The New York herald., 1870-05-18
Europs-The Internations
Channel Race.

ChanscI Race.
The latest yachting contest worthy to be
called international Is certainly Q substantial
and very handsome victory for the American
yacht, and the gallant owner Of the Sappho
is to be congratulated upon a triumph a.
absolute as he could have hoped for. There
ia, Of course, a great deal yet to be said on
gentleman whose facility in explanatory cor
respondence has been 30 wonderfully shown in
the history Of all his matches will endure In
silence the construction that the world viii
certainly put upon his remarkable conduct in
the recent race. No doubt the owner Of the
Cambria will put the case before the world,
as It appears to him, with sufficient fulness;
and until he shall have done so some points In
the contest will seem more or less obscure;
but we cannot see how anything he may say
can weaken the right Of Mr.. Douglas to claim
the victory and fifty guinea cup"
The challenge for this contest was given by
Mr.. Ashbury in letter dated February %.
1t may be remembered that this gentleman
published his challenges in series. In the
letter referred to he put forth for the choice
Of Mr.. Douglas six series of challenges, each
series including several races. His ''series
four" was for ''three races sixty miles dead
to windward and back in the Chan
mel, without time allowance" This chal-
lenge was accepted by the owner of the
Sappho. It was supposed that oil the proba-
bilities Of such q race were in favor Of the
Cambria; and, indeed, h was considered
at the time that Mr.. Douglas was under the
necessity Of making a disadvantageous race,
since he was eager for contest, while
Mr.. Ashbury was not. Mr.. Ashbury,
in such position, would naturally offer
only such races IS would be eminently
satisfactory to himself because they gave
opportunity for the better points of his own
yacht. It appears now to be claimed by Mr..
Ashbury's friends that he did too much in
agreeing to sail the Sappho without time allow
ance; but If in such q race there was any ad-
vantage for the greater size Of the American
yacht, that was certainly more than balanced
by the fact that the Cambria had an infinitely
greater advantage in having the wind on her
best point of sailing. Indeed, in this special
point Of the race, that the wind was to be q
first rate one for the Cambria and rather bad
one for the Sappho, the owner Of the latter YES
sci seemed to be taking great odds.
But the very decided success of the Sappho
in the first race, In regard to which we have
not heard it pretended that the wind was not
to nicely what the conditions called for, tells
that the attempt to secure victory by the
terms of race may meet with strange mis-
haps. As to the second contest, and the
brusque retirement of Mr.. Ashbury from the
course, opinions in the light Of our present
knowledge can scarcely differ upon the points
that, while he had the semblance Of q reason,
he had but little more, and that he did not act
in the spirit that makes this sport noble
rivalry among generous fellows. He quib-
bled that the wind was not dead ahead. The
terms certainly called for race s'dead to
windward." The umpires decided that the wind
was sufficiently near that to make 1t race,
and we must assume, therefore, that it was as
near to the specified point as q racing party is
ever likely to find it. The fact that the wind was
half point on the beam gave it to the Sappho
on better point for her than it would have
been otherwise; but this could not excuse the
unsportsmanlike loss of temper In which, from
tho English reports, Mr.. Ashbury seems to
have withdrawn.
Mexican Observation-Disclosures Shall W. Oo