The Portland daily press., 1886-06-21
A PURITAN DAY.
The Gallant Yacht Proves to be toe
Fast for Her Rivals.
For Which Thanks are Due Cap tair
Crocker.

New YORK June 19.-ThlS was Puritan
day or rather the day on which the Puritan
won the S., 900 cup offered by the Seawan-
baka Corinthian Yacht Club, for the Puritan
Priscilla, Atlantic and Mayfower to sail for
In all other respects it was the Mayfow-
er's day, for she showed by her work and in
various ways that she is as much better than
the Priscilla and Puritan, as the Puritan was
better than the Priscilla last year, and as be-
tween her and the Atlantic comparison
would be quite odious and out of place.
The weather throughout the race was fair
ly steady. Though not perfectly satisfacto-
ry. il was sufficien tly so to show that the
Priscilla, which won the Atlantic and New
York regattas by holding advantageous posi-
tions at critical times, was today beaten fair
ly and squarely on her merits
Neither of the two boats at any time was
favored one more than the other, and when
at one time there was fiat calm, the Priscil-
la, with her well known erl1tlng 9ualtles,
would have given the Puritan much closer
shake than she did, had a breeze not sprung
up in which both boats having it, the Puri-
tan outsailed her black rival.
The start of the race, which was In the
Narrows, was at the last of the flood tide,
the yachts should have passed over the line
was up, no yacht had yet reached 1t: Inc
Puritan was the first to cross, handicapped
only 3 seconds. The Atlantic was next,
handicapped 6 minutes. 40 seconds. Inc
Priscilla was third, handicapped minutes,
Sc seconds. and the Maytiower fourth, handl-
capped IA minutes, 56 seconds,
The handicaps were all the result OF bad
management on the part of the yachts sail
ors: The time for starting was well Known
and the commanders ought to have known
that, with the light breeze blowing from the
westward of north, they could not reach the
line in time from the positions they had
taken.
But going down the lower bay the May.
flower passed first one and then another OF
the smaller Yachts in which she had become
entangled, and coming down on the Atlantic
made short work of her, after getting outside
the Hook in the ocean, where nice sainng
breeze had sprung up from the southwest.
Then coming back after rounding the San
dy Hook lightship, General Paine's boat
pulled npon the Priscilla, and still further
away from the Atlantic and Oft the HOOK.
coming in she had used up the black sloop
so badly that the Priscilla was compelled to
resort to lufing tactics in order to prevent
the Mayflower passing her to Wlndward.
Coming in from buoy 81 to buoy 10 the May
flower was again shut out by the Priscilla In
an endeayor to pass her.
Later on, up the bay and halfway between
buoy - and the finish, the Mayf1ower would
have taken second place had she not. when
the wind hauled near to the eastward, taken
in her spinnaker, while the Priscilla, Puritan
and Atlantic kept theirs drawing.
Precisely at II o'clock the preparatory sig.
nal was blown. The Puritan was then about
at the line, sp1nnaker boom to port and SPIN
maker and balloon jib topsail set up in stops
ready to break out on the crossings OF the
line. The Atlantic and Priscilla were about
abreast of each other, also with spinnaker
booms out and balloon top sails up In steps,
while the Mayfewer stood in the rear OF the
other three and sure of being badly handl-
capped before she could reach the line.
The Crawling was inshofe of the Puritan,
and as the starting signal was blown at IL. 10
she broke out her spinnaker trying to get
across the line. The next spinnaker to be
blown to the breeze was the Purltan,s S,
which flew out in concert with her balloon
lib topsail. The added sail enabled her TO
better stem the tide, and she passed the line
first, just without the time limit. handicapped
by three seconds
The Priscilla, ATLANTIC and MayhoWer
were far above the line, all with splnnakers
set, trying to save as much time as possible
under their handicap. The Greyling passed
the line Immediately in the rear OF the
Puritan. Coming down to the line the AT
lantic had got little tne oese 81 pa pa the ne rElS, as
seconds, but three-eighths OF mile IN the
rear of the Puritan.
The Priscilla came next nearer the shore,
the Dolphin next, then the Elephant. The
MayfoWer was having bad time of it away
in the rear, almost the last boat of the fleet.
The Bedonia was directly in front OF her,
and had her sails blanketed by the Boston
boat The Clara was the first Of the third
class sloops, then came the Cinderella, the
Yesult, the Culprit Fay, the Bedoqin, the
Athlon, the Gracie the Regina, and then the
Mayfower, followed by the. little rival and
the Marietta As she went across the line
the Maytlower took in her spinnaker. She
was then mile behind the Puritan. and a
half-mile behind each the Atlantic and Prls-
ella. The spinnaker did not remain in long,
but was set again, and surprised the yacht
ing sharps by having club to it, making it
set better and catching more wind. Every
boat in the race, through the lightness OF
wind, just as the starting signal was blown,
was handicapped. The Puritan, which
luckily and ably crossed the first, escaped
with the lightest, thanks to the skill OF
Captain Crocker