1895 | |
| Shipyard: | D. & W. Henderson & Company, Scotland | |
| Shipyard location: | Partick on the Clyde | |
| Ownership community: | Lord Dunraven; Lord Londsale; Lord Wolverton; Captain Henry McCalmont | |
| Skipper: | William Cranfield | |
| Flag: | Great Britain | |
| Use: | Regatta yacht | |
| Club stand: | Royal Yacht Squadron | |
| Territory: | British waters | |
Valkyrie III was the unsuccessful British challenger in the ninth America's Cup competition in 1895 against the American defender yacht Defender .
Portrait of Valkyrie III
Valkyrie III was a gaff rigged racing cutter , designed by the then renowned Scottish yacht designer George Lennox Watson , to whom the owners gave completely free rein. Like her predecessor Valkyrie II, she was built in 1895 at the D. & W. Henderson & Company shipyard in Partick on the Clyde on the River Clyde in Scotland . Valkyrie III belonged to a community of owners consisting of Lord Dunraven (Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl), Lord Londsale, Lord Wolverton, and Captain Henry McCalmont, all members of the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Isle of Wight .
The yacht Valkyrie III had a wooden hull made of elm wood in the underwater hull and teak in the above water area on steel frames ( composite construction ) and a deck made of whitepine (pine). The launch took place on May 27, 1895.
After initial sailing tests on June 1, 1895, she started three times against Britannia and lost twice. After the keel ballast had been increased by 12 tons at the shipyard , Valkyrie III defeated the rivals Britannia and Ailsa (built in 1895, designed by William Fife III. ) In one race and again Ailsa in a private race.
9th America's Cup
After these few races with varying degrees of success, Valkyrie III crossed the North Atlantic to North America to present himself as the British challenger in the 9th America's Cup in New York from September 7th to 12th, 1895. The owner community of the Valkyrie III was later accused of not having prepared adequately in domestic waters with strong opponents for the competition off New York.
Valkyrie III lost all three races of the five races scheduled regatta of the 9th America's Cup against the defender yacht Defender designed by Nathanael Herreshoff and sailing under the stand of the New York Yacht Club .
Valkyrie III leadership team :
- Skipper : William Cranfield assisted by Captain Edward Sycamore
- Afterguard (tactics and navigation): H. Maitland Kersey, Arthur Glennie, George L. Watson, Thomas W. Ratsey, Lady Rachel Wyndham-Quin, Lady Eileen Wyndham-Quin.
1. Race
The first race took place on 7 September 1895, one (as it is today in the America's Cup standard) Up-and-down course ( Luv - Lee -Course) instead of 15 nautical miles from the starting point Scotland Lightship (Scotland Lightship) windward (upwind ) and back. The American yacht Defender defeated Valkyrie III with 8 minutes and 49 seconds after the calculated time.
2nd race
The second race started on September 10, 1895 as a triangular race (equilateral triangle) over a distance of 30 nautical miles. Valkyrie III won with a margin of 47 seconds over Defender , but was disqualified by the regatta committee and Defender declared the winner.
3rd race
The third race on September 12, 1895 was an up-and-down course over 40 nautical miles and was started from the lightship Sandy Hook . Defender was declared the winner by the regatta committee because Valkyrie III did not start.
Aftermath and consequences
During the races, the owner, Lord Dunraven, was very irritated; he accused the Americans of cheating during the races. He started a major journalistic controversy that caused such waves that at the time it was impossible to imagine the future of the America's Cup.
After Lord Dunraven had lost twice in the America's Cup and was defeated in the subsequent debate, he ended his sailing career, transferred the yacht Valkyrie III to Great Britain, put the yacht on a mooring buoy for the next few years and no longer sailed.
Further use
In 1899 Valkyrie III was completely overhauled and modernized (refit) and sailed as a sparring partner and training yacht against Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock I , which challenged and lost the Americans in the 10th America'c Cup in 1899.
In 1901 the AC yacht Valkyrie III was scrapped.
See also
Web links
- Photo: Valkyrie III
- America's Cup - Timeline ( Memento from January 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) engl.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Page no longer available , search in web archives: America's Cup - AC-CLOPAEDIA: Valkyrie III Retrieved January 23, 2009
- ↑ The 19th Century Yacht Photography of JS Johnston - Portrait: Valkyrie III Retrieved January 23, 2009
- ↑ Because of the different boat sizes, sailing was paid for at that time. Only later was sailed in the America's Cup without compensation against each other as in the unit classes (One Design).