Yacht club | New York Yacht Club |
---|---|
Nation | United States |
Builder | T. Byerly & Son of Philadelphia |
Launched | 1857 |
Owner(s) |
|
Fate | Sank, May 3, 1922 |
Racing career | |
Skippers | Andrew J. Comstock |
Notable victories | 1870 America's Cup (with Cambria, ) |
America's Cup | 1857 |
Specifications | |
Type | Gaff schooner |
Displacement | 92.2 tons |
Length | 84 m (276 ft) (LOA) 36.40 m (119.4 ft) (LWL) |
Beam | 21 m (69 ft) |
Draft | 7 m (23 ft) |
Sail area | 1,170 m2 (12,600 sq ft) |
The Magic was a racing schooner yacht, of the New York Yacht Club. She was the first American defender during the 1870 America's Cup hosted in New York against the 1st British challenger Cambria, representing the Royal Thames Yacht Club of London. The Magic, had 19 owners. Her last owner modified her into a pilot boat at Key West. In 1922, during a hurricane, she was wrecked on the beach in Key West.
The Magic, was built by T. Byerly & Son of Philadelphia in 1857, for Captain Richard Fanning Loper, as a sloop. Loper did the original model and design for his boat. She was christened the Madgie. [1] [2]
She was rebuilt several times, In 1859, Loper modified the Madgie from a sloop to a schooner and renamed her Magic. In 1860, Loper modified Magic by lengthening her bow. He then sold the Magic in 1864, to William H. McVickar of the New York Yacht Club. [3] Yachtsman George L. Lorillard bought the Magic, late in 1866 and sold her to H. W. Gray. In 1869, he sold her to Franklin Osgood. [2]
In 1869, the Magic, was taken to City Island where she was completely rebuilt by the shipbuilder David Carll. [4] Carll lengthened and widened the Magic, with increased draft; and converted her into a centerboard schooner yacht for Franklin Osgood. [5]
The schooner Magic represented the New York Yacht Club and was the smallest sailboat in the international 1870 America's Cup competition. The first official challenge took place on August 8, 1870, in New York Harbor and was won by Franklin Osgood's American yacht Magic. She beat 17 competitors, including the English yacht Cambria and the yachts Dauntless, Idler, Fleetwing, Phantom, America and others. [6] [7] Andrew J. Comstock was captain of the Magic and had a stateroom in the forward section of the boat. [8] The course of the race was from the Club House, Staten Island, N.Y. around the S.W. Spit to and the light ship off Sandy Hook and back, 40 miles. Seventeen American and the English yacht Cambria started at 11.21 A. M. The race was won by Magic, which rounded the home stake boat in 3 hours, 33 minutes, 54 seconds. The Yachts Tidal Wave, Widgeon, and Alarm failed to complete the race and were ruled out.
On October 11, 1870, the Magic was sold by Franklin Osgood to Lester Wallack, for $16,500. [9] Osgood bought her back but sold her to Rufus Hatch in 1873. In 1874, she was purchased by William T. Garner, who kept her until 1876, when Osgood bought her back for a third time. In 1879, she was bought by Francis M. Weld of Boston, who sold her to Thurston N. McKay after owning for only two years. McKay kept her for three years and then she went back to the Weld family in 1885. She was later bought by Augustus W. Mott who kept her for ten years, when John S. Clarke & Bros., of Pittsburg bought her in 1898. [10] He in turn sold her to a Key West group that modified her as a pilot boat. [2]
On February 1, 1908, the Magic sank when she was racing into port and was capsized at Key West. Her owner was John Lowe Jr. The Magic had 19 owners, including the United States Navy, which used her as a supply craft during the 1898 Spanish–American War. [2]
On May 3, 1922, the schooner Magic, went ashore on the beach in the bay at Key West when she received damage during a hurricane. Her owner, John Lowe Jr., had the boat moved offshore and destroyed with explosives. [11] [3]
The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. As of 2001, the organization was reported to have about 3,000 members. Membership in the club is by invitation only. Its officers include a commodore, vice-commodore, rear-commodore, secretary and treasurer.
Columbia was one of the two yachts to successfully defend the second America's Cup race in 1871 against English challenger Livonia.
Cambria was the first, though unsuccessful, challenger attempting to lift the America's Cup from the New York Yacht Club.
Sappho was one of two defender yachts at the second America's Cup challenge, stepping in when defender Columbia was damaged in the third race.
The 1870 America's Cup was the first America's Cup to be hosted in the United States, and the first "America's Cup" due to the trophy being renamed from the 100 Guineas Cup of 1851. It was the first competition after the founding of the "America's Cup" event with the deed of gift in 1857.
The Widgeon was a 19th-century yacht and Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1855 by James R. & George Steers for Daniel Edgar of the New York Yacht Club and designed by George Steers. She came in 17th in an unsuccessful America’s Cup defense in 1870. Widgeon was sold in 1871 to a group of New York pilots to replace the John D. Jones, which sank in a collision with the steamer City of Washington. New York pilots condemned the Widgeon as unseaworthy in 1879, which sparked a fight for steam pilot-boat service. In 1883 a decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court and the Board of Commissioners of Pilots that pilot boats could be "propelled" by steam.
The David Carll was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1885 at the David Carll shipyard in City Island, New York. She was named in honor of David Carll, a well-known City Island shipbuilder. The David Carll was considered to be among the fastest schooners in the fleet. She was built to replace the Mary E. Fish that was run down and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The David Carll was lost at sea in 1893.
David Carll was a 19th-century American shipbuilder. He built yachts and schooners. He specialized in shallow draft Centreboard schooners. The David Carll's shipyard was the first commercial shipyard built in City Island. He built the popular schooners David Carll, Vesta,Resolute, and Ambassadress. His brother, Jesse Carll had a successful shipyard in Northport, New York.
The Mary E. Fish was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built at the Edward F. Williams shipyard of Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 1861 for Richard Brown and the New York Pilots. She was built to replace the Mary Taylor. The Fish was hit and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885 and replaced by the David Carll.
The James Gordon Bennett was a 19th-century two-masted pilot boat, built in 1870 at the Lawrence & Foulks shipyard. She was named in honor of James Gordon Bennett, Jr., publisher of the New York Herald. She went ashore in 1893 and was rebuilt at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard. In 1897, the James Gordon Bennett was bought by Miller J. Morse of the Atlantic Yacht Club and made into a yacht. He changed her name to Hermit. The New Jersey pilots purchased her in 1901, to replace the David T. Leahy, that was run down by the steamship Alene. The Hermit sank in 1906, when the steamship Monterey ran into her.
The Fleur de Lis was a 19th-century yacht and pilot boat built in 1865 by J. B. Van Deusen for Captain John S. Dickerson of the New York Yacht Club. She was bought by pilot Franklin B. Wellock and became the Boston pilot boat No. 7. She was known as one of the best pilot boats in the Boston harbor. By 1904, the pilot boat Fleur de Lis was lying in a graveyard for old boats in East Boston.
The Gracie was a 19th-century racing sloop yacht built in 1868 by James E. Smith shipyard at Nyack, New York. She raced the America's Cup defender Mischief in the trails off Sandy Hook in 1881. Gracie raced at the New York Yacht Club, Atlantic Yacht Club and other eastern yacht clubs. After a 42-year career in racing, she was sold in 1909 and converted to a freight boat sailing from Milton Point, off Long Island to New York.
Andrew Jackson Comstock was a 19th-century maritime pilot. He was one of the most experienced yachtsman having sailed for more than 27 years. He was known for being the captain of the racing yachts Columbia and Magic that won races for the America's Cup.
Franklin Osgood was a 19th-century businessman and yachtsman. He was one of the most experienced yachtsman having sailed for more than 23 years. He was owner and manager of the racing yachts Widgeon, Columbia, and Magic. He was the first defender and two-time winner of the America's Cup. Osgood was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 2020.
Henrietta was a 19th-century wooden yacht schooner, designed and built in 1861 by Henry Steers for James Gordon Bennett Jr. She was acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into the U.S. Revenue Service assigned to support the fleet blockading the ports of the Confederate States of America. The Henrietta won the first mid-winter transatlantic yacht race across the Atlantic between three American yachts.
The Dauntless was a 19th-century wooden yacht schooner, designed and built in 1866 by Forsyth & Morgan at Mystic Bridge, Connecticut, and owned and sailed by noted yachtsmen, among them James Gordon Bennett Jr. and Caldwell Hart Colt. She was first called the L'Hirondelle and later renamed the Dauntless. The Dauntless was in three Trans-Atlantic matches for the New York Yacht Club. She came in fourth in an unsuccessful America’s Cup defense in 1870.
The Fleetwing was a 19th-century wooden yacht schooner, built in 1865 by Joseph D. Van Deusen and owned by yachtsman George Archer Osgood. She was one of the fastest yachts in the squadron. The Fleetwing was in the famous 1886 transatlantic ocean race for the New York Yacht Club. She came in 12th in an unsuccessful America’s Cup defense in 1870.
The Phantom was a 19th-century centerboard schooner-yacht built in 1865 by Joseph D. Van Deusen and first owned by yachtsman Henry G. Stebbins. She was one of the fastest yachts in the New York squadron. The Phantom won 1st place in the June 1867 New York Yacht Club regatta. She came in 7th place in an unsuccessful America's Cup defense in 1870. She was sold as a racing yacht several times before she went out of service in 1900.
The Idler was a 19th-century schooner-yacht built in 1864 by Samuel Hartt Pook from Fairhaven, Connecticut, and owned by yachtsman Thomas C. Durant. She was one of the fastest yachts in the New York squadron. Idler came in 2nd place in the America’s Cup defense in 1870. She was sold as a racing yacht several times before she capsized and sank in 1900.
The Madeleine was a 19th-century racing schooner-yacht built in 1868 by David Kurby in Rye, New York and owned by Commodore Jacob B. Voorhis. Madeleine was the winner of the America's Cup in 1876 and an American defender in the 1870 America's Cup. She won the two most desired trophies reserved for schooners, the Bennett and the Douglas Cups. In 1911, the Madeleine was dismantled and sunk at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, Florida.
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