The evening world., 1894-09-22
yIGILANT'S BAD LUCK.
Mate Haf Blames Short, Land
Locked English Courses.
Members OF the Crew Censure Pilot
Diaper for Her Mishaps.
Almost Certain OF a Challenge for
the Americas Cup.

the Americas Cup.
Among the passengers on the American
Liner Paris. which arrives at her dock
at $50 this morning were II. e. IIaff, Jr.,
the son of Slipper Hank" Han. of Mr.
Gould's yacht Vigllant Leonard Miller.
the second officer, Thomas Bache, the
cook, and fourteen of the yachts crew,
who were in the stecrage.
capt Hank" himself and Sailing
Master capt Jcffreys were also on the
passenger list, but they both decided at
the last moment to take passage on II
later boat, and viii arrive by the Berlin,
which leaves Southampton to-day.
Young iIaff, who was first officer of
Nigilant, Is modest fellow, and was
very reticent when THE Evening
Wolrd" reporter met him at the wharf
this morning. He could undoubtedly tell
good deal, II he chose to do so. about
the experiences of the crack American
yacht with her English rivals in the
many contests in which she particl-
pated, but he was evidently not in a
laxative mood.
"Oh yes" he said in answer to an
inquiry If the American yaChtsmen were
well received abroad I'VE were treated
very satisfactorily | think.
1--WE won some good races, but we lost
lot of others, and must say we had
very hard luck at the start"
Was II all hard luck? he was asked.
Then you were at disadvantage
over thcre?"
Well don't know what else you
would call IT,. But. in. my opinion.
| Nigilant could beat any of those yachts
easily on this side OF the water"
! An | can say to that is that II is
about five times as hard to sail yacht
over there as 1t is here. The courses
over them -four or five times, sometimes,
! In single race. Take the last one at
Dartmouth, for instance, which keeps
you hard at work all the time. You
never know when the wind is going to
20 back on you, and to certain cX-
tent, you see, IT Is matter Of luck
We're you treated fairly, do you
think, in all the races?"
"Oh, yes! | have nothing to say about
that"
Mr.. Haff went on to say that Vigilant
had gone into Winter quarters at Fayes
| Yards, at Northam, near Southampton;
He had heard 1t said that Mr.. Gould
might have the yacht put into good trim
again during the Winter, and that she
might challenge for the Cape May cup
next season, and after a race, or two
|
did not know anything definitely.
Nigilant was much admired by many
people over there, and parties frequent
~ came to visit her, but never heard
that II was the intention of her owner
to sell her to any one on the other side
" Did you hear any talk of another
| challenge for the Americas tup?'
Yes, II was common talk over there
that Lord Dunraven and Lord Lonsdalc
were getting up syndicate 90 build a
yacht to challenge for the cup next
| Inn n "A a.
sailors heard. | don't know whether
there Is anything in IT."
MIR. Han was asked about the acct
dent to Nigilant's centre board, which
took her out of the remaining races OF
the season. and he said he never knew
the exact cause of the mishap, because
ne had never seen her out of watr
after the accident
at was alleged that the casting made
by the English builder was defective,
and that he had made bad job of II
purposely, so as to increase the chances
of disabling the yacht in the big race
across the Channel for the Cape May
cup"
u don't anything about that" said
MIR. Han, who also denied that there
was anything wrong with l'hot Draper,
races Mt Glasgow and ut tuwcs ms well.
According to his statement, Mr.. Drapers
services were entirely satisfactory.
In talking with several members OF
the crew, however, "A very different side
of the story came out one of them
declared that II was "A matter of com
mon talk among the men that the pilot
was doing all he could to put Nigilan
> at "A disadvantage In the races liz which
she was entered.
III | had had my way" said he, Z"
would have thrown the fellow over
board"
The trouble was that no one suspecte,
anything till after the yacht had los
several races when she seemed to be II
; "A fair way of winning. 1t was said tina
} the EnElishmcn also were quick to tax
advantage of every tcChnicalitN, and tina
, on several occasions they treated tn
, American boat with more than unfair
ness.
AN these things together" said ''Th
! Evening Worlds" informant. "malc /
pretty bad for u.s. and we We're luck!
to come out as well as We did.
Their racing rules are very diifcren
from those in force here, and we have I
, had got our Centerhuari down, for III
stance, we would find that we did no
need II, for the leg would be almost TN
9 ished In almost all The courses the leg
, | were very short.
4 why in the Dartmouth race we Sc
4 of the other races we had to set
seven times That shows you VIVA
70 work We had To do | have seen tn
II time when We We're mile ahead III tn
A race when We would suddenly run int
IA calm and have to watch the othe
4 boats walk right 10y us only short dis
=, lance ahcam.
= "Nigllant is u smart boat, ana can !
p better in a fair race than any of thos
a English yachts, in my opinion, but she
- no match for them over there with the
Il tricks and their queer weather, In fac
l., | do not think an American crew coul
=, take the best boat in the world ~,
y there and win races under those circun