Written by: Barry Ault
Sir Thomas Lipton remains to this day one of the truly great sportsmen of all time. Although the self-made zillionaire is famous for his popular tea, he made his money selling groceries in England and investing around the world in renowned financial centers like Omaha. His first love was sailing and sailboat racing and in an era of incredible extravagance, it is likely that his 5 America’s Cup challenges cost more money than any other challenger or defender has spent. Known as the best loser ever and famously modest, Lipton traveled widely donating trophies and helping to foster competition in several sports including soccer, rowing and of course, sailing.
Meanwhile in 1902 in yachting backwater San Diego, the Corinthian Yacht Club had split from San Diego Yacht Club. In an effort to generate interest and increased membership, CYC Commodore Lucien Blochman wrote to Lipton asking that they be allowed to use his name in on a cup to be offered by CYC as an "inducement to yachting". After some confusion about what CYC was asking, Lipton responded with the wonderfully crafted silver cup bearing the CYC identification which currently dominates the lobby of SDYC.
Corinthian Yacht Club announced the first Lipton Cup Challenge and created a Deed of Gift and a set of rules governing the competition which combined existing west coast ocean racing rules with those used on the Great Lakes. While CYC and a group of challengers from South Coast Yacht Club in Los Angeles made plans to race boats from their respective clubs, a SDYC syndicate planned to build a boat. The syndicate initially approached the legendary Wizard of Bristol, Nathanael Herreshoff whose record against Lipton had proven the speed of his designs. This plan was scrapped for unknown reasons and then came the first controversy of the Lipton Cup. SDYC chartered the 47 foot Detroit, reputed to be undefeated on the lakes, as their challenger. The Los Angeles group immediately cried “FOUL” claiming that SDYC had conspired to create a set of rules favorable to Detroit. All sides eventually came together and the first San Diego Lipton Cup Challenge was held in August, 1904. Detroit sailed away from the competition and the Lipton Cup moved to SDYC.
In 1905, while SDYC was busy merging with Corinthian Yacht Club, the "northerners" of South Coast Yacht Club were busy hatching a plan to get even. Proving that a committee should never be trusted to make decisions, the SDYC syndicate failed to hang onto Detroit and in 1905 she promptly returned to race under the burgee of South Coast Yacht Club. She easily defeated the defenders and hauled the Lipton Cup north before SDYC had finished celebrating their initial victory. With agreement of all the parties, Detroit was banned from further competition.
The Deed of Gift called for racing to be held in San Diego and after winning again in 1906 with Mischief II, South Coast Yacht Club wanted to race for the cup in their home waters. So, they wrote to Lipton asking that the Deed of Gift be modified to specify that racing would be alternately held in San Diego and Los Angeles. Lipton replied that the cup was San Diego’s to do with as it wished. Happy with the way things were, SDYC refused and while the war of words waged there were no races in 1907 and 1908. Eventually, SDYC altered the Deed to allow the winners of the cup to host the regatta in their home waters and racing resumed in 1909.
There have been other brief pauses in the battle for the Lipton Cup, primarily due to more substantive wars (WWI and WWII) and so here in 2014, 110 years after the first race, we are anxiously awaiting what has become a fall classic; the centennial Sir Thomas Lipton Cup Challenge, beginning on 31 October.
For more information about the 2014 Challenge for the Lipton Cup, please visit www.sdyc.org/liptoncup.
Credits:
The San Diego Yacht Club – A History
The History of the San Diego Star Fleet
The Los Angeles Harold
The American Sailboat, G. Jones