The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1895-09-11

VAIKYRIE FOULED THE YAM
KEE BOAT AND CROSSED
THELINE AHEAD.
DEFENDER GAINED ON THIRD LEG
VALKYRIE'S MAiN-BOOM HAD
SWUNG AROUND AND FOUL
ED DEFENDERS JIS TOP
SAIL,
Flew Like a wounded Bird

The Englishman Halt Mile Ahead. the
First Leg, on an Ideal Summer Day
.-Defender set her Baby Jib Topsaii
After Rounding the BuOy and for the
Last Ten Miles it was her Verifabie
Victory in a Ten Knot BreeZe.-She
Crossed the Line Like Thorough
bred and Competent Critics say That
vaIkyrie was Really Beaten Worse
Than on Saturday The First Brit
Usher to Cross the Line First in Il
Quarter of a Century--JOy in Lon
don and Cauada-.Dunraven Offers a
Pension to his Men for Victory.
NEW YORK, Sept. 10. Valkyrie won
to days race by about two minutes and
eleven seconds. Defender, however,
enters protest, claiming that Valkyrie
fouled her at the start.
Crippled, but still heeling far over in
her strength and swiftness, Defender
followed Valkyrie across the finish line
to-day. Less than half a mile separated
the two, and anxious eyes kept pace,
second by second, with the time indi-
Gators as they moved around, and when
it was seen that the American Defender
had not only lost nothing in the last
twenty miles of the course, but had ac-
tually gained, great shouts went up for
the gallant struggle gallant vessel had
made.
There were cheers for the victor, too,
but although Valkyrie was the first
challenger since 1871 TO lead over the
whole line, the honor of her perform
ance was lost sight of for the time in
the grand effort of the American; for if
it were nothing else, the American heart
loves the hard loser in the fight, and
loves him the more when he loses
through no fault of his own. 1t was a
grievous accident that ruined the Yam
kee boats chances, an accident which
under the hair splitting circumstances
of jockeying at the starting line, looked
to be unavoidable.
Early in the morning the racers had
surely made their way down to the Hook
from Bay Ridge, white winged and
beautiful They circled in great rings
about the lightship until the signals went
up for the course and the shippers took
tighter grip on the wheel. Capt. Hank
Half had made a record in seamanship
on Saturday, and the English skipper
prepared to regain the fame which had
preceded him. They manouevred swiftly
been fired, and with Valkyrie to
windward, Capt. Half made every
effort to gain that position. Just
before reaching the line when Valkyrie
was still to windward and Defender to
leeward, length astern, but still over
hauling her, the American boat was
blanketed so much that her baby jib top
sail and jib shook. Capt. Half, seeing
this, luffed up little, evidently intend
ing to let the other boat 60 ahead for
the purpose Of enabling him 10 pass un-
der her stern and to windward. Capt.
Sycamore at Valkyrie's tiller noted
this move and luffed up also.
1t was there that the thousands of
watchers on the surrounding boats no
ticed how dangerously close to each
other the racers were. And just at that
moment, too, a snap and a rending
sound was heard, and it was seen that
Defenders jib topsail was flying loose in
the wind. Valkyrie's main boom had
swung around and fouleG Defenders
rigging. Those who had witnessed the
accident sprang forward at the ominous
sound. It seemed as though Defender
trembled with the shock. They
saw her topmast bend and her topsail
swing over as though it would break
away, and a groan went up as though
the brave boat, which had won so noble
a victory a few day before, was wholly
debarred from even an effort to secure a
second. Lightning action was necessary
to save the topmast from breaking away
completely, for it was already sprung
from its fastening and Capt. Half, with
a master stroke, taking his boat down to
leeward, soon manouevred her into
a safe position and gave chase.
Valkyrie, which had crossed the
hne first, had gained good
lead by Defenders disaster and had
probably little more than half mile
advantage at the end of the first leg ip
the triangular course over which they
sailed. Her gain was something less
than four minutes in the beat to wind
ward From that on, however, De-
fender, while not perceptibly closing the
gap between them lessened the time and
they crossed the line not more than two
minutes apart. Valkyrie, according to
corrected time, however, wins the cup
from Defender by just AZ seconds.
Such an ideal summer day in Ihe
lower bay has seldom been seen. 1t was
not what American yachtsmen call an
ideal racing day, bat nature has always
been kind 10 Dunrayen, that gallant
English sportsman, and for the second
time, in the second race OF the series for
Americas Cup and the honor OF the
sport, the winds and the seas have