Sailing Magazine
pic from RCYC Archives
By Richard Crockett
Racing in the 72nd Lipton Cup contest starts today on Table Bay with the first race scheduled for 11h00. So what is everyone racing for?
To answer that one first needs to understand how the Lipton Cup was obtained for competition in this country, and how important the Deed of Gift is in terms of the competition. I firmly believe that no one can talk with any authority on this contest without having read the Deed of Gift. It is that important that it should be read, re-read and inwardly digested!
How the Lipton Challenge Cup Came to South Africa
Thanks to an approach in London by Capt. Sir Peter Bam, member of the Legislative Assembly of the Cape, Sir Thomas Lipton bestowed on the Table Bay Yacht Club, in only its third year of its existence, a costly trophy valued at £200 to be held in their custody for competition between South African yacht clubs.
In 1909, the magnificent silver gilt Lipton Challenge Cup was actually presented to the Table Bay Yacht Club (which later became the Royal Cape Yacht Club).
In a letter to Sir Peter Bam, MP for Harbour and Vice President at the club, Sir Thomas wrote:
“Dear Sir Peter.
With reference to your kind promise to undertake the delivery of the Cup which I am giving for competition among South African Yacht Clubs, I now have the pleasure in sending you the Deed of Gift in connection with the Cup mentioned and which I have duly signed. I should be glad if you would kindly hand this, along with the Cup, to the Committee of the Table Bay Yacht Club.
As I have already explained to you, I have always taken a very great interest in yacht racing and boat sailing, and my earnest wish is that this great sport should be encouraged in South African waters and particularly in regard to deepwater sailing. The Deed of Gift, which was drafted by the Committee of the Table Bay Yacht Club, I think covers the main points with regard to the conditions of the competition, and I have very gladly agreed to all their wishes and suggestions in this respect.
It will be a very great pleasure to me if this Cup could be the means of encouraging and developing yacht racing around the South African coast, and I am greatly obliged to the officials and members of the Table Bay Yacht Club for their kindness in undertaking the custody of the Cup and the general arrangements regarding the competition. I hope you will convey to the gentlemen my sincere thanks for their courtesy in this respect, and I also would like to take this opportunity of thanking you personally for all the interest and enthusiasm you have displayed in this matter.
I am, yours faithfully, Thomas J. Lipton.”
The Lipton Cup contest is, for want of a better phrase, a “Deed of Gift” Challenge. So the Deed of Gift reigns supreme in terms of this contest, with a few areas highlighted below.
Sportsmanship
The Deed of Gift could not have been more clear in that it was to be sailed for each year in “friendly contests in sailing and seamanship”. The Deed opened as follows:
I, Sir Thomas Lipton, of London, England, for the purpose of encouraging yachting in South Africa, and especially in the way of friendly contests in sailing and seamanship in deep sea yacht racing, do hereby give to the Table Bay Yacht Club of Cape Town, Cape Colony, the silver Cup delivered herewith”.
Sailing – “Unwritten Rule 1”
Over the years these contests have produced a highly competitive brand of sailing, but at the same time have developed a trade mark which may be described as the “unwritten Rule 1” of the rules governing yacht racing. The essence of unwritten Rule 1 is … ·“shall keep in view the ordinary customs of the sea, and discourage all attempts to win a race by other means than fair sailing and superior speed and skill”
Perhaps this is of more than passing interest in these days of highly commercialised sport?
The Sailing Courses
Sir Thomas endorsed the courses to be sailed in the Deed of Gift, as well as how many races were required to be sailed in the initial contests.
The “compulsory” courses are always the same: an equilateral triangle, a quadrangular course and a windward-leeward. The legs of each individual course shall total twelve nautical miles. Until these three courses have been completed, there cannot be a result.
In terms of an amendment Sir Thomas signed in 1925, additional “optional” courses may be included.
The Cup Trophy Itself
The Lipton Challenge Cup was manufactured by the noted British Silversmiths, Elkington and Company, in Birmingham during 1908 of solid sterling silver, and hand gilded with gold plate. This is confirmed by the four hallmarks embossed on the main body of the Cup. The trophy would have been manufactured by at least seven different people, each specialized in the different skills required, including casting, hand-embossing, spinning, gilding, enamelling, engraving and assembling. The cost then was in the region of £200 sterling. A lot of money in those days!!
This resplendent cup, when originally presented, stood with its pedestal more than three feet high. Today, with the passage of time, three more layers have been added to the pedestal to record its winners’ names, so it now stands in excess of 1 metre tall.
Five coats of arms of the South African Colonies (Rhodesia was the fifth) decorate the body of this magnificent silver-gilt trophy, leaving a space for a spirited yacht-racing scene on Table Bay in repousse on the front as well as the burgee of the Table Bay Yacht Club. The enamelled plates, in true heraldic colours, are the “coats of arms” of the “five Colonies” being South West Africa (now Namibia), Cape, Natal, Mozambique, and, strangely, given that the cup was deeded to promote “deep-sea sailing”, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
An expressive figure of Victory surmounts the lid, with a perfect model of a yacht in full sail between it and the lid.
Winged female figures form the handles, the stem being decorated with scroll work, dolphins, festoons and seaweed.
Additional Lipton Cup Contest Trophies
Besides the magnificent Lipton Challenge Cup going to the overall winner of the series, a number of other trophies are at stake.
• Boating Association of Table Bay Trophy (1893) ‘A’ – for the winner over the compulsory quadrangular course.
• Boating Association of Table Bay Trophy (1893) ‘B’ – for the winner over the compulsory triangular course.
• Boating Association of Table Bay Trophy (1893) ‘C’ – for the winner over the compulsory windward/leeward course.
• Jack Finlayson Memorial Trophy was presented in memory of the gentleman who did so much in the organisation of the contest in the 30 sq metre class era. Presented for the winner overall on points over the three compulsory courses.
• The Autopage Cup is presented to the winner of the second race over an Olympic Course.
• The Pokall Cup was presented by the international 30 sq metre class for the winner of the last race over an optional course.
• The Van der Stel Trophy was presented by Rear Admiral Terry Lloyd, then Captain of the S.A.N. Frigate of that name, which acted as the guardship for the 1952 Challenge series. It is presented for the First Kwa-Zulu Natal boat overall on points.
• Owen Aisher Trophy. Floating trophy awarded at the discretion of the Lipton Trustees for the encouragement of youth sailing.
• Lipton Golden Teapot. Floating Trophy awarded daily to the winner of the day’s race. However, if two races are sailed this trophy will be awarded jointly.
Some Food for Thought
The Lipton Cup “Roll of Honour” reads like a who’s who of South African sailors as the name of each winner is depicted on a silver shield on four oak tiers on which the trophy stands. Sadly, the crew who put in as much time and effort as the skipper/s don’t feature. I believe that this should change and all winning crew should become part of the “Roll of Honour”.
