The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-08-21
ALL PUZZLED.
By the Peculiar Accident Whics Hap
sened to Defender
STACKING UP or HER RIGGING
Compelled Her to Withdraw In
Yesterdays Race.

NEW YORK, Aug. 2i.--The first formal
trial race between tho Defender and the
Vigilant TO give the Americas cup com
mittee an opportunity 10 decide which
boat should he named TO defcnd the cup
was held outside of sandy HOOK, in the
the same waters that the cup race VIII
take place in, but ended very unsatis-
factorily.
Tho boats raced not only 10 give the
committee "a line on them, but also for a
$500 cup that John j. Astor offered To the
winner of the majority of the races that
the committee should order That Is to
say that the winner OF two Of the three
trial races will get the cup. The winner,
however will not necessarily be the
defender of the Americas cup. One boat
might beat the other three times straight,
and yet the Americas cup committee Will
have absolute power and discretion in
picking the defender.
II Is generally believed that the commit
tee ordered these trial races more in the
hopc that they would see Defender in
good stiff breeze If not hard wind "a
condition of things in which she not yet
had the opportunity Of displaying her
power They came very near having tho
desired view yesterday. But they were
forestalled by an accident that prevented
Defender from really showing what she
| could do in u breeze of wind that went
| over the water probably at the rate OF 20
| knots an hohr.
| Defender Meets with an Accident.
In fact it was the very stiffness Of the
breeze that brought dire injury to the fln-
| keeled boat. The breeze stirred up her
rigging SO much, and played such havoc
| among IL, that IL loosened it to material
| extent up toward the masthead, and
caused such damage that the new boat had
TO withdraw. The Stacking up of the rig
ging was so extensive that the yacht will
! not be able to compete in the second trial
race for a week. The committee after
ward decided that the next two trial races
would take place on Tuesday and Wednes-
day of next week.
1t is mystery to yachtsmen, especially
those who have given the closest attention
to the rigging of boats, why the Defend
ers stays weakened under "A breeze which
enabled her to still carry her clubtopsail
which she did when she quit, and con-
tinucd to do all the way up the bay to the
anchorage off Bay Ridge.
The Vigilant, too, was prevented from
going over the whole course, but from u
first round of tho 10 miles TO windward
and return, she hauled down her club
topsail and then ran up against a wind
that burst her jib into shreds.
Nothing daunted, she ran up another
lib and was proceeding on the course the
second time over, when the committed 5
boat, Luckenbach, ran alongside of her
while she was tacking, and notified her
that she need go no farther; that the
Defender had withdrawn, and that she,
the Vigilant, had been decided the winner
of the days race.
The Time,
| Outer Elapsed
Start. mark. Finish. time.
Defender ...llA653 lOols 2Oi.20 2l7.3d
vigilant ....1l.455j l.l4.5i 20s8! 2219d
Thus it will be seen that the Defender
beat the Viglant on the elapsed time OF
the only round by 5m. fiat.
An Object of Interest.
The docks of the Boston Drydock com
pany at Erie basin were crowded by the
yachting enthusiasts who gathered there
TO see Lord Danravcn's big single stcker
Valkyrie III, which has come over to
make try for the Americas cup.
Every one who saw the boat remarked
on her breadth of beam and the great
length of her after overhang, aud most OF
them seemed positive that the Defender
was the better boat OF the two so far as tho
symmetry of bodybuilding is concerned.
The Valkyrle was towed TO the Erie
basin Monday evening and, on her ar
rival there, was moored at the end of dock
No. 1 to wait until the Spanish stea mshiT
Sorrento leaves dock No. g Then Tho
Valkyrie will go into drydock and have
the finishing touches OF the polisher puI
to her bottom. Her racing mast o
amazon pine was put into position yester
day, as was her racing jibboom. Captain
Cranfeld, her racing captain, said thai
the Valkyrie would not take a sail befor,
five days at least have passed.
The Valkyrie's mast Is l03 feet high abov,
the deck, and though il was the intention o
Lord Dunraven to sail the race with
new hollow, steel mast, II is very probabl,
that the wooden one will be used. H. NJ
Kersey, Lord Dunraven's representative
was on board the yacht experimenting
| tho work