MAILBOAT NAME: S/V Isoceles – possibly spelled “Isosceles” as in the triangle
PAST NAMES: S/Y Shamrock IV (? unconfirmed)
DIMENSIONS: 80 tons
CONSTRUCTION: wood
YEAR BUILT:
BUILDER:
EARLY CAREER:
BAHAMAS CAREER:
CAPTAINS:
OWNER/S: potentially/originally Sir Thomas Lipton of Lipton Tea fame
FATE: sunk in Nassau in July 1926 in a hurricane, ultimately broken up 1930
FATE: sunk in Nassau in July 1926 in a hurricane, ultimately broken up 1930
NOTES: Whether or not the Isoceles was originally the Shamrock IV, she was wrecked in late July 1926 in a hurricane which ravaged Nassau and destroyed untold hundreds of craft, also killing hundreds of people:
“Churning the harbor into seething mass of waves, the hurricane piled water high over the wharves into Bay street, a block into the city. Soon a gale swept down from the northwest, meeting the onrush from the Caribbean, and ships were lifted high from their moorings and sent onto the wharves. Several were blown to sea. Among the vessels known to have sunk in the harbor here was the 80- ton yacht Isoceles, formerly the Shamrock IV, Sir Thomas Lipton’s famous American cup challenger. It lies under 40 feet of water beside numerous small craft varying from sail boats to small yachts.”
Source: The “Daily Mail,” London, UK, July 30, 1926, http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/21442069/
According to the New York “Times” of June 6, 1925, the main mast of the Shamrock IV was removed and donated to New York University (it would have been replaced if the yacht was converted to a mail boat any way):
“N.Y.U. ALUMNI HERE FOR ANNUAL FROLIC; Acceptance of Shamrock IV’s Mast and Two Cannon Features Program…..”
- “Presentation of the mast of the Shamrock IV, Sir Thomas Lipton’s challenger for the America’s Cup, and the gift of memorial guns will mark Alumni Day and begin the commencement period today at New York University. Several thousand graduates are expected to gather on the University Height campus for their annual frolic.”