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

the WlnQ may De DlOWlnS at tue tlIne, a
return, and the other over trlangul
course of thirty miles So far there b
been no occasion to sail more than tJ
of the three races, and the cup is st
- on this side of the Atlantic in the GU
10 tody of the club originally intrusted wi
the responsibility of its defense.
These are however not all of Il
changes that have been made in thei
international cup races. Although II
Is, Royal Yacht squadron's cup was wo
by a keel boat in competition again!
keel boats its defense from 1870, tn
first of the challenge contests, TO thl
year has devolved upon centerboar
schooners and sloops, excepting in tn
series in which the Livonia was tn
challenger in 1871, when the Sappho,
keel schooner, shared the honors of de
fense with the centerboard schoone
Columbia, taking the Columbia's plac
after she had lost the race through dis
IN aster to steering gear and spars. Tha
d was the only exception to the rule o
e centeIboards until this year. In sever
d out Of the eight cup contests the defender
e of the cups has been center5oarder
It and up to last year it had become flxec
e notion among American yachtsmen gen
s orally that there never would be a
n time as Captain Roland f. Coffin says
n In his story OF the Americas cup, when
e all other things being equal, a center
s board would not beat kee,."
The Vigilant's experience last summer
1 in British waters indicated the necessity
= for a modification of this opinion. The
t Vigilant, a centerboard and the cham
( pion of the Americas cup In 1893, was
S beaten in several races by the Britannia,
keel cutter, which showed herself so
3 far superior that the sloop built to de.
: fend the cup this year against Va.kyrie
; III Is not a centerboard, but a keel of
the most pronounced type which in all
|, the trial races has shown great superior
ity over the Vigilant.
Models and rigs have been involved in
| the Americas cup races. George Steers
built the America on new ideas regarding
the designs of hulls, and when she sailed
to England to test her capacity against
the best cutters in British waters it
was distinctly understood that she rep
presented a distinctively American type.
When the, Magic won the cup race in
| 1870 against the Cambria another ana
more pronounced feature in modelling was
| introduced in these cup races, namely,
| a light-draft broad-5eamed centeiooard
craft, with all ballast inside the hold,
| representing the American idea OF mar
| llt dlCHlltCluit dSdlhol INC http hidltt
narrow beamed keel boat. The former
was ridiculed by the Britisher as a skim
ming dish; the latter was conte nptuously
described by the American yachtsmen as
a board sailing on its edge.
In 1881, the cup races resolved them
selves into contests between single stick
ers, the Canadian challenger Atalanta
being n sloop. In 1885, the question of rig
was injected into the competition the
Genesta being the pioneer OF British cut
ters to enter American waters TO strug
gle for the coveted prize. In this feature
of the international yacht races, the
standing rigging, laced mafnsail and fixed
bowsprt of the American sloop, are pitted
against the sliding bowspHt and rigging
and sails set flying, which are charac-
teristic features of the British cutter Up
to the present year there has been IS
marked a difference between the models
CT the British challengers and the Ameri-
can defenders of the cup as there was
between the American and the fleet of
cutters from which she wrested the
trophy in 1851. Every one of The four
Scoops preceding the Defender have been
noted for their breadth CT beam and great
sal-carrying capacity, with a marked
tendency, however, toward an increased
draft The latter was so largely devel- |
oped In the V1giant that she Is to all
intents and purposes a keel boat when
her centerboard is hauled up, as she |
draws fourteen feet of water when in |
that condition and twenty-three feet |
when the board Is down. Then again |
she Incorporates the British idea Of bal |
,astlng, having the weight low on the |
keel. Each of tho British cutters that |
have challenged for the cup have, how
ties of British yachts-great depth of |
draft and extreme narrowness of beam
each one, If anything, looking slenderer
than its predecessor on the challenge list,
and with heavy weights on the keel.
Furthermore the challenging yacht has
always entered the races with the same
racing spars and canvas used by her In
her home waters. Invariably the contrast
between her and her American adversary
as to the spread of canvas, has been un-
favorable to her The spars and sails of
the home craft have been a revelation to
the visiting yachtsmen, and sail-carry-
ing capacity has invariably won the race.
This year there has been a general
departure from the national traditions on
both sides of the Atlantic, For the first
time in the history CT the Americas cup
races, the British have built a yacht
expressly designed to sail in American
waters in the fall weather OF the East
srn coast, The Valkyrie Ill is unusually
broad in the beam for a British yacht,
exceeding that Of the Defender by four
feet and she has a draft within six
inches Of that Of the Defender This gives
her the power to carry an area of can
vas unequaled by and British yacht of
her inches ever before built. Her dmen-
slons are 12S feet over all; 90 feet on
water line; beam. 2S feet; draft, Is feet
inches.
The New York syndicate represented
by MIR. Iselln. which has put at least
il50,0OO into the Defender, has, on the
)ther hand abandoned the centerboard
and taken up the British idea OF deep
lnd heavily weighted keel 1t has also
made another concession to British pre-
iudices by Increasing the depth OF draft
and narrowing the beam. 1t looks very
much like a confession that the limit
of the centerboard was reached In the
Vigilant, the champion of 1898, and that
further advancement in the matter OF
speed Is only obainab,e through the
agency OF a keel model, an increase in
depth, the lowering Of weights, and a
in breadth. But sall-carrying
capacity seems to have been lost In the
sacrifice OF breadth of beam. The dimen-
sions Of the Defender are given as fol- 9
lows: Length over all, l27 feet; on water 9
line, 80 feet; beam. q feet; draft, 10 feet
An experiment has been made, also. In I
the employment of materials for the De- G
tenders constructlln With the view OF
securing maximum lghtness aluminium Q
has been largely used In her null. But a
the English designer has made boat c
OF composite materials-wood p.anking on /
light but strong. stee, frame-which
is said to have produced quite as light n }
boat, foot for foot, as the Defender
There has, therefore, been complete I
revolution, as II were. on both sides OF d
the Atlantic In the preparations for Il
this years contest for the Americas I
cup, The English designer has adopted
the American idea regarding beam to I
secure stability and sail-carrying capac- \
ny, without overloadlng himself with
ballast, and the American designer has I
fesorted to the British idea of a keel I
ana low weight TO secure the same re- 7
suits. and he has sacrificed beam to avoid 4
snrface friction, again conforming to an :
other British idea, The Britisher has se-
cured the spread Of canvas he was aim a
Ing to secure. II Is the first time for an j