SHAMROCK and Sycamore

Sometimes a captain and a boat are meant to be together – and this was never more the case than for ‘Syc’ and the Fife-built Shamrock 23-M

- DAVID FROST

If there is one enduring name in the history of the America’s Cup it is that of Sir Thomas Lipton. He challenged five times between 1899 and 1930, losing on each occasion. His yachts were all named Shamrock and numbered I to V. Lipton was not a sailor, but he loved the publicity his yachts brought to his business. He was hugely popular in America, except perhaps among the members of the New York YC who feared the cost of building boats to defend their cup. In truth he was never likely to win, as the odds were stacked heavily against the challenger by the terms of the Deed of Gift, or ‘Deed of Retention’ as G L Watson called it.

Paradoxically, although known for his failures, Lipton was one of the most successful yacht owners in the years before and after World War I. He hid his successes in plain sight by calling the yacht Shamrock, although she was generally known as Shamrock 23-Metre. Her origins lay in yet another Lipton Cup challenge, in 1907, in which he proposed using yachts built to the 68ft NYYC rule. These were smaller and less expensive than those raced in previous challenges. To improve the challenger’s chances, Lipton proposed building two yachts, as the NYYC did, and racing with the best of them. The NYYC pompously rejected the challenge, mainly on the grounds the yachts would not be big enough. They were probably keen to avoid further expenditure as well.

Lipton went ahead with modified plans and commissioned William Fife to build a 75ft (22.9m) boat to the newly introduced 23-Metre rule. She was similar to Fife’s White Heather of 1907. Initially the press called her Shamrock IV, but soon got the hang of her real name. My great grandfather, Edward Sycamore (known as Syc), had been Lipton’s captain for the 1901 Shamrock II challenge and was to become Shamrock’s skipper for most of her competitive life.