The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-09-08

on the last tack and the Englishman
crossed over only four seconds ahead OH
Defender. with the latter having the wind.
and even subsequently showed in much the
better position.
AS VIEWED FROM A STEAMER.
The course was fifteen miles to wndward
and return and the boats went of on the
starboard tack At this time the sky was
ieaden and wind was at five knots. The swell
increased greatly as the fleet proceeded
outward. for, although the pace was slow
the solid phalanx of moving craft kicked
up quite a sea by itself. There had been
a haze throughout the early hours and this
was entirely dspelled by occasional sun
bursts. To those ashore. and to many
afioat, it was a matter Of extreme doubt
almost until the first mark was reached
as to which boat held the lead. Valkyrie
seemed at times to foot a trife faster than
the other, but Defender was pointing high
er. AS the detailed story of the contest
shows. the British boat led through the
early part of the race and until far out
beyond any fixed point of observation. The
most eligible fixed point of observation was
the Commercial Cable Company's steamer.
from which an ocean cable was paid out
from shore and which was anchored near
the starting line, nearly eight miles out
at sea. Obviously the yachts might, from
this vantage ground, be more accurately
observed than from shore stations. From
the latter, the yachts having started, the
range Of shore vision was obliquely across
the course. From the cable boat observa-
tion in the early part of the race was
directly across the course. while shore OBJ
servers were astern.
The British boat led out into the fog and
aarx rip
which Defender passed her antagonist and
turned ahead. On the return home the
identity of the yachts could not be dis
closed owing to the thickness until they
were close to the finish. A few minutes be-
for the turn was reached the boats seemed
to come well together and within a moment
it was observed that they had squared
away for the mark. Defender forged ahead.
| Previous to this their relative positions
| had been fixed by the angle merely from
which they were observed, or when OBJ
served directly across their bows, merely
| by the bobbing of the waves. There was
| no mistake now, however, as to the leader
| Defenders canvass was bulging out and
| she was sailing away from her rival amid
| the cheers of her thousands of stanch
I admirers and supporters. She came straight
| to the mark and would have rounded it
perfectly had not big excursion steamer
| shut out the wind for moment. The
! double lines of steam vessels were there
| in waiting to send the boats off their
homeward course. Several, however, care
! less of the consequences pushed their way
to the front, with the result that Defender
| lost triffe of the advantage which she
| had gained toward the end of the first half
| of the course. Fortunately for the credit
| of American sportsmanship it was the
home boat that was interfered with.
MADE OLD YACHTSMEN STARE.
The manner in which Defender outfooted
| Valkyrie made even old yachtsmen stare,
| for it was a remarkable performance tor
one boat, after sailing almost even with
another for many miles. to come out at the
| end with a lead of almost half a mile.
| gained In the last two She was three min
| utes and a half ahead of the other at the
! turning of the stake. On the run home
they broke out balloon jbs, but Valkyrie's
| did not seem to fit well as that on De-
/ fender The wind, which had increased
| during the early part of the afternoon 10
| about eight miles an hour, died away con-
siderably, and it was in this forlorn hope
| that the valkyrie men put their faith. Val
| kyrie mad already given evidences of speed
| in light weather several times during the
| race. and it was believed by some that she
would gather herself together for final
| burst of speed. But, although for a mo-
| ment it looked as If she really did gain
| trif1e her chances were lost soon after
| wards when it was clearly evident that
! Defender was steadily increasing the dis
tance between them And SO they finished,
| in the highest breeze of the day. with
valkyrie standing up straight more than
/ <1, Dl,o -,,x>t<x
welcomed by the booming of a hundred
| guns and the shrieking of a hundred whis-
| ties and the cheers of thousands.
The greatest fleet ever gathered together
! in the lower bay witnessed the race to-day.
Every steam yacht and sailing yacht Of
| known quality was there. of whom Valiant
for the former, and the Mayflower and the
| Columbia, the old defenders for the latter.
were sponsors. There were few accidents
| in this great fotilla, but in the run home
| the Mayf1ower went ashore off Sandy Hook
| point. Late tonight tug was by her side
waiting to get her off. Besides the yachts
all the excursion boats, some of the sound
steamers and every available tug and
float in the port had joined the fleet. Many
of the big boats were crowded to the rail
and all were dressed in that holiday attire
which signifies great event and great re-
| joicing.
1t is estimated by the syndicate owners
4 of Defender, c. Oliver Iselin. d. Morgan
and W. K. Vanderbilt, that their expenses
in connection with the present series for
the Americas cup will amount to not less
than 900. Hardly less than this amount
will be expended by Lord Dunraven in the
same good cause, and 1t is impossible to
estimate what it cost the fifty thousand
people who utilized the steamers in viewing
the contest to-day.
DETAILS OF THE RACE.
| Valkyrie Made a Better Showing than
a-~ n.stssbor Ever MD RefOre