Edward Sycamore

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Edward Isaac Sycamore
Edward Sycamore.jpg
Lieutenant E I Sycamore RNVR in 1917
Born(1855-08-24)24 August 1855
Duke Street, Chelmsford, England
Died9 April 1930(1930-04-09) (aged 74)
Brightlingsea, England
Other namesCaptain Sycamore
OccupationSailing skipper
Spouse
Elizabeth Rosetta Paine
​
​
(m. 1881)​
Parent(s)John Sycamore and
Eliza Moss

Edward Isaac Sycamore (1855-1930) was a British sailing skipper widely regarded as the leading British yacht skipper of his generation during 1890 to 1929. [1] [2] [3] He was often referred to as Syc and later Old Syc. [4] [5]

Contents

Early life

Sycamore was born in on 24 August 1855 at Duke Street, Chelmsford, the first son of John Sycamore and Eliza Moss. John was a maltster and came from East Doneyland (Rowhedge) on the river Colne. [6] [7]   Eliza's family were farmers from St Lawrence on the south bank of the Blackwater.

When Sycamore was twelve he joined the crew of a fishing boat.  After several seasons fishing, he moved to yachting in 1875, working initially for the Marquis of Ailsa aboard the Lady Evelyn. Her voyages included trips to the West Indies and Mediterranean. In 1879 he went to work for H Atkins of Warrenpoint in the 20 ton cutter Louise.  His first command was the Amberwitch in 1884.  Following early successes in the Babe, he rose rapidly to the top of his profession, and remained there until his death on 9 April 1930.

He married Elizabeth Rosetta Paine, daughter of a licensed victualler, on 2 November 1881.  The family moved to Brightlingsea in 1884 living at 34 Nelson Street and then from 1913 White Lodge. [8]

Yachts commanded

DateYachtOwnerNotesReferences
1884AmberwitchCaptain Douglas56 ton yawl [3]
1886AmeliaW A Beauclerkformer fishing smack [9] [10]
1887-89Heathen ChineeW A Beauclerkjunk rigged [11]
1890-91BabeW A Beauclerk2½ Rater [12] [13]
1892CorsairAdmiral Montagu40 Rater [14]
1893VendettaAdmiral Montagu40 Rater [14]
1894CarinaAdmiral Montagu40 Rater [13]
1895Valkyrie IIIEarl of DunravenAmerica's Cup [15] [16]
1897-98BonaDuke of Abruzzi [13]
1899LaureaEdward Horewon Coupe de France [13]
1900SybaritaWhitaker Wrightwith Captain Bevis [17] [18]
1901Shamrock IISir Thomas LiptonAmerica's Cup [19] [20]
1902NamaraWilliam B Paget [13]
1903-07NavahoeGeorge Watjen [21]
1908-10ShamrockSir Thomas Lipton23 metre [22]
1911MariquitaA K Stothert19 metre [23]
1912ShamrockSir Thomas Lipton23 metre [22]
1914Isabella AlexandraEdmund Luttrop15 metre [24]
1920-24WestwardClarence Hatryschooner [25]
1923-24Paula IIISir Walter Preston15 metre [13]
1925-29ShamrockSir Thomas Lipton23 metre [26] [27]

Racing successes

In 1911 The Yachtsman produced a table showing Sycamore's successes. [28]  In 548 races he won 372 prizes, a success rate of 67.8% or a prize in every 1.47 starts. [29]

Sir Thomas Lipton with Capt Sycamore Captain Edward Sycamore.jpg
Sir Thomas Lipton with Capt Sycamore
YearBoatRacesPrizes
1890The Babe3025
1891The Babe4539
1892Corsair4222
1893Vendetta3318
1894Carina4723
1895Valkyrie III--
1896Valkyrie III--
1897Bona2418
1898Bona5239
1899Laurea99
1900Sybarita--
1901Shamrock II [30] --
1902Namara3018
1903Navahoe2013
1904Navahoe1813
1905Navahoe1817
1906Navahoe1412
1907Navahoe1817
1908Shamrock3531
1909Shamrock4120
1910Shamrock2819
1911Mariquita4419

Sycamore's wins included six Royal Cups (one in Corsair and one in Carina for Admiral the Hon Victor Montagu; three in Bona in one year for the Duke of Abruzzi; one for Sir Thomas Lipton in Shamrock) and two Albert Cups, both in Bona. [31] [32]

War service

At the outbreak of the First World War Isabella Alexandra and the Kaiser's yacht Meteor were being towed to Cowes by a torpedo boat.  When war was declared they returned to Cuxhaven where the crew of Isabella Alexandra was interned.  They were released after about a week and returned to the UK via Denmark. [33] [24]  

Sycamore joined the Royal Navy as a Lieutenant RNVR in May 1917, [34] aged nearly 62, and was appointed in command of ML 350 operating from the RNAS seaplane base at Newlyn.  In September 1917 he was appointed in command of ML 5 based at Calshot.  He remained in command of her, initially at Calshot and later Dundee, until he was demobbed on 15 September 1919. [35]   With the formation of the RAF on 1 April 1918 he became a Captain RAF.  He is thought to have been the oldest person to have been commissioned into the Royal Navy and immediately given a command.  It is also thought he may have been the oldest officer in the RAF when he left. [36]

Death

Sycamore had been suffering from the accidental breaking of multiple ribs as he had been racing Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock on the Clyde during 1929. On 9 April 1930, he died at his home in Brightlingsea, at the age of 74. [37]

Bibliography

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References

  1. ↑ Daily Telegraph 1931 12 10.
  2. ↑ "Captain Sycamore". Yachting World March 28, 1930.
  3. 1 2 "Cup Racing Skippers". The Ottawa Free Trader . 6 September 1901. p. 11. Retrieved 28 November 2023– via Google News Archive.
  4. ↑ Nautical Quarterly. Nautical Quarterly. 1985.
  5. ↑ "The Long Story of Shamrock V". www.america-scoop.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Catalogue description: Name Sycamore, Edward Isaac Date of Birth: 24 August 1855.
  7. ↑ "Captain Edward Isaac Sycamore". geni_family_tree. 7 March 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  8. ↑ "Our Skipper's Gallery Captain Sycamore February 22, 1895 page 753". Yachting World.
  9. ↑ "Classic Boat August 2013". Issuu. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "William P. Stephens Collection". Collections & Research. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Project Gutenberg e-Book of Yachting, Vol. 2; Author: Various". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Mersea Museum Captain Edward Sycamore racing the BABE, a ..." merseamuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A Skipper's Diary" (PDF). Classic Boat. July 2016.
  14. 1 2 R. T. Pritchett, Marquis Durrerin, Ava and James McFerran, C. L. Blake and T. B. Middleton. "Yachting Vol. 2". The Badminton Library of SPORTS AND PASTIMES.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ "Valkyrie III America's Cup 1895 East Donyland Rowh". east-donyland. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "San Francisco Call 29 July 1895 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "Albuquerque Daily Citizen 05-22-1901". UNM Digital Repository.
  18. ↑ "24 Kasım 1900 Tarihli New York Tribune Gazetesi Sayfa 9". www.gastearsivi.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "Shamrock in Open Races.; Capt. Sycamore of Sir Thomas Lipton's Yacht in Favor of Such Competition". The New York Times. London (published 20 January 1901). 19 January 1901. p. 10. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 28 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Los Angeles Herald 12 August 1901 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  21. ↑ "Classic Boat - Charlie Barr Story". Issuu. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  22. 1 2 Written at Melbourne. "Broken Hill Rumpus". Evening Express. Cardiff. 17 October 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 28 November 2023– via The national Library of Wales.
  23. ↑ "The Deben" (PDF). 44 Spring 2012. The River Deben Association Officers and Committee March 2012.
  24. 1 2 "East Donyland Roll of Honour - W.W.I Rowhedge". east-donyland. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  25. ↑ "Yachting between the wars". www.merseamuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "Sycamore, Capt. Edward Isaac (1855-1930) USA". www.america-scoop.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  27. ↑ "Bristol Channel Yacht Club" (PDF). Journal of Association of Yachting Historians. 2019–20: 19.
  28. ↑ "Conrinthian Vs Professional". The Yachtsman - December 21, 1911.
  29. ↑ Carrick, Robert W. (1964). The Pictorial History of the America's Cup Races. Viking Press.
  30. ↑ The Encyclopædia of Sport & Games: Rackets - Zebra. 1912.
  31. ↑ MotorBoating. February 1943.
  32. ↑ Stephens, W. P. (1 April 2015). Handbook of American Yachting. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN   978-3-95427-477-2.
  33. ↑ "Captain Sycamore Relates his experiences". Essex county standard 15.08.1914.
  34. ↑ "The Kaiser's Escape". Dundee People's Journal 1918-6-22.
  35. ↑ "Royal Air-force". London Gazette 1920-12-17.
  36. ↑ "Sycamore, Capt. Edward Isaac (1855-1930) USA". america-scoop.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  37. ↑ "Captain Sycamore, Yachtsman, Dead; Famous Skipper of Racing Craft Stricken at 74 in England. His Long Career a Record; Sailed Two of Lipton's Shamrocks In Attempts Here to 'Lift' the America's Cup" . The New York Times. London (published 10 April 1930). 9 April 1930. p. 24. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 5 December 2020.
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