Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2020 March 28

= March 28 =

Starting cannons of yacht races, esp. the America's cup
Yacht races are, apparently, usually started with the shot of a starting cannon. An example cannon used is the Winchester Model 1898 Breech Loading Signal Cannon (German article, work on which motivates my question). Several sources back it up to be the most popular cannon for this purpose in the USA. According to the manufacturer, this cannon was also used for "the prestigious America's Cup series at Newport", held there 1930-1983. But this is not backed up by any other source available on the web. This is not exactly a contra-indication, as those were pre-internet times, and friends of sailing sports have other priorities than the type of the starting cannon. Still, Google image search for "yacht" and "starting cannon" returns other types, unsurprisingly replicas of naval cannons. Does anyone know about the cannon types used for such events in the USA, especially for the America's Cup, and sources for this - including images, videos... which may not explicitly name the type of the cannon? --KnightMove (talk) 04:40, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Small point of order - the America's Cup is not always raced in the USA. In fact it will next be competed for in New Zealand. MarnetteD&#124;Talk 04:59, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Smaller point of information -- that was a point of information, not a point of order. --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106; &#x1D110;&#x1d107; 17:14, 28 March 2020 (UTC)


 * My guess is that early AC matches were started using a Herreshoff Saluting Cannon ("The Yachting Classic"), considering that it was created by L. Francis Herreshoff, son of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff of America's Cup fame. 107.15.157.44 (talk) 20:02, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
 * They don't wear out in a hurry, so once you possess a starting cannon, you don't need to worry about buying another one for a few centuries. The ones used at the Cowes Week regatta in England "come from a scaled down miniature frigate, built by King George IV in the 1820’s".  Alansplodge (talk) 12:21, 30 March 2020 (UTC)


 * Btw, WP doesn't seem to have an article for Signal cannon or Salute cannon (or anyplace for those to redirect to). 107.15.157.44 (talk) 20:15, 31 March 2020 (UTC)