Description: Shane Michael Couch (b.1963)
The
American schooner Sappho off the Needles, Isle of Wight
signed 'Shane
Michael Couch' (lower left)
oil on board
8½ x 15 in. (21.6 x 38.1
cm.)
Notes:Sappho, grossing 392 tons and measuring 128
feet in length with a 27 foot beam, was designed and built by C. & R. Poillon at
Brooklyn for Colonel W.P. Douglas in 1868. In her maiden season her owner took
her to Cowes, where he hoped to emulate America's legendary win in 1851, and
passed the Needles, in-bound, at 11am. on 14th August having left Sandy Hook on
30th July. In the event, she was soundly beaten by Mr. James Ashbury's Cambria,
a win which convinced the latter that he should make the first challenge for the
America's Cup whereas, in fact, Sappho fared badly at Cowes because she was
still in her ocean rig after the North Atlantic crossing and was also carrying
several tons of extra stone ballast from the trip over. Therefore, once those
restrictions were removed back home, she more than held her own in future
competitions and returned to Cowes for the 1870 season where she performed with
notable success.
NOTES AMERICA-SCOOP :