Document No 197: The first defence of the America's Cup, 8th August, 1870: Magic, Cambria, America, Dauntless and Idler racing in the Narrows | |||||||||||||||
REF : 0 EDITION : 1870 DATE : 08 Aug 1870 - 12:00 COURSE : 1 DESCRIPTION SITE : signed and
dated 'Shane Michael Couch 2008' (lower left) A few American yachts
came to Cowes after 1851 but none was able to emulate America's
triumph in that memorable year. In the summer of 1868 however, the brand new
schooner Sappho arrived off Cowes determined to repeat
America's success and, as the largest yacht built in the United
States up until that date, great things were expected of her. Designed and
built by C. & R. Poillon of Brooklyn for Colonel W.P. Douglas,
Sappho displaced 310 tons and measured 135 feet overall with a 27
foot beam. In her first race around the Isle of Wight she was soundly beaten by
Cambria an equally new British yacht owned by Mr. James Ashbury, a
member of the Royal Thames Club and a wealthy enthusiast who had made his
fortune with an innovatory railway carriage. Cambria, designed
and built by Michael Ratsey, displaced 228 tons and measured 108 feet overall,
with a 21 foot beam. In fact, Sappho was hardly at her best since
she was still in her ocean rig after the North Atlantic crossing and was also
carrying several tons of stone ballast from the trip; nevertheless it was a
resounding victory for Cambria. Other wins followed, making the
1868 season a brilliant one for her and, by the late summer, Mr. Ashbury had
convinced himself that Cambria could beat anything afloat. Seizing
his chance to restore the supremacy of British yachting, and thereby
immeasurably improve his own rather poor social status, he decided to challenge
the New York Yacht Club to a series of matches, one of which was to be for the
so-called 'America's Cup' won in 1851. LICENCE : Autorisation de l'auteur acceptée le 25/03/2019 |
|||||||||||||||
BATEAUX : MAGIC CAMBRIA AMERICA DAUNTLESS | |||||||||||||||
|