The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-09-08

three Va.kyrles, one of which failed 10
the cup in 1898 and foundered In tn
Clyde last year. But Watson came I,
New York in 1893 to study the environ
e ments OF the courses over which thu
8 races were sailed, went home with nep
d notions, and evolved new kind o
r Yacht as the result, engrafting som,
8 American IDEAS on his own, and pro
0 duclng a model just suited for the worl
4 required for it in the cup races Off New
: York hafloor. Burgess and Herreshof
I are the American designers who have
been pitted against Fife and Watson
: Burgess, who produced the Puritan, May
, flower and Volunteer, and revolutionized
American yacnt-building, is dead and
Herreshoh, the designer of the Vigilant
and the Defender, is now alone, unless
some new man comes to the front.
In previous races for the cup superior
sail area has been regarded as the prime
factor in the winning of the race This
year that advantage rests with the Brit
ism challenger. Whether or not 1t will
count with Valkyrie III remains to be
seen "A yacht race is never won nor
lost until the course is actually covered
and the time allowances, If any there
be, are adjusted.
The courses this year will be the same
as those laid out fer all the later cup
races-one inside New York harbor,
over the New York cubs regular course;
the other two outside. Time allowance
will also be given on water line measure
ments. Which one will give and which
one take this year cannot be determined
until the official measurer gets through
with his work. The published water line
measurements put the two boats on even
terms. 1t has been predicted, however,
that the British yacht will have to give
her American rival an allowance in this
race. If that Is So it will be new de-
parture in these cup races, for hereto
fore the time allowance has gone the
other way and the Genesta came very
nearly winning one Of the races with the
Puritan that way. "A rule prevailing
in British yacht races has, however,
been adopted in this years rules of the
cup races, namely, to limit the number
of the crews. The Vigllant carried
crew of over seventy-five men in the
races of 1898, and the charge was set up
that their chief value was service as
"live ballast" Seventy-fve men hug
glng the windward rail make a. great
difference in a vessels stability, and re-
lieves her of the necessity of carrying a
large amount of dead weight on the keel,
which would also pull her deeper in the
water, increasing displacement or lessen
ing time allowance, as the case may be,
through the extra lengthening of the
water line. The value of olive ballast"
was recently shown in the two races be-
tween the American schooner Yampa and |
the British schooner Amphitrite. In the |
first race, with a large number of extra
men aboard the Yampa beat the Amphi-
trite, but when sailing with a restricted |
Di1nnhpr under tha rII'ac a nrOtpCf haU-
ing been allowed, she was badly beaten
by the Amphitrite. There will be no
Give ballast" carried by either vessel in
this years contest.
The list of American cup race winners
and the years in which the races were
sailed are as follows up to date: Amer
lea, 1851; Magic, 1870; Columbia and Sap
pho, 1871; Madeline, 1885, Mischief, 1851;
Puritan, 1885; Mayflower, 1886; Volunteer,
1881; Vlgilant, 1893.
The record is without a break. If a
break does occur this year New York
will send a schooner to England to
bring it back, they say. They are now
figuring on that possibility and are not
daunted by the recent defeat of the
crack schooner yacht Yampa in her sec
ohd race in British waters against the
British schooner AmphitriIe.
According to Sailor Jacks" super
stitious notions, the Defender is an un-
lucky boat and the America cup is in
real danger of returning to Cowes to
the club house of the Royal Yacht squad
ron She has met with misfortune from
the time she was ready for the water un-
til date. She stuck on the ways when
she has been aground twice.
yhe has started her side plates, her chain
plates, sprung a mast broken q gaff,
damaged her steering gear broken the
and suffered sundry other
either of which, If happen
ng in a race, would cause her to lose
t. "Sailor Jack" therefore, shakes his
read ominously and says she has been
,uilt too fine and cannot stand the
train.
1t would be far from a misfortune il
he America cup should pass for period
nto the hands OF the British. 1t would
,e the means of creating more interest
han ever in both nations to secure mari
lme supremacy 1t would act as a
tlmulus to American shipbui.ders and
nut them on their mettle. They would
harpen their wits to develop a sea-going
oat that would bring the cup back
gain. One thing has become fixed
lea in connection with the Americas cup
1T will never more remain in the undis-
urbed possession of any nation. II Great
Irltain were to get 1t this year, ana
.merica issued no challenge next year
or it, the Germans are sure to do It,
or Germany has an emperor who is a ;
erltab,e "sea-dog," and as enthusiastic {
yachtsman as plows the waters of any |
alton. He will surely covet the trophy [
no one else viii.