and determination. The ever-gracious Sir Thomas was awarded a specially designed cup for “the best of all losers” after Shamrock V‘s defeat in 1930. At age 79, it was his last attempt at the Cup. He died the following year.
After Lipton’s death, Shamrock V was sold to aviation designer and magnate, Sir Thomas Sopwith, founder of Sopwith Aviation Company (and inventor of the famous Sopwith Camel). He raced Shamrock V in Britain, and in turn sold her to fellow aviation mogul Sir Richard Fairey, who campaigned her with King George V against other J Class yachts in 1935.
Although bad luck hampered Shamrock Vs America’s Cup bid, her luck was about to turn. Just before World War II, Italian senator and publisher Mario Crespi purchased Shamrock V. Under the Fascist rules in Italy at the time, Crespi was required to rename his boat. Shamrock V became Quadrifoglio – meaning ‘four leaves’ in Italian. This turned out to be a stroke of lucky timing. Had the yacht remained in England, she surely would have been sacrificed for war materials. During the war, Crespi hid Quadrifoglio in a hay barn in Italy so that her metal fittings wouldn’t be stripped for the war effort. After the war, he initiated an extensive refit, installing her distinctive bird’s eye maple interior and adding an engine. The family owned Quadrifoglio until Crespi’s death. In yet another stroke of luck, Quadrifoglio was bought by Piero Scanu in 1968 – just days before she was to be broken up for scrap. In 1978, his son yacht designer Paolo Scanu returned her to the yard in England where she was built and oversaw a major restoration. Eventually she came full circle and was purchased by The Lipton Tea Company, who donated her to the Museum of Yachting (now merged with the International Yacht Restoration School) in Newport, Rhode Island. The museum restored her original name, almost 50 years after it was changed.
The third major lucky break for Shamrock V came when Elizabeth Meyer, who had restored original J Class yacht Endeavour, took on another extensive refit for the vessel lasting 3 years. Thanks to Meyer, both Shamrock V and the J Class have enjoyed an amazing renaissance. In 1988, the three surviving original J Class boats – Shamrock V, Endeavour and Velsheda – raced against each other in the Antigua Classic Regatta. It was the first time in five decades that more than two J Class yachts had competed. Shamrock V emerged the winner and kicked off a revival of J Class racing that continues to this day.
Although only ten J Class yachts were built during their heyday, plans were originally drawn up for twenty boats. New boats using these specifications have been built, continuing to grow the class more than 85 years after it began. In June 2017, Shamrock V competed at the America’s Cup J Class Regatta in Bermuda with six other Js including newer builds Hanuman, Ranger and Svea. It was the largest J Class fleet in history and surely a beautiful sight to behold.
All in all, the four-leaf clover proved lucky for Shamrock V. Although she didn’t win the America’s Cup, she survived to bring the beauty of J Class sailing to new generations. Here’s hoping Shamrock V and the magnificent J Class survives another 80 plus years.
“CORDELIA”
Jonathan Barron was Peter Broad’s Great, Great Grandfather. Born in Mevagissey, Cornwall in 1835 he was Captain of the Cordelia from 1879-80 and again from 1882-83.
Not a great deal is known about Cordelia, but on January 20th, 1882, she sailed from New York to Dunedin, New Zealand.
February 25th, 1882, 25°S 29°W, she arrived in Dunedin on April 21st 1882.
Codelia was sunk by a submarine whilst on voyage from Pascagoula for Newport carrying pitch pine on April 24th 1917.
Codelia specifications Classification: Built:
Lloyd’s Register of Shipping +A1 Port Glasgow by J. Reid & Co.
Type: Official No.
Signal Letters: Owners:
Delivered: Iron Barque
60010 (since 1872) HNCJ (since 1874) C.T. Bowring & Co. August 1867
LOA:
Breadth: Depth:
Net Tonnage:
172.4 feet 28.2 feet 18.5 feet 598 tons
Original Captain: J. Symons
44 | The Report • September 2022 • Issue 101
Member News
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