The herald., 1895-07-23
;. 81, and in which Los Angeles

! conditions it is almost universally con-
! ceded the Nigliant is the fastest boat in
the world. She showed those same quail
tiles here as on the other side of the At
lantiC. When it came to the point, how
ever, where because a little shift IN the
wind, spinnakers had to bs hauled in and
booms hauled on board, the Defender in
stantly shot ahead. She kept ahead and
was never afterward overhauled during
the entire thirty miles. unless it might
have been on certain little portions of the
course where the wind dropped to almost
nothing. In these places it seemed as
though the Vigilant picked up. but the
gain was incoDslderable.
The run between the marks shows that
the Defender gained in each of the three
angles. 1t was expected that the Nigilant
| would show UP with new sails this morn
ing, but it turned out she only had to
make few alterations in the canvas that
| she used on Saturday. One improve
| ment there certainly was in her outfit,
the cleaning OF her center board. A
diver was sent down to examine it yester
day while the boat lay inside of the
Sandy Hook horseshoe. He found it COW
cred with barnacles and grass. The board
had not been touched for polishing pur-
poses when the Nigilant was docked at
the Erie basin for the cleaning of her
hull. because there was no room. This
Improvement, when the diver had fin
ished, was no small one. Together with
the change in the cut OF her sails il
made the boat d. better, without doubt.
than she did on Saturday. Yet the only
time she gained on the Defender was
when she had that same old champion
center board hauled up and when it was
of no use whatever.
The Defender appeared in Just about
the same form as she showed in the first
race. Trit1ing improvements had been
made in her block work and a small cut
of her club topsail.
If there was any improvement in form
it was IN the Nisilant and that makes
the Defenders performances more re-
markable. Directly after the start the
racers found themselves running dead
before the wind. Down went the Nigi
lant's spinDaker boom at the first sign of
a dead astern wind, and it was not
minute later that the Defender followed
suit. The Nigilant met with a mishap at
the start, small sloop getting in her
way. She was on the starpoard tack
when the Defender was still on the port.
The Defender came around just before the
line was reached, but refused to give
way to the other boat, which. because
she was on the starboard tack, had the
right OF way. 1t looked as though there
would be q collision Dut the other boat
by courtesy waived her right and went
about on the port tack. passing in under
the Defenders lee quarter until she was
clear. The Vigilant at once raised flag
of protest. but no notice was taken OF it
at the time by the committee.
The yachts went over the line with top
sails flying and continued so up to the
time that the spinnakers were set. After
the spinnakers were hauled IN, the De-
fender was the first to go ahead.
Within the space OF a mile when the
spinnakers were hauled down. the Defen-
der was good sixteenth of mile ahead.
lip., ha ttrut daar fuaf
that the Defender had some little iurther
distance to go, she perceptibly gained on
th5 Nigilant, made very pretty turn
within twenty feet of the buoy and went
away on the starboard tack with sails
quite full, in true racing style. She was
very quick in coming into the wind and
as he main sheet was hauled aft she
held her head up and went very quickly
through the water, close hauled, making
the course southwest in wind that had
died down to about six miles an hour.
The Vigiant did not go so close to the
buoy, but she went around it just as fast.
Jib topsails were run up at the beginning
OF the second leg. and as the wind iresh-
ened little pit the contestants presented
a pretty picture. AT 2:20 the Defender
found that she could not weather the sec
Ond mark. so she went about to port.
and as there was bit of breeze ait she
showed how she could spin around from
one tack to the other.
The Defender stood for three minutes
when she came around to star board. whlle
the Nigilant sailed OH to her old star