The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-03
DEFENDER BREAKS HER GAFF.
THE RACE ABOUT WON WHEN THE
AIIsHAP OCCURRED.

She Was Leading Her Competitors
in Fine StyIe-The VigiIant Wins
the Race After the Real Victor
Had Been Taken in Tow by Tug.
The Prize the $500 Cup offered by
Ogden GOeIet-Her Superiority
over the other Boats Clearly DEM
Onstrated.
Newport, r. l., Aug. 2. - The De-
fender lost her first race to-day, and
great was the pity of it, for she had walked
away from her three competitors ana
was nearing home when n new tangled
gam at the top of her mainsail broke and
most ingloriously the aspirant for cup
honors was obliged to take a line from
a common everyday tug and retire from
the race, allowing the Vigilant to win.
The $500 cup offered by ogden Goelet was
the prize for which the syndicate boat
was racing, but the fair fame of a craft
that seeks international honors was at
stake. Pitted against her were her per-
sistent antagonists, George ]. Gould's
Vigilant, the preserver of Americas cup
in 1898, and Gen. Charles J. Paine's un-
d
in 1898, but not chosen; and also J. NAL
/ colin Forbes successful cup defender Of
1887 the Volunteer.
With three opponents tit to try her steel,
the latest Herreshof creation went out to
the Brenton's reef lightship off the en-
trance to Newport harbor this morning
I and put up a race that delighted the big
] Qf
/ the second turn and sailing thirty-two
miles of the thirty ight-mile course. Then
/ her new hollow gaff broke near its middle
1 and the great mainsail became mis-
/ shapen bag.
The spar was followed out and bound
together like a barrel in order to save
weight. Hollow spars were first used in
i England, and the Herreshoffs have elabo-
rated on the foreign idea. Better go back
/ to the solid yankee stick, was the general
/ opinion of yachtsmen to-day, who were
conjecturing as to where we would be
att if such an accident happened in cup
race
Before the mishap the Defender had
| pressed to windward 1713 miles and run is
miles with the wind astern and spin
! maker out, and had turned the second
mark with lin, 35s advantage over the
| Vigilant, 16m, us over the Jubilee and 3im,
33s over the Volunteer. This was clearly
| capable OF. In the windward work the
gain over tha Vigilant was I'm, 29s and in
the run 9m, Is. The wind was about IA
knots an hour at the start, dropping to
10 knots at the first turn and increasing
during the run to IS knots, at which rate
it was blowing when the gaff gave way.
The boat was close pulled at the time
and there was lumpy sea, which may
have had something to 90 with carrying
away the gaff. After the Defender with
| drew, the Vigilant sailed home an easy
| winner.
Gen. Paine's Jubilee not only failed to
crowd the Defender, but could not push
the Vigilant near as hard as she did in
the trial races of 93, showing either that
the changes in the Vigilant have improved
! her or that the changes in the Jubilee have
not improved her.
Calculations of the Valkyrie's perform
/ ances, taking her superiority to the Bri-
tannia and the latters defeats of the Nigi-
liant in English waters, will not hold good
here, for the Defender beats the improved
| Vigilant and not merely the old Vigilant
! The performance of the old Volunteer to-
day showed how much we have progressed
in yacht building since 1887. when the
boat, which was over an hour slower
than the model of 1895, easily beat the
/ Thistle
The great race of the sloop diverted at
1 tention from the race for the 81, 900 schoon-
ers' cup, also offered by Mr.. Goelet, which
was sailed at the same time over the same
/ course. There were nine crack schooners
4 in the race. The best elapsed time was
made by the Lasca. and was 5:42:S5. The
! Nigilant covered the distance in 5:03:59, or
/ almost thirty-nine minutes better than the
! best of the schooners. The Emerald was
I the second schooner to finish, and was
I given the prize on time allowance. The
4 Amorita was the third in The others
/ finished in the following order: Mayflower
Mertin, Elsmar C, Neara and Loyal The
1 last two are schooners of class 5, and
were racing for a special cup, which was
offered at the New York club regatta June
| 13, but was not decided, owing to mistake
| in classification The Loyal won the prize
! to-day by 2:19:00 corrected time.
/ Tomorrow morning the feet will con-
tinue the cruise by a run TO Vineyard
Haven, where it will lay at anchor over
! Sunday, returning here on Monday.
Word was received from Bristol late to-
night that the Defender win be on hand
with a new gaff tomorrow, and will con-
tnue on the cruise. The Vigilant, Jubilee
and Volunteer will also go to Vineyard
/ Haven, and in all probability the four
boats will meet again in the Dresel cup
races here next Tuesday. The American
/ cup committee will set the time for the
trial races on the return of the fleet here
next Monday.