Lot 833: Shane Michael Couch (b.1963)

Shane Michael Couch (b.1963)
The American schooner Sappho off the Needles, Isle of Wight
signed 'Shane Michael Couch' (lower left)
oil on canvas
8½ x 15 in. (21.6 x 38.1 cm.)

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Sappho, grossing 392 tons and measuring 128 feet in length with a 27 foot beam, was designed and built by C. & R. Poillon at Brooklyn for Colonel W.P. Douglas in 1868. In her maiden season her owner took her to Cowes, where he hoped to emulate America's legendary win in 1851, and passed the Needles, in-bound, at 11am. on 14th August having left Sandy Hook on 30th July. In the event, she was soundly beaten by Mr. James Ashbury's Cambria, a win which convinced the latter that he should make the first challenge for the America's Cup whereas, in fact, Sappho fared badly at Cowes because she was still in her ocean rig after the North Atlantic crossing and was also carrying several tons of extra stone ballast from the trip over. Therefore, once those restrictions were removed back home, she more than held her own in future competitions and returned to Cowes for the 1870 season where she performed with notable success.