I have been around water and boats all my life. Even now I live on an island in a house on the water, however I am not a sailor, but a landlover. My brother on the other hand, built his first sailboat with my Grandfather when he was 10. He spent his summers at sailing camp in Cape Cod. His dream was to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat. To realize his dream he bought a Swan 65 foot sailboat. He refurbished the whole ship including new sails, colors (green and white), teak decks, interiors, new paint, ice maker, radar, etc, and renamed her Ichiban. Ichiban means "Number One" in Japanese, appropriate since it was the first hull design of that type that Swan made. Off he sailed to go island hopping with his wife and crew. I was invited along but elected to fly to their next destination, Bermuda for a 2 week stay. They moored at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in Hamilton. One day an old British gentleman who was moored several slips down, dropped by for a chat and he asked if Ichiban used to be called "Shambala"? My brother answered "Yes, it was". I was totally amazed that after all that had been done to the ship and the years that had passed he still recognized her. I was VERY impressed! I guess when you know something well enough, you know it, no matter what cosmetic changes take place. What triggered this memory for me, was this ship, the Shamrock III. I wanted to read more about her race with "Reliance" in the America's Cup race of 1903. After reading all about the differences in designs, sizes, water lines, etc and looking at pictures of both ships, I could not tell the difference between them. They looked identical. Obviously, I am no match for the man in Bermuda. A New York Times article written the day before the race mentioned that both ships were towed to Sandy Hook to their mooring for a final preparatory spin before the race. This picture is my vision of Shamrock III's trial run before her defeat in New York in 1903 with a score of 3-0. It was the last race for ships of this "extreme" design. Thanks to Don Webster (London224) for this beautiful sailing vessel available at C3D. Thanks to all for your wonderful and generous comments on my last scene "Tornado". To those who asked, yes they do make it away from the tornado. I always like happy endings.