Above: Alfred Mylne – one of the finest designers of the last century with claim to be Herreshoff’s principal European rival. Left: Mrs Turner Farley’s 52-footer Sonya was shipped from America, for security being bolted through her keel to the deck of a steamer. The Herreshoff design had been much hyped up prior to arrival but proved a disappointment when she finally came up against the best British yachts
Cheers rang out at the annual dinner of
entrepreneur par excellence, determined to forge the progress of the International Rule, as when he drummed up support in 1911 to form the now iconic (next-size-up) 19 Metre Class. These were mighty beasts: ‘fine 100- ton cutters, 95ft overall, setting 6,200ft2
of
canvas, handled by a skipper, mate and 12 crew’ – quite a handful and a massive expense. Burton’s 19-Metre Octaviawas yet another Mylne commission, and she raced against Fife’s Corona and Mariquita, and Charles Nicholson’s Norada. Besides the fascination of how designer
would fare against designer, the new class made the headlines for all the best reasons – as in the Royal Thames match in June of that first year when they crossed the finish- ing line close together, Octavia’s bowsprit just level with Mariquita’s taffrail, after a ding-dong match of 49 miles. But Burton stood apart because he
himself had the helm, a brilliant amateur famously outwitting all the most successful professional skippers of his day. By now he was at the height of his fame,
and for some years had been the first person to be thought of when there was a yachting job to do. In January 1908, before the Olympic Games, a press editorial declared the need for someone to collect and train crews for the upcoming contests, in order to
48 SEAHORSE
have any chance of victory. Who should this be? William Burton, of course. ‘Such a task would involve a very great sacrifice of time, trouble and money. Yet in order to uphold the prestige of this country it behoves us to find someone who will sacri- fice his own interests… we cannot rely on sailing in home waters but that seems at the present our only source of strength.’ At the end of the 1913 season came the
final accolade. His friend, Sir Thomas Lip- ton, had challenged for the fourth time for the America’s Cup and decided to place the command of his new Shamrock in Burton’s hands. The press noted a 30-year yachting career that had involved over 1,000 races in boats of all sizes. In 16 seasons of first-class racing he had competed in 618 matches, winning 235 of them and collecting no fewer than 140 major trophies. These included two King’s Cups and the Interna- tional 15-Metre Cup, the ‘Blue Riband’ of 15-Metre racing in Europe, which he won twice with Britomart and with Ostara. People were delighted that the America’s
Cup challenger would be steered by an amateur, albeit one of the ‘most popular amateur sailors in the yachting world’, who had ‘for years past been acknowl- edged the most clever and accomplished helmsman of our time’.
the Royal Harwich Yacht Club at the announcement that their ‘not only fearless, but dextrous’ vice-commodore had been selected. Burton replied with typical modesty that he was much encouraged at the outpouring of support he had experi- enced, and that he would try to do his best, ‘and sail a fair race’. Lipton himself said he had ‘the best designer for Shamrock’, and in Mr Burton ‘a man who would know how to steer her to victory’. There were high hopes of success… By 1914 Burton had been elected vice-
president of the British YRA and was riding high, the nation’s hopes resting on him. Shamrock IV was launched in May but war was to change all that, and the Cup was not contested again until two years after it was over in 2020. Despite the conflict Burton’s life of sport-
ing achievement was still only half done. In the rebuilding of his sport, post-war, there was everything to play for; yet again his was the steady hand at the helm, not only of a fabulous stream of metre boats but also, as we will explore next month in Part II, the entire development of yacht racing as a global sport. He was a man of originality and vision, both in the cut and thrust of racing and in the skilful negotiating of international rules and regulations. It is hard to say which of these has
proved William Parker Burton’s most enduring legacy. But after 1918, whether as the high-profile leader of public organi- sations and projects, or an enervated private individual quietly financially and administratively underpinning events and initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic, his hand is everywhere.
Next month: America’s Cups, 12 Metres… and 12-footers
q
BEKEN
MYLNE YACHT DESIGN
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