The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-08-21
DEFENDER AND VIGILANT
An Unsatisfactory Contest Be-
tween the Two Yachts.
vIGILANT AWARDED THE RACE

But che Defender Met with Accident
which Compelled Her to Withdraw at
the End of the rirst Round. Whom She.
Was Five Minutes Ahead.
NEW YORK, Aug. ai-The first formal
trial race between tho Defender and tho
Vigilant to give the Americas cup com
mittee an opportunity to decide which
boat should bo named to defend the cup
was held yesterday outside Of Sandy Hook
in the same waters that the CUP race will
. take place in, but ended very unsatis-
faotorily. The boats raced not only TO
give the committee q line on them, but
also for o cup that John Jacob Astor Of
fered to tho winner of the majority OF the
races that the committee should order.
The winner of the cup, however, will not
necessarily be the defender Of the Ameri-
cas- cup. One boat might beat the other
three times straight, and yet the Ameri-
cas- cup committee will have absolute
power and discretion in picking the de-
fender. The committee might decide from
their observations during the cruise of the
New York Yacht club to the eastward,
and ignore these trial races altogether If
they SO choose to do.
1t Is believed anon g yachtmen that tho
in the hope that they would see Defender
IN good stiff breeze, II not hard wind,
condition Of things in which she has
not yet had the opportunity Of displaying
her power. They came very near having
the desired view yesterday. but they were
forestalled by an accident that prevented
Defender from really showing what she
could do In breeze of wind that went
over the water probably at the rate of
twenty knots an hour. In fact 1t was the
very stiffness of the breeze that brought
dire injury to the fin keeied boat The
breeze stirred up her rigging so much
and played such havoc among 1t that iu
1oosened 1t to material extent up to-
ward the masthead and caused such dam.
age that Defender had to withdraw or
take liberal chance at carrying away
her topmast.
1t was afterward found that the slack
ing up Of the rigging was so extensive
that the yacht would not be able to COM
pete in the second trial race for n week.
The committee having learned this fact
decided at the Now York Yacht club
house last night that the next two trial
races would take place on Tuesday and
Wednesday of next week.
The Vigilant, too, was prevented from
going over the whole course, but from o
different cause. After she had made her
first round Of the ten miles to windward
and return she hauled down her club top
sail, and then ran up against a wind that
burst her jibinto shreds. Nothing daunted,
she ran up another jib, and was proceed
ing on the course the second time when
the committee boat Luckenbach ran up
alongside of her while she was tacking, and
notified her that she need go no further,
that the Defender had withdrawn, and
that she, Vigilant, had been decided the
winner Of the days race.
The time of the boats In the incomplete
raco was as follows:
Outer ELAPSED
Start. Mark. Finish. III ne.
Inns II. g. II. MS. H. II. 3.
Defender .1l:t6;53 l:09:ls 2:0i:29 2:l7s88
Vigilnnt.. l;l4:A 2:0s;as 2:22.36
Thus It will be seen that tho Defender
beat the Vigilant on the elapsed time Of
the only round by i've minutes.