The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-07-12
ENGLISH rIEW OF THE VIGILANT.
British faahtsmen show an Unprecedented Degree of Interest in Her Performances.

British Saahtsmen show an Unprecedented
 Degree of Interest in Her Performances.
 Never in the whole history of yacht ing has the advent of an American boat to our shores caused such interes, among lovers of the sport as is now felt in the presence Of yigilant. the van. quisher of Lord Dunravens Valkyrie in last years international contest for the America's cup. says the Pail Mall Bud get. William Waldorf Astor's London weekly. Even the America herself. when she made her appearance at cowes forty-three years ago and won the fla nous cup which now bears her name caused less excitement. for she gained her victory through the falling out oi lhe two crack English yachts and was afterwards badly beaten.
 In 1868 we had visit from another American racing schooner. the Sap pho. but though she successfully de- tended the America's cup in her own waters three years later she did not prove at all invincible in ours. Mir. Cor don Bennett's schooner Dauntless of S3G tons did no better in 1869 and though Suppho beat Cambria in 1870. she de- clined a match against the other Eng fish schooners. After this international yacht racing in British waters hung lire until last season. when Navahoe was sent over to try conclusions against the English cutters.
 Not until this Herreshon designed boat had been roundly beaten did her builders declare that this was all that they had anticipated. for MT Carroll. her owner, had insisted on a cruiser and racer combined. However this may have been Valkyrie beat her just as easy in the Solent as she herself was after ward defeated by the Vigilant in New York bay.
 Nigilant, therefore, comes to us with unique record. Lord Dunraven's yacht showed herself at the beginning of last season to be about the equal of the Prince of Wales Britannia, yet Vigi- lant defea ted her three times in sue CeSSion.
 The yachting world is now waiting to see to what extent the American yachts success was due to downright superiority, and how much depended her stability to the American condi- tions of sailing, which differ somewhat from our own, and the fact that she raced with some extra five tons of live ballast on her deck, which will not be possible under the rules of the English Yacht Racing association. These insist very rightly, that yachts are to be measured with their racing crews on his challenge respecting the Americas S cup, four yachts were built to defend it, out of whom Vigilant was selected as being manifestly the best.
 It is satisfactory to know that she is also much more representative of the American type of yacht than anyone of the other three, and further that she is an honest, wholesome sort of boat, and free from the modern eXcreScenceS of fins and bulb keels, which are now so much in fashion with the small racing | large boats. Viglant's tonnage, accord ing to Thames measurement is about 25O tons, her rating by Y. R. A. rules IFS when she raced last year; but this sea son it will be somewhat less, as she will not carry so much canvas. Her center board weighs between three and four tons, and when lowered increases her draught from IA to "A feet.
 Vigilant is chiefly remarkable for her extraordinary beam. This was of great service to her in her Americas cup tic, and the living ballast was contin- ually shifted so as to keep her as far upright as possible under her enormous canvas. In the short choppy seas she will encounter over here when beating to windward, this extra breadth will be all against her.
 Even in American waters Valkyrie proved herself Vigilant's equal, if not her superior, in turning to Windward but unfortunately for her the variable winds seldom gave the Americas cup competitors a chance of showing their relative powers in this, the most i'm portant feature of sailing. In most of the English course the yachts may be pretty sure of a fair share of wind tanning" On a broad reach and in free running Viligant may prove able to oc n,ora than her own against the Eng Hsh fleet, but it is by no means rore' como conclusion that she will carry on more than her fair share of prizes. As everybody knows she made "record" passage of 15 days 5 hours across the Atlantic, thanks to fall l winds and smooth water. Her longest dav,s run was 256 miles, precisely the l same as Navahoe's, whereas the Thlstle
 did 25s and the Galatea 2o7 under slml lar conditions. Valkyrie's best run was o47 miles. and, owing to foul winds
 calms. and high seas and sWells, sh' l took 27 days in crossing.
 | Vigilant was designed by MT. N G Herreshoff, who may be said to have
 invented the present type of racing yacht. with it's excessive overhang anc it's ugly spoon-shaped bow. In 1891 hi Gloriana carried all before her in Amer ica and next season he was equally sue
 cessful with the Wasp. He and his eide
 brother. MT. Lewis Herreshoff, set up
 yacht builders and designers at Bristol
 R T. as long ago as 1864, but for lon
 neriod before 1891 gave their chief atten | tion to steam yachts. Vigilant is uniqu
 in having her bottom plated with Tobi I,no noa+a1 which is nearly as StrOn