Valkyrie Racing On The Clyde

Valkyrie III was commissioned by Lord Dunraven to replace Valkyrie II, which sank as a result of an unfortunate accident with Satanita during the Muir Memorial Challenge in 1894. The replacement had a massive sail area, giving her a boom length of 105ft, 15ft longer than Britannia’s boom. This made her a fine “light airs” yacht but weather conditions for the first part of the Clyde series in 1895 were actually better suited to Britannia. Britannia was essentially used to test Valkyrie III, with which Lord Dunraven intended to challenge for the America's Cup.

During the Clyde fortnight though, Britannia, now in her third season, was consistently faster in a wide range of wind conditions. The final race day was the 'Mudhook Match' from Hunters Quay. It was to be a reaching race in the strong northwesterly. Despite her huge sail area, on such a light hull Valkyrie III had spent most of her time 'on her uppers', with a large wave coming from her lee quarter that stretched for over half a mile. Britannia, followed by Ailsa, left the cup challenger in their wake, proving perhaps that more sail does not necessarily mean more speed.

Each print is hand numbered and accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist. The certificate is numbered to match the print.