A Full Cup: Sir Thomas Lipton's Extraordinary Life and His Quest for the America's Cup by Michael D'Antonio

Author:Michael D'Antonio
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2010-05-25T14:00:00+00:00

“Come now, there must have been one . . .”

“Bless you, one? A hundred!” cried he. “I can tell you I’m daft on them. Blonde, brunette, redhead—there’s a special charm in every one.”

In denying a true love, but claiming to be “daft on” women, Lipton echoed perfectly the coded and dualistic way that many Victorian men approached sex and romance. In general, they were supposed to regard women as emotionally and intellectually indecipherable and, possibly, not worthy of the effort. At the same time, they were expected to be satyrs of a sort, perpetually energized by the pursuit of women as objects, whether blonde, brunette, or redheaded. In Lipton’s case, denying love for one woman but expressing lust for them all explained his bachelor status and identified him as red-blooded. With this tidy explanation he was also able to avoid personal specifics, and move on to more comfortable questions about the upcoming races.

Everywhere he went, Lipton hyped the cup challenge and proclaimed his Shamrock ready to win. If, for some reason, he wasn’t available with a comment, the press could count on David Barrie, Lipton’s “personal representative” in America, or Lipton’s personal secretary, John Westwood. But they hardly needed to make much effort to get attention because Lipton was one of the most skillful men in the world when it came to publicity. How else to explain the fact that Shamrock and Erin (with Lipton standing on the bridge) were the first vessels to hail the steamship Oceanic when she reached New York Harbor on her maiden voyage? The largest ship in the world, at more than 700 feet, the monster of the White Star Line had been eagerly awaited by New Yorkers, who had been reading about her for months. Lipton’s name was the first one mentioned in the New York Times report on her arrival. He had nothing to do with the ship’s construction or operation, but there he was on the front page, waving his cap from the deck of the Erin while the great liner, breathtakingly beautiful and enormous, blasted a basso profundo greeting.

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