in the spring of 1884. the “scotch cutter” verve was brought to chicago by commodore e.w. ayer. she had been built by g.l. watson on the river clyde in scotland, an area famous for its contribution to yachting and the home of many notable designers and yachtbuilders. the verve was already a champion upon arrival to the great lakes as she “won 16 races in the last yar”. she was a typical plank-on-edge cutter of the time; 45 feet overall, 38.7 feet on the water, a 7.6 foot draft, a 3.0 foot freeboard, and 6 feet of headroom in the cabin. on july 12, 1884, in the annual regatta of the chicago yacht club she won the “second” (smaller) class and beat all of the boats in the first class on corrected time. her prize was “a silver cup, value $125”. this cup was returned to the chicago yacht club in 1964 and placed in service when a two-day regatta for the offshore fleet commenced in 1992.