Between 1930 and 1939 the America's Cup races in Newport were sailed on enormous J-class boats. Sir Thomas Lipton (Lipton Tea) built Shamrock V in 1930 as one of the first of the J-class boats, the hull is wood and the length is 120 ft. overall, when the wind is just right, the sails move the 146 ton sloop up to 12.5 knots. The flag at the top of the mast is 160 ft. above the water (about the height of a 16-story office building). Shamrock V is the only J to have been in continuous commission, since her last refit in 2000, Shamrock V has sailed across the Pacific, attended the America's Cup in New Zealand and is now in the Mediterranean. ( Library of Congress photo )
1 comment:
Comrade, she's a beauty.
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