The herald., 1895-07-31
Her Steering Gear Had Become
Deranged
AILSA DEFEATS BRITANNIA
Great Crowd at the L. A. W. Races at
Dayton
Events at the Bay City Track and Eastern
Turfs Tennis Tournaments and
Baseball

the Long Island shore five miles from
Huntington Harbor, to this port. The
cup defender gave up the race not far
from this place because her steering gear
became deranged.
A strong southwest by south breeze,
varying in strength from eighteen to
twenty-five knots, blew throughout the
greater part of the race, which was a
broad reach on the starboard tack from
start to finish, and with hardly the shift
of a sail. When Defender dropped out it
was estimated that she was fully five min
utes ahead of the VIgilant, and the new
yacht was looked on as sure winner,
barring accidents, but the unexpected ac-
cident occurred, and Defender received
her first defeat. A better day for racing
than today could not be imagined. The
wind was strong and true and increased
in strength until this port was reached
when stiff twenty-five knot breeze was
blowing, and just as the last yacht
made New London severe wind, rain
and souall, lasting about an hour, sprang
up ana set the people at Bridgeport and
New Haven wondering whether the
smaller yachts were caught out in it,.
Happily such was not the case, and bar
ring the damage to the Defenders steer
iHS Stul, tuo SPllbtIhS Ot Ouo VI hci SiuO
topsails and iib, and the loss of boat
en- board the schooner Montauk, there
were no accidents to record.
The Nigilant had a little the best of
the start and kept we'll ahead for some
time. Finally, however she got into a
lutfing match with the Defender, the
latter pressing her closely, and Defender
walked up ahead and to windward, NOV
ing gradually away. 1t is estimated that
Defender was about five minutes ahead.
When nearing New London she suddenly
luffed up lowered her topsails, signaled
for tug, and was towed to shore in the
harbor.
The general opinion expressed after it
was ended was that Defender would have
undoubtedly Won the race had she been
able to finish. Vigilant thereupon sailed
grandly across the line and up the haT-
Dor, winning in four hours and forty
minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
The race across the sound was one OF
yachtsman here. The breeze strong
enough to test the sail carrying power OF
any sailing yacht ahoat. but they all
chung OH to the full sail from scratch to
finish ana made Il strong record breaking
pace.
The result of today races demonstrated
very little. unless it is that on a. broad
reach over sixty miles in a stiff breeze
the Defender can beat the Nigilant, but
not by quite as vide q margin as her ad-
mirers would like to see.
The Constellation of Boston. in the
sch ooner class, emade a remarkable run.
covering the course in hours. 80 min
utes, "a seconds, really remarkable per-
formance. She was the first yacht to
reach this harbor, and her time CON pares
favorabiy with the Nigllant's, A 40 :37.
The race today was started with the first
ebb tide, which helped the yachts greatly.
After the race the Associated Press tug
Alert went alongside the Vigilant and the
Captain Haff for their views Of the race.
The former could only say that the race
spoke for itself. and the latter simply ad-
m lifted that the Defender had split few
sails, but the Defender people did not look
happy.
from the schooner Iroquois. which also
made remarkably Ene run. said the
stiffness of the breeze about IL a. m.
when he estimated it was blowing fully
twenty-five knots and the Defender dur
ing the woist slowly crert away from the
Nigilant, both yachts standing up grandly
considering. He added, however, that
he hoped the Vigilant had been greatly
improved. otherwise he was of the opin-
ion that the cup was in danger.
Another expert yachtsman said the De-
fender was undoubtedly the best boat and
that she would beat the Nlgllant in any
weather by good margin. but. he added,
she will be much faster when she meets
Nalkyrie III.
New London harbor never looked so
gay as it did this evening. To be sure
the New York yacht fleets put In here
every year, but this year the contest be-
tween the old and new cup defenders has
proved drawing card that brought out
such feet us even the capacious deep
alter harbor of New London never saw
before.
The Vigilant, like the Defender, was
the center of fleet of row boats, sail
boats and launches whose occupants
looked with all their eyes at these TIL
umphs of American shipbuilding skill.
The United States dispatch boat Dol.
phIn, Secretary Herberts flagship. was
one of the con spicuous OBJECTS IN the har-
Dor and did not suffer in comparison with
even the smartest of the steam yachts.
This evening the Defenders damaged
steering gear was taken ashore to the
Morgan iron works, where several men
were put to work on it. It is expected
the Defender will be able to start with the
rest of the fleet tom orrow.
Ailsa Wins Race
QUEENSTOWN, July 30.-Britannia