New-York tribune., 1895-07-21

would turn It first. the mist and haze oo-
scured the mark.
A round Of cheers. which were drowned In the
noise OF cannon and steam whistles. went up AZ
the Defender turned the buoy win another Vi
her pivot twists at exactly l:H.5o
One OF the pretest sights OF the day was IN,
red flag Of the buoy making a fiery splash OF
color against the hull of the vessel ana heI ga, %
mansail as the Defender came about and nlcd
away for home. Just what close ana exc','he
race it was can be told when 1t Is said that IN
a hfteen-mie beat TO windward only TWO minutes
separated the racing yachts
sPINNAKERs AND BALLOON JIBs SET.
Now was TO be the real struggle. as II was
,hought-the run home II the vigilant had a
chance with the Defender 1t would certainly be
when running before the wind. where a centre
board always has the advantage Of a keel boat.
The Defender either through some mistake on
account Of the fog or because she docs hot "a"'
reveal her real strength. went TOO iaf IN tul
ing the buoy, or outer mark. and the NlgHah'
came up on much more nearly even terms WIN
her. This advantage. however, was aihost as
quickly lost by the Nigilant whose ere" W.
rtdculously slow in shaking out her sails TOT tne
run before the wind. Then, too. strange as IL
may seem. the Vigilant although such a SNORT
distance behind the Defender, now seemed - "
sailing on entirely different wind. Still. the Wig
ilants balloon jib was really out first. although
the wind filed the Defenders spinnaker De'ore
m effort was made 90 shake out this sail on the
Vigilan, Loud applause greeted the swelling out
bv The breeze OF tn. big sail placed as II by
magic az an aid 10 the mainsaii or the peiehu"r
and with which the speed VI tue oo"' was
quickly increased
THE yIGILANT DIsAPPOINTs HER FRIENDS
| The vigant was apparently the better
| ba and,od Of the two boats to the outer mark.
Uere her commanders cunning seemed TO desert
him for the Defender took the lead not only In
| sailing. but In the way in which she was sailed
| Coming home on the wind. instead OF gaining
| Dnfc
Vigilant steadily lost. and the gap opened up
| nv the new cup defender became steadily larger
| A. only one time did II look as II the Nigllant
| vas really coming on well. but II was soon set
| tied that she could not catch her opponent. and
even the boats accompanying the racers gradu-
aIy drew by the Vigilant. beaten yacht, whne
| the gallant Defender seemed gaining rapidly
| This was disappointment to the friends OF the
| Vigilant &C.,, y.
| tho hea vier laden OF the excursion steamers had
| had hard enough task OF It keeping up with the
| Defender and Vigilant. was ready wheh the
| sloops came on to cross the line. The Defender:
| which had been steadily gaining. was greeted
with roar OF steam whistles. cannon ana cheers'
| which spoke we'll for the enthusiasm OF the spec,
| tators ii was 2:49:2S when the Defender slipped
| across the finish line and only trne over three
minutes later when the Vigilant also hnished. ne
Vigants exact time OF finishing was z:az:S.' ms
was sailing at close to ten miles an hour, though
| counting the tackng the boats must nave gone
| further. OF course victory VIII be claimed Tor
the Defender As the yacht mas Vacb; nor yes club N
| not in a position to award her the race as she
| won only on elapsed time. II being possible ,ha'
| with the reduced measurements OF the Nigilaht'
now that the lead has been taken from her po.tom
| and she has been further lghtened by the hitihB
| out OF her forward staterooms her tme aIIow,
ance would be sufficient to do away with the smai
| margin Of victory by which the Defender scored.
| The best unofficial opinion Is that even on
| time allowance the Defender has probably won
| by perhaps a minute and a half.
| After the race the Vigilant proceeded TO her
anchorage in the Horseshoe. She will probably
| he taken TO Erie Basin this morning for some
| suggested alterations. The Defender went up
| TO City Island. Ernest Staples one OF the old
| es, members OF the New-York Yacht Club. be-
ueves the Defender a MARVELLOUS boat. and sure
| OF beating the Valkyrie III as the Vigilant on a
| day like yesterday would have beaten the Val
| Lvrie II hands down Mr.. Staples says Mr..
Iselin is the foremost yachtsman In America.