Cup History: Loved challenger came from streets

Back in 1899

"The world's greatest sweetheart" - Will Rogers' opinion of Sir Thomas Lipton.

"The world's greatest loser" - another depiction of Lipton.

Sir Thomas Lipton came from a poor family who were forced to leave Ireland in the great potato famine of 1845-46. In Scotland he led a street gang, who formed their own yacht club.

His first boat, made from a wooden box lid, was christened Shamrock.

He was to own five other Shamrocks, all of them America's Cup challengers, and was to become the most loved challenger in cup history.

The man who built his empire out of pork and tea made his first challenge in 1899. It is believed he was influenced by his friend, Edward, Prince of Wales.

Money was no object to Lipton, who opened his first grocery store at 19. He spent $500,000 - a fortune at the turn of the century - on his first Shamrock campaign.

The defenders spared no cost, either. The world's richest banker, John Pierpont Morgan, was part-owner of the Columbia, which cost $250,000 to build.

Both boats were coated in bronze. And both were built under shrouds of secrecy on either side of the Atlantic.

The cup series did not start well. For the first 13 days, seven races were abandoned because of poor weather.

But for the first time, spectator boats were not a hazard. Under a new law, revenue cutters and Navy torpedo boats controlled the course.

In the first race, Nathanael Herreshoff's Columbia was a good 10 minutes faster than Lipton's boat, which appeared to be a little light. That was proved in the second race, when Shamrock's top mast snapped two seconds after crossing the startline. Columbia won race three comfortably.

Despite his losses, Lipton made a big impact on the people of America, who presented him with a "loving cup" for his efforts. He vowed to return.