Newport Daily News from Newport, Rhode Island • Page 4

FOUR THE NEWS--NEWPORT, R. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1958 Sceptre Manned By Expert Crew For 17th Cup Match 1 --in. 11.1. I rrrTTn 1 1 I 1 1 II li 1 a ai Most Well-Prepared Of All Challengers Carries Hopes Of Entire United Kingdom Never in history has an America's Cup challenger come so well-prepared, so meticulously groomed and, perhaps, so highly regarded as Sceptre. She carries the hopes of Kingdom.

the entire United Sceptre was launched April 2 at the ways of her builders, Alexander Robertson Sons, at Holy Loch, a a Argyll, Scotland and was floated onto the waters of the River Clyde. She was designed by David Boyd, managing director of the Robertson iirm. Four designers. Boyd, James McGruer, Charles A. Nicholson and Arthur Robb, had submitted to the Royal Yacht Squadron eight models of prospective hulls.

These were tank-tested under conditions simulating those expected off Newport in late September, as determined a year ago by a British observer team which visited this city. Boyd's design was chosen and he was directed to produce plans. Among Boyd's many successful yachts have been Circe and Ttitia, which defeated American craft in Seawanhaka Cup competition. He served his apprepticeship under William Fife of Fairlie, famous Scottish designer of Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock I and Shamrock -III. Vital Statistics Sceptre's vital statistics are these: she is 68.9 feet in overall length, 46.5 feet at the waterline, 11.82 feet in beam and has a draft of 9.1 feet.

Her rated sail area is 2,000 square feet and her mast is 90 feet tall. The challenger displaces 68,000 pounds, of which 40,000 is contained in her lead keel ballast. She 'bears the mainsail number 121 17. Her aluminum mast, from Camper Nicholsons of Gosport, England, is built up in plates and is riveted, rather than being an extruded alloy job like Columbia's. The mast has been called "a boiler-maker's job," but the veteran British firm has had much success with this type.

Sceptre's hull is of African ma- one and a half-inch thick. Her color is all white, except for a red boot-top line at the water level and an ornamental gold line beneath the rail, culminating in a classic sceptre at the bow. Her frames are alternating laminated oak and steel, while her foredeck is white pine plankjng over plywood. A circular, Capt. Stanley Bishop, 56, is the professional skipper.

An Essexman, he was brought up in sailing barges and brigs and had pre-war experience in racing 12- meters and J-Class sloops. His father was aboard Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock IV and his grandfather was on Lord Dunraven's Valkyrie II in earlier Cup chal- bevelled forehatch allows her spinnaker to be whisked up from below deck in a jiffy 'without binding on the opening. Her wheel is 44 inches in diameter and is made of Tufnol, a plastic. She carries only one spreader or "crosstree" in British terminology, and one set of jumper struts. Columbia's mast has two spreaders.

Bulging Sail Locker Sceptre's sail locker is just as bulging as Columbia' and no expense has been spared to give her suitable canvas. Most of the sails were made by Ratsey Lapthorne Ltd. of Cowes, the parent branch of the firm of the same name at City Island, N. Y. Sceptre has at least five mainsails and 10 spinnakers.

The challenger has two sails by Ken Watts Torrance, an excellent light-weather mainsail and a genoa jib. Some spinnakers have been obtained from the French female sailmaker, Mad ame Herbu'ot. One of these is a whopper that mea-ures almost 5,500 square feet in area and 90 feet in width at the bottom. Its seams are stitched chevron-style, which is supposed to make it shape up better. Sceptre's mainsails are made oJ Terylene, a British equivalent of dacron, while her spinnakers are of nylon.

A distinctive feature is her color-coded lines, blue Tery- lene for headsail sheets and yellow for spinnakers. The genoa sheets are galavnized steel wire. Her numerous winches include two pedestal "coffee grinders' made bv Leyland Motors a manufacturer of buses. They are located in the distinctive deep cockpit which is a feature of Sceptre. The British yacht's launch is the 48-foot Ravahine and she also has a diesel-powered 18-foot tender, Orb.

Sceptre's crew was selected from a small brigade of aspirants, reported as between 48 and 100, At her helm will be Lt. Cmdr. Graham Mann, RN, 34, who was sailing master in the Duke of Edinburgh's Dragon-class sloop Bluebottle, which was presented to the royal couole by the Island Sailing 'b at Cowes. Commander Mann won a bronze medal for Great Britain in the 1935 Olympics at Melbourne, bv gaining third place with Vl in the 5.5-meter class. Mann has been an active yacht- e- boyhood and raced a keelboat of the National Swallow Class before going into Dragons.

He has also raced internationally in six- meters. A bachelor from Hampshire, he is a line officer in the Navy, with a special field in communications. Lose Co-Helmsman The co-helmsman was scheduled to be Frank Murdoch, 48, who sailed on T. 0. M.

Sopwith's challengers Endeavour I and II. However, he was not able to leave England and his place has been taken by G. Colin Ratsey, of the sailmalting family. Tne navigator is Lt. Cmdr.

Joe Brooks. RN, DSC, a World War II midget submarine If i r. Brooks, 35, is from Norfolk and has recently been a torpedo officer and diving officer aboard regulation-sized subs. Well-known as a dinghy and ocean-racing enthusiast, he lost the lowe, part both legs in a postwar diving mishap, but gets about nimbly and is AM "4mvman" lenges. Bishop is employed by Owen Aisher, wealthy tile manufacturer whose 12-meter Evaine served in England as Sceptre's trial horse.

Othe crewmen are: David Boyd 21, son of the designer, who recently completed his compulsory national service as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on Cyprus. Charles de Selincourt, 20, a university student, is from Hampshire, where his family is well- known in yachting circles. He has had experience in Dragons, 30- square-meters and Hamble Stars, a class of centerboarders. Tim Langford, 24, of Falmouth is a boatbuilder in civilian life. He recently ended his national service in the R.oyal Navy, where he was a diver.

Mike Tremlett, 24, of Portsmouth is also a shipwright and las experience in sailing Hornets. Ian Lennox, 26, is an engineer ieutenant in the Royal Navy, which he is making his career. He has sailed in numerous types of service craft. Hamish Connell, 30, of Green- och, Scotland, is skilled in Dragons, 5.5-meters and International 3ne Design boats on the Clyde River. He is a salesman of engineering equipment and heavy machinery.

Reserve 'Bench' Sceptre's reserve "bench," each man trained to take over a specific job, includes five stalwarts: 3. Dennis Jackson. 27, an accountant for Lloyd's, who has six-meter and eight-meter experience; Ted Mappley, 36, a Royal Navy jeutenant who has sailed in everything from dinghies to a 90-ton ketch. Also, Tony Brooker, 24, a leading-seaman and diver in the Royal Navy, who sails Essex one-design boats, and two professionals: Keith Musset, 30, from Tpllesbury on the Backwater, who like Bishop is the third generation of his iamily to participate in cup races, and Cecil Jupe, 36, from Warsash near Southampton who ha.s sailed in six and eight-meters. The non-sailing team captain and technical adviser is Cmdr.

Samuel S. Brooks, RN. DSC, 36, who headed the group which came to Newport a September to study wind and wave conditions a year in advance of the cup match. He is a veteran skipper of oceangoing yachts. Other backstoppers of Sceptre are Lt.

Cmdr. Derek A. Woods, dockside expediter; Capt. John II- lingworth, RN spotter and adviser; Thomas A. H.

Beddington, project manager and press representative, and Kenneth Preston, who will be aboard the race committee boat as official repre- senative of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Now let's look at Sceptre's owners a 12-man syndicate. The chairman is Hugh L. Goodson of Trixham, Devon, a lawyer and landowner who is highly regarded as a helmsman himself and who sailed 12-meters before World War The others are: Viscount Runciman of Doxford, shipping executive, aviator and yachtsman whose grandfather's Sunbeam was a famous British racer. Sir Peter William Hoare, a partner in Hoare's Bank and former high sheriff of Devonshire.

Maj. Reginald Narcissus Macdonald-Buchanan of the Scots Guards, owner of the 12-meter Kaylena. Lt. Col. Arthur W.

Acland, businessman, farmer, veteran of two world wars, who has wide racing experience on Britain's tricky Solent waters. Bank Director Capt. Bertram F. G. Currie, a director of the Bank of Scotland, veteran of both world wars and owner of the yacht Wind Star.

Charles G. C. Wainman, prominent yachtsman and member of the British Stock Exchange, whose mother was an American. Viscount Camrose, vice commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, chairman of the London Daily Telegraph and vice chairman of Amalgamated Press whose father owned the J-class yacht Cambria and later the Virginia. Group Capt.

Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness, an RAF veteran of World War II, who was one of the first to back the idea of a cup challenge from the Royal Yacht Squadron. Maj. Harold W. Hall, commodore of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, owner of many famous yachts, prominent sailor in the Solent, retired Army officer and businessman who recently has done marine biological research for the British Museum. Sir John Wardiaw-Milne, who has extensive racing experience in six and eight-meters.

Herman Andreae, banker and yachtsman who was owner and helmsman of Candida and later of BRITISH CHALLENGER READY Crewmen of the 12-meter sloop Sceptre, representing the Royal Yacht Squadron, pose on deck before final tuneup a i From left Lt. Cmdr. Joe Brooks, RN, navigator; G. Colin Ratsey, alternate helmsman; David Boyd son of designer; Lt. Cmdr.

Graham Mann, RN, helmsman; Dennis Jackson, professional skipper Stanley Bishop, Hamish Connell, Tun Lang-, ford Ian Lennox, Charles de Selincourt, and Mike Tremlett. (AP Endeavour I. Sceptre has two very special pieces of equipment aboard. One is a St. Christopher medal affixed to -the forward bulkhead of the aft cabin.

It is of blue enamel inside a white life-ring with crossed silver sceptres. On the silver outer rim are the names of all previous challengers', all defeated. NYYC Commodore Henry Sears Led Drive For Resumption Of Cup Races Plans to revive racing for the America's Cup were announced by the New York Yacht Club on July 29, 1956, in a -meeting here at the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, where the NYYC was preparing to start its annual cruise. Commodore Henry Sears, the one man who deserves most of the credit for the fact that Sceptre and Columbia are racing for the cup here in Newport, said the club' would ask the N. Supreme Court to change the terms of the deed of gift by which the cup had been transferred to the club.

That deed had been altered many limes in the past, but it still stipulated that yachts must be 65 feet on the waterline and that challengers must come across to (he race site on their own bottom. America's Cup Racing Record DATE AMERICAN Aug. 22, 1851 America FIRST CHALLENGE Aug. 8, 1870 Magic SECOND CHALLENGE Oct. 16, 1871 Columbia Oct.

18, 1871 Columbia Oct. 19, 1871 Columbia Oct 21, 1871 Sappho Oct. 23, 1871 Sappho THmi) CHALLENGE Aug. 11, 1876 Madeleine Aug. 12, 1876 Madeleine FOURTH CHALLENGE Nov.

9. 1881 Mischief Nov. 10, 1881 Mischief FIFTH CHALLENGE Sept. 14, 1885 Puritan Sept. 16, 1885 Puritan SIXTH CHALLENGE Sept.

7, 1886 Mayflower Sept. 11, 1886 Mayflower SEVENTH CHALLENGE Sept. 27, 1887 Volunteer Sept. 30,1887 Volunteer EIGHTH CHALLENGE Oct. 7, 1893 Vigilant Oct.

9. 1893 Vigilant Oct. 13, 1893 Vigilant NINTH CHALLENGE Sept. 7. 1895 Defender Sept.

10, 189a Defender Sept. 12, 1895 Defender TENTH CHALLENGE Oct. 16, 1899 Columbia Oct. 17, 1899 Columbia Oct. 20, 1899 Columbia ELEVENTH CHALLENGE Sept.

28. 1901 Columbia Oct. 3, 1901 Columbia Oct. 4.1901 Columbia TWELFTH CHALLENGE Aug. 22, 1903 Reliance Aug.

25, 1903 Reliance Sept. 3, 1903 Reliance THIRTEENTH CHALLENGE July 15, 1920 Resolute July 20, 1920 Resolute July 21, 1920 Resolute July 23, 1920 Resolute July 27, 1920 Resolute FOURTEENTH CHALLENGE Sept. 13, 1930 Enterprise Sept. 15, 1930 Enterprise Sept. 17, 1930 Enterprise Sept.

18, 1930 Enterprise FIFTEENTH CHALLENGE Sept. 17, 1934 Rainbow Sept. 18, 1934 Rainbow Sept. 20, 1934 Rainbow Sept. 22, 1934 Rainbow Sept.

24, 1934 Rainbow Sept. 25, 1934 Rainbow SIXTEENTH CHALLENGE July 31, 1937 i Aug. 2,1937 Ranger Aug. 4, 1937 Ranger Aug. 5, 1937 Ranger BRITISH (15 boats) a Cambria Livonia Livonia Livonia Livonia Livonia Countess of Dufferin Countess of Dufferin Atalanta Atalanta Genesta Genesta Galatea Galatea Thistle Thistle Valkyrie II Valkyrie II Valkyrie II Valkyrie III Valkyrie III Valkyrie III Shamrock I Shamrock I Shamrock I Shamrock II Shamrock II Shamrock II Shamrock III Shamrock in Shamrock III Shamrock Shamrock IV Shamrock TV Shamrock TV Shamrock IV Shamrock Shamrock Shamrock Shamrock Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour Endeavour WINNER America Magic Columbia Columbia Livonia Sappho Sappho 4 Madeleine Madeleine Mischief Mischief Puritan Puritan Mayflower Mayflower Volunteer Volunteer Vigilant Vigilant Vigilant Defender Defender Defender Columbia Columbia Columbia Columbia Columbia Columbia Reliance Reliance Reliance Shamrock Shamrock IV Resolute Resolute Resolute Enterprise Enterprise Enterprise Enterprise Endeavour I Endeavour I Rainbow Rainbow Rainbow Rainbow Ranger Ranger Ranger Ranger MARGIN 39:17 ,27:04 10:33 15:10 33:21 25:27 10:59 27:14 28:20 38:54 16:19 1:38 12:02 29:00 19:23 11:48 5:48 10:35 0:40 8:49 (V.

disq:) (V. quit) 10:08 (S. disab.) 6:34 1:20 3:35 0:41 7:03 1:19 (S. not fin.) (R. disab.) 2:26 7:01 9:58 19:45 2:52 9:34 (S.

disab.) 5:44 2:09 0:51 3:26 1:15 4:01 0:55, 17:05 18:32 4:27 3:27 an expert "frogman" swimmer, moved to Newport. NOTES: Strictly speaking, not all challengers were British. The Cduntess of Dufferin and Atalanta. were Canadian; the Thistle was Scottish. The original Cup race was a Royal Yacht' Squadron re-- gatta, in which the schooner America defeated 15 boats, the second place going to Aurora.

In the first challenge, Cambria liad to face 14 American yachts; she placed 10th. In the second challenge, Columbia was disabled in the third race and Sappho was substituted in the next two. The first through 13th challenges were all in waters off New York, generally speaking, either an' "inside" harbor course or later off Sandy Hook Lightship. With the 14th challenge, the matches were On Dec. 17, 1956, the court granted the plea, which had been pressed by William A.

W. Shewart on behalf of the club. A fdrmer commodore, he has this summer been chairman of the America's Cup committee, a post he held in the past. Visit England In April, 1957, representatives of the NYYC visited England, where Sears had already laid the groundwork long the club announced its intention of reviving the A month later, it was announced the British would submit a challenge. On May 14, 1957, conditions-, i eav i the mooring because o)' de- governing the races were agreed on by committees representing the NYYC and the Royal Yacht Squadron.

The cup, by the way, will either remain in the NYYC's pos session or. will go to the RYC. It is not the property of the yacht winning the race, but of the sponsoring club. The challenge was accepted by the NYYC board of trustees on May. 16, 1957 and the conditions were formally signed on Oct.

10. Here is a digest of the conditions: 1. The first race shall be sailed on', aturday, Sept. 20, 1958 and the races shall be sailed on every succeeding week day, but every day the race committee shall ask each contestant if he is willing to start the next day. If either one is not, a day shall intervene (Sundays don't count) before the next race.

2. The match is decided by the best four out of seven races. 3. All races start'and finish at a buoy nine nautical miles south- southeast (magnetic) from the Brenton Reef Lightship and are approximately 24 nautical miles in length, around The first race, is twice a windward leeward course, the first leg of which is approximately six miles to windward. The second race is over a triangular course of eight-mile legs, the first being to windward.

Courses alternate thereafter. Start at 11:10 4. Unless the race is postponed, the warning signal shall be made as nearly as practical at 12 noon and the starting signal at 12:10 p.m. No race shall be started after 2:10 p.m. (The original conditions set the time an hour earlier, but a change this week gives the times as above.) 5.

A preparatory signal is given five minutes before the start. The time of the starting signal shall be taken as the time of the start of both yachts. 6. Postponements can be made for periods of 15 minutes, or the entire day's race can be postponed. The causes are: A.

Fog; B. If the starting line isn't clear or if the wind is too light or too strong or the sea too rough reasonably to test the relative speed of the two yachts; C. If a yacht, after leaving her mooring and" before the 10-minute warning signal, is in a serious collision or accident which is not the result of a defect in 'her hull, sails, rigging, gear or -the handling thereof, or, if the race committee is notified- prior to the warning signal that a person on board has been seriously injured after the yacht left her mooring. 7. Races will have to be re- sailed it neither completes the course in six hours for the windward-leeward race or five and a half hours for the triangular course.

8. A race resulting in a tie shall be resailed. 9. The racing rules of the New York Yacht Club shall govern the match, except where they may be inconsistent -with this agreement. 10.

The measurement rules of the International- Yacht Racing Union shall apply. 11. There shall be no time allowance. i 12. Yachts shall not rate over 12 melen.

13. The challenger may substitute a yacht if it gives notice at least one week before the date of the first race. 14. The defender shall be named at least'one week before the first ice. 15.

In case of a serious accident to either yacht prior to the warning signal, a reasonable time not exceeding four weeks shall be allowed for repairs before she is required start (or.if the accident is after the warning signal, before she starts the next race, but no such repairs may extend the match beyond Oct. 31, 1958. If either yacht is disabled after fects in her, the other yacht shall start and 'continue the race. If through the fault of one yacht, the other is destroyed or irreparably injured so that the match cannol be completed before Nov. 1.

and if the damaged yacht is free from fault, she wins the match. 16. I a yacht is disqualified, the other yacht wins the race if she finishes within the time limit. She also wins if she is so fouled and disabled that she cannot complete the race on time. 17.

Each club has the right to be represented at all measurements. The challenger may have a representative on board the race committee boat during the races. 18.. All measurements except displacement shall be taken or checked within two weeks of the start of the match. If either yacht in any way changes her load- waterline or sail plan she has to be remeasured.

19. If either yacht takes in or removes ballast or dead weight, her measurement marks may be reinspected. 20. The decisions of the race committee of the New York Yacht Club in all matters pertaining to the racing rules shall be final and there shall be no appeal there- from. Redwood Library Has Exhibition Of Cup Race Mementoes In recognition of the current contest for the America's Cup, the Redwood Library has opened, to the public an exhibit ranging from pictures of the schooner yacht America, its first winner in 1851, down through the more than a century of challenges to the present day.

Among the exhibits are two N. Currier prints of the schooner America, one showing her on the starboard tack and the other on the port tack. The pictures were loaned by Lewis G. Morris. From the collection of Barclay Douglas are shown paintings in ol of several of the cup yachts.

A panoramic photograph; nearly a yard long, loaned by Hugh Auchm- closs, portrays the finish of one the -races won by the first Columbia, over Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock II in September 1901, off Sandy Hook. Several volumes on early anc contemporary yacht racing are displayed in the showcases. One of these is opened to a remarkable photograph by Edwin Levick of New York City, which shows six of the big Class sloops heading for the starting line in almost a straight line. Included in the exhibit is a model of the hull of Mischief, which defended the cup in 1881 against Atalanta, This was loaned; by Hugh Auchincloss. This diversified exhibit, which will be on display for at least month, was arranged by 'Mrs Charles D.

L. Pepys, a director the library and Richard L. Champ- Bn, 'library cataloguer. DIFFERENCE IN OLD AND NEW CUP BOATS--Sketch shows typical J-class sloop of bygone America's Cup era in background, with solid black silhouette in foreground representing 12- meter of the Sceptre-Columbia type. A J-boat averaged 125-135 feet in overall length and had a 165-foot mast, compared with the 69-foot 12-meter yacht with an 85-foot mast.

Newporters Shd A Nostalgic Tear For Luxury Yachts Of 'Old Days' Those Newporters who speak fondly of the "old days" will drop a nostalgic tear during this present America's Cup series as they recall mostly with a touch of awe the luxury yachts of that golden dreamtime prior to World War The very names bring back a vicarious shiver of delight at the thought that somebody, at least, was wealthy enough to enjoy such luxurious living. J. P. Morgan's Corsair, William K. Vanderbilt's Alva, H.

Edward Manville's Hi- Esmaro, George F. Baker's Viking and Frederick H. Prince's Lone Star these were but a few of the $1,000,000 yachts, all more than 300 feet long and with crews of 55 or more. And then there was Julius Forstmann's Orion, which had a swimming-pool aboard; the full-rigged Flying Cloud, which had a 102-man crew and four launches more than 30 feet long, and Vincent Astor's Nourmahal. Some of the yachts carried their own private seaplanes on deck recalls Deputy Customs Collector Walter Dring who' has vivid memories of them all.

A Scottish-built 325-footer was lolanda, owned by the present Mrs. G. J. Guthrie Nicholson of Portsmouth, which was christened by Sir Thomas Lipton and escorted his Shamrock across the Atlantic to Newport in 1930. Mrs.

Nicholson entertained the a a yachtsman aboard, during his last futile challenge in this port. The yachts made a magnificent sight during the cup'races of the '30s, a sight which will never be available again in quite the same sort of conspicuous a Who remembers the gala night illuminations aboard the craft in Newport during the 1937 races, on the occasion of the Queen's birthday- Who remembers Gen. Cornelius Vanderbilt's Winchester, gray and rakish like a destroyer; Arthur Curtiss James' barkentine Aloha, Alfred P. Sloan's Rene, Carl Tucker's Migrant, Allison Armour's Utowanna, Gerard B. Lambert's Atantlc, Joseph Davies' Sea Cloud, Eldridge Johnson's Caroine, T.

0. M. Sopwith's Philante, or Perry Belmont's Death and taxes wrote the end to one of the greatest displays .61 shipping the world has ever seen, a flotilla which made Newport symbol of affluence. As the 1953 cup races begin, the spectator yachts may be smaller, to be sure; however, they reflect the modeip trend in which the average man can don a yachting cap and. be his own admiral for a day on.

the ocean. Parking Arranged For Liner Patrons America's Cup race patrons env barking on the Boston Belle, which arrived here yesterday in preparation for the first contest tomorrow, may park their cars all in Long Wharf spaces or in the Northam Lane municipal parking lot. The permission was announced today by Police Chief Joseph' Ai Radice who cautioned that cars may not be parked on City Wharf, however. The Boston Belle, which will take 1,000 passengers daily to the races, is berthed at City Wharf. Passengers going out to.

the liner Arosa Star, which is moored off Jamestown, will take launch' es from Waite's Wharf. There is a large lot on mis wharf, Radice said, where parking car be arranged. An overhead banner has been, strung across Street, directing Arosa Star patrons to the entrance to Waite's Wharf. Strict rules will be in force on the Ocean Drive, where two-way traffic will be allowed unless the crush gets too great. Parking will be permitted only on the landward Col.

Edward A. Deeds' Lotosland, of the drive..