"Valkyrie III" was the unsuccessful British challenger of the ninth America's Cup

America's Cup

The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...

 race in 1895 against American defender "Defender

Defender (yacht)

Defender was the 1895 America's Cup defender.-Design:Defender was designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1895. It was Herreshoff's second victorious America's Cup defender design....

".

Design

"Valkyrie III," a keel cutter, was designed by George Lennox Watson

George Lennox Watson

George Lennox Watson was a Scottish naval architect. He was born in Glasgow, son of Thomas Lennox Watson, a doctor at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and grandson of Sir Timothy Burstall, engineer and entrant at the 1829 Rainhill Trials.-Early life:...

 and built at the D&W Henderson on the River Clyde in 1893 for a syndicate of owners including Lord Dunraven

Windham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl

Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl KP PC , styled Viscount Adare between 1850 and 1871, was an Irish journalist, landowner, entrepreneur, sportsman and Conservative politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies under Lord Salisbury from 1885 to...

, Lord Londsale, Lord Wolverton, and Captain Henry McCalmont of the Royal Yacht Squadron

Royal Yacht Squadron

The Royal Yacht Squadron is the most prestigious yacht club in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. Its clubhouse is located in Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom...

.

"Valkyrie III" had a steel frame, a hull planked with American elm and teak, and a pine deck.

Career

Valkyrie III was launched on May 27, 1895. After a few mixed test races (for which she was later criticized for lack of previous competition) she sailed to New York to prepare for the ninth America's Cup.

Valkyrie III was beaten by "Defender

Defender (yacht)

Defender was the 1895 America's Cup defender.-Design:Defender was designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1895. It was Herreshoff's second victorious America's Cup defender design....

" in all three Cup races. Owner Lord Dunraven claimed the Americans had cheated, creating a huge, public controversy which briefly jeopardized the future of the America's Cup race.

In 1899 Valkyrie III was refitted and sailed as a trial horse for Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock I

Shamrock (yacht)

Shamrock was the unsuccessful Irish challenger for the 10th America's Cup in 1899 against the United States defender, Columbia.-Design:Shamrock was designed by third-generation Scottish boatbuilder, William Fife III, Jr., and built in 1898 by J...

, and in 1901 Valkyrie III was broken up.

Specifications

• Overall length: 39.31 m
• Length at water line: 26.65 m
• Beam
  Beam (nautical)
  The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
  
   (width): 7.92 m
• Draft
  Draft (hull)
  The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
  
  : 5.97 m
• Displacement
  Displacement (fluid)
  In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced .An object that sinks...
  
  : 166.9 tons
• Sail area: 1172.52m²