Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-09
THE RIVAL YACHTS.

kpG SIOOD STosSCS ~ AAASbah "ssAo
over n Minute Ahead of Her Antaeonis
The Contest Takes Place in u Fierce
Gale.
New YORK, Sept. 17.-The grandest race
eyer seen in New York waters was that be-
tween the Genesta and the Puritan yeSter-
day. and the picture presented will always
live in the memory of the thousands of eli
tlusiastic witnesses. For twenty miles the
blue waters, topped with creamy-white
tufts, were clear. Never was there a
grander race-track, and never were racers
sails filled with such a breeze, now nine
teen miles an hour in velocity, again TWEEN
ty-four miles, and finally the great blow OF
thirty-seven miles. From start to finish the
excitement was not abated one jOt.
The official time of the start was: &C.
nesta, II :O5:16; Puritan, II :06:O1. The
Puritan soon began to close the gap made
at the start. She kept directly in her all
%tagonist's wake until nearly up with her,
when she hauled out to the eastward SO
that the Genesta could not keep off and pre-
vent her passing without gybing. At 1885
she took in her balloon-jib, topsail and stay
sail, and at II :45 she had passed out ahead
OF the Genesta about half a length. Her
spinnaker was not drawing we'll at this
0AlIlSS "No lSl lAo " WIZ w lllA
was '.at the main-boom end" Captain
Carter, recognizing this fact, took in his
spinnaker at twelve O'Clock, gybed her
main-bOohl, dipped her spinnaker-boom, and
set the sail on the port side, all in five min
utes. The Genesta Immediately drew ahead
of the sloop, and in half an hour had passed
her. This was a surprise, but what was
coming was a greater one. Fifteen minutes
later the cutter was a good quarter of a
mile in the lead. The Puritan would not
gybe, although her spinnaker was not
drawing, and she was steadily dropping
astern. Down came the Genesta's
tan's in moment later. The
cutter set a working topsail, but the sloop
set no other. At one .. III. the Genesta's
sEinnaller-Doom was lowered OH deck and
everything made snug for the long beat to
windward. The large passenger boats and
steam yachts had gathered Off the ''outer
mark" and all eyes were upon the two
boats as they came bounding along. All
thought then that the Genesta was a Win
her. The official time Of rounding was:
Genesta, 1:05:30; Puritan, 1:07:36.
The latter boat, with her main sheets
hauled flat aft, gybed as she rounded, and
in a minute after she was close hauled on
the starboard tack, standing to the south
ward. The Puritan made a wide turn,
| which placed her farther to leewald, and
now commenced a grand struggle for the
finish twenty miles to windwarl. Black,
threatening clouds appeared in the north
west, pre>aging more wind for the boats.
The Puritan went about first at 1928 p. M,
and the Genesta a minute later. Captain
Croker thought it prudent to house the
Puritan's topmast at 1925, as the
wind was coming fast and heavy, while an
ugly sea was fast rising, into which the
| yachts plunged. Out from the northwest
at 1:45 came a spiteful squall Of wind,
| whistling through the sllrouds of the boats,
flashing the green waves into foam, and
sending the spray in sheets high over the
! yachts to the windward. Those OH the
small tugs were drencled with the heavy
seas that boarded them. Every one thought
the cutters topsail must come in.
| Down she went, heeling over as she felt
the force of the squall. Captain Carter
held her to her course, and she seemed to
! spring through the choppy seas, which were
topped with SETTLING white-caps as far to
| windward as the eye could reach. The
Puritan was making excellent weather Of it
through the Gcnesta's lee. Just before she
tackled at 2:17 she was a full half-mile on
the Genesta's lee bow.
The Genesta went about at 2:1S. This
stretch to the westward proved to be the
last one, as the wind favored the yachts so
they were able to fetch the finish. When
Captain Croker found he could easily fetch
the light-ship lie started the sloop's sheets
and gave hera 'good full" She was then
about half a mile Oh the Englishman's
weather quarter, who also had his MAIN
sheet started a tritle, but was "pointing''
very high. At 3:35 the Puritan kept
| broad off and anna kShoiItpps3 f1o,,,, for &Eo
Genesta's weather, evidently intending
to blanket her. Captain Carter, see
ing this, put the cutters helm down sud-
denly and shot the GeneSta into the wind
across his rivals stern and took IL wind
ward position himself, although he lost
fully three minutes by the operation. There
was a ''lutling" match for a few moments
until the Puritan got far enough ahead.
they were then-at 3:53-about three and
o half miles from the finish. The water
was getting smoother every moment, while
the breeze continued strong. The Puritan
increased her lead steadily and crossed the
the line at 4:1O:39, only one minute and
tWenty-four seconds behind her.
The course was twenty miles to lee
ward and return from the Scotland light
ship. The wind being west northwest the
yachts were sent away on an east southeast
course dead before the wind. In this run
the cutter beat the sloop one minute and
twenty-one seconds. From there to the
finish they made but one short tack of a
mile, and two long leg OF nine and ten
miles respectively, in half a gale of
wind, which conferred to north northwest
soon after the ''outer mark" was turned.
In this work the Puritan gained 3 minutes
81 seconds from point to point. The fol-
lowing table gives the actual results of the
race:
Start. Finish. Corrected
99asltan...~...:512 g. % s e%hS ; 3 i !
The Captain, owners and others of the
Puritan's people left tonight for Boston.
1t has been decided that the race for the
Commodore's cup will take place on the
18th inst, the race for the Brentin's Reef
challenge cup on the 21st, and for the Cane
May challenge cup on the 23d. The Cen
esh Will take part in Fridays race.
The Indiana Frauds,
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, Sept. lit is now
believed that fully ST., 600, 600 of boons