The sun., 1894-08-21
HARD ON THE vIGILANT.
ENGLIsHMEN DO NOT IKE orr
BOAT As THEY oNCB DID.
what the Pail Mall essette sad Lsaa ana
water Have 20 Ssy-InterestinE Cos
nip About Yachtine on the Other Side.


lier races, the English papers had many kind
things 10 say about her and the sportsmanlike Q
manner in which the Goulds were sailing the
American champion, but since she has been
tuned up into something like racing form and
has won a race or two, all this has changed.
The Pail Mall Gazette Of Aug. 4 says:
THE special match for a cup offered by Lord
wolverton. to be sailed for to-day by Britannia
and Vigilsnt. has fallen through. through the
refusal Of Mr.. q. J. Gould, the owner OF Vigilant
ia accept one Of Lord Wolverton's conditions.
The match was proposed In order to give the
American a race on the line OF the contest for
the Americas cup. 1t will be remembered that
two out of the three matches sailed in New York
Bay last autumn between Nalkyrie and Vlgilant
were over a course of fifteen miles straight out
and home directly to windward and 10 leeward.
In both these matches Nalkyrie lost mainly be-
cause each was started 10 lceward and on both
occasions fuke of wind occurring near the
turning point converted the beat home to wind
ward into snil of the wind. There was. Of
course, great disappointment among the sup
porters Of valkyrie that she had no opportunity
for showing her power TO wlndward. which was
known TO be her best point OF sailing, ~ It is
Britannia's at the present time.
Lord Wolyerton's proposed match was Just
what Vigilant has been asking for. See Nigllant
in open wateri, has been the cry OF her hackers.
SO the open, channel outside the Needles was
Soahdins the numerous S marks Of your English
ward and back, as we have in America So
miles to windward and back, precisely as in the
Americas Cur. matches; But, remembering the
the competitors Of any chance Of testing their
powers TO windward, his lordship stipulated
ward and the return to be 70 ieeward Mr.. Gould
said he would not race Vigilant unless the race
was !, started e M ITO, to ieewsfd; s r,o, or,.o ..
% n his fsvoF MI lSs Gould hssd Obtained the open
round single mark. In case OF the wind hold
ing true. Il made no difference whatever whether
leeward. His demand meant no more than
determination, should the wind shift half way.
to have the iuke as favorable to his own boat as
lead us to think that Vigiiant had her share OF
such nukes when racing for the Americas Cup:
match will do much to convince Englishmen
that Yigilant can scarcely be considered a wor
thy holder OF Americas Cup; for a beat to
windward furnishes unquestionably the finest
possible test OF yachts sailing qualities. Any
%ssbms With % mop for sa Ra to yet
boat TO point close up in the wind, and then
travel through the water with minimum Of
leeway-this Is the opportunity for the skill of
sails"
The same paper, in reviewing Cowes week,
"Though one could not but regret that Vigil
Ant be ds % fo ,we m
the manner In which she is being sailed. A
member of the Yacht Racing Association, in a
letter TO the current number OF the Field, has
put on paper the reason for this dissatisfaction.
Rule 16 OF the Y. r, A: regulations, under which
yachts exceeding a rating OF 10 shall be fitted
below deck with the ordinary fittings OF yacht,
& tw9 ,bst VSsn Of aSso
lutely bare below. that she has no 5ulkheads,
but mere screens of canvssi that she has nc nc
find In a fowl house; that she has no skylights,
but only fat wooden matches.
, =" Assuming all this to be true, she cheats tho
r. A. rules ~ avoiding weight OF some Is tons 6
is allowed TO sail thus, but under the English
regulations she would OF course be disqualified
II any one chose to protest. Moreover. this is
match. ma S which she he, won. it happened that the
two yachts had to beat up to the Lepe Buoy i'm
when britannia, who was leading the Amer
lean TO windwart. as usual, was edging into the
hind TO leeward the latter hailed her TO go about
under rule 22, which orders that II two yachts
aro iaa ~ m .Iwu i ~ ~ rd % rd ~. 'not abIo 10
to tack without coming into collision with the
yacht to windward, the latter shall at once tack,
on being hailed TO do so, &c. Britannia, or
course, went about at once, but Vigilant held on
her course. and did not come round until she
which she could not possibly have obtained
without this unfair man9uvre; for rule 22
ssys plainly enough H e9as
ward yacht, the person acting as the
owners representative, who shall be bound
10 see that the leeward yacht taCks at the same
"There can. therefore. be no question but that
she made a protest. We acquit Mr.. Gould,
Vigilants owner, at once OF any attempt at un-
tend the same indulgence ' to the cute Yankee
yachtsmen who were sailing the Herreshon
boat. And. TO assume an almost impossible
boat, and had played this trick. we have not the
slightest doubt that great pressure p would hay have
protest. As 1t happened, the maneuvre mada
no difference to the result Of the race. for in
water waite the fnisS was 'ST Certainty for visilsnt
Instead Of Britannia being SOM some pInH Ave
Yigiiant was timed SO seconds to the good at
that mark. and was never afterward headed.
creased the popularity OF the Kankee cutter, was
the difficulty OF getting her measured After
Southampton and dooked, so as 70 get into proper
trim for Cowes On THURSDAY, Aug. 2, the Yacht
hei. Capt. Han however, put him OF. saying he
noon Yigilsnt was taken down the Water ec, and
and he was politely informed by the secretary OF
the s9qadron that y was essential his Yacht
britannia would have TO be declared of; Mr..
Gould, OF course. sent Vigilant back to South
hmpton.
BritAnnia's rating was also taken again at
the same time, Both yachts were measured
with their racing crews on board, the English
cutter being credited with thirty four men 10
the Americans forty y-six. This makes at least
ten more hands than the latter can require, and
IL we take them at twelve stone apiece this
means three-quarters of ton 20 be used as
shifting ballast SO far as length over al is
concerned. VtgilAnt has l2676 feet 10 Britain
MAS l2l .O9. This, however, does not count for
rating, but merely the length on the water line.
Here the olevsrly designed Vigilant only reckons
s7.26 feet to her ogponent's 50 "a feet; In the
matter OF sail area the Yankee has IL .58S feet TO
Britannias 10, 500. Her exact rating works out
as 16s.bO, which Is nearly four points more than
had been accredited 20 her before she was meas
ured, whereas the Prince OF Waless cutter
measured l52, ,67, which Is only q small fraction
larger than she was thought to be. Half OF Vigil
ants extra sail area Is In her mainsail, OF which
the boom Is e8 feet & inches TO Britannica 9l
feet. On the other hand her gan Is about = foot
shorter The topmast stay OF the Herreshon
craft Is l Is feet inches from the deck, which
Is whole 10 feet higher than her rivals, and
her spinnaker boom IS nearly II feet TO the 9th
eT's SO feet"
Land and Wdtsr's correspondent at Cowes has
the following interesting cOuments 10 make on
the GOulds. the Prince OF Wales, and the Ger