The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-08-31
OUR CHOSEN DEFENDER
Formally Named to Compete with
Valkyrie III.
vle1LANr AGAIN BADLY BEATEN.
The Now Yacht Led by Over Five Min
utes at tho Finish. and Might Easily
Have Made the Distance Between the
Contestants Much Greater.

The Now Yacht Led by Over Five Min
utes at tho Finish. and Might Easily
Have Made the Distance Between the
Contestants Much Greater.
New YORK, Aug. 81.-The third so
called trial race between Defender and
Vigilant, which took place yesterday, was
good deal Of q farce. Defender won over
course Of ten miles to windward and re-
turn by five minutes and twelve seconds,
whom she could have crossed the finish
line anywhere from eight to ten minutes
ahead of Vigilant II she had been sailed
for all she was worth. The magnificent
showing that Defender made on Thurs
day In all kinds Of weather and on all
points Of sailing created so much enthu-
siasm that Mr.. c. o. Iselin, the chief man
ager Of the ayndicate which built the
yacht, may have come TO the conclusion
that the boat uncovered her qualities too
much, and possibly he decided to pull
back little. Defender made tack just
before rounding the outer mark, which
she would have had no occasion to do II
she had been well handled, and which
cost her a minute or more. In all the
batting down to the outer mark Defender
was sailed with rap full or more. No
pointed up TO the wind. Vigilant, on the
In the most sportsmanlike manner.
On Thursday in beat of eight miles,
Defender beat Vigilant five minutes and
fiveseconds; on q run before the wind the
keel boat beat the centerhoarder over the
same distance two minutes and thirteen
seconds, when the wind was light. Yes
terday. when there was q good breeze at
the start, ten miles an hour, which In
creased couple of miles before the racers
turned the outer mark, Defender in
ten mile leg beat Vigllant only five min
utes and twenty-five seconds; and on the
run home before the wind, during which
there was never less than an eighteen knot
breeze, Vigilant picked up ten seconds.
On Thursday the water was as smooth as
mill pond, while yesterday there was no
sea that could be called heavy or even
choppy.
The preparatory whistle was blown
promptly at II O'Clock. The signal to
start was blown ten minuteslat After
crossing the line on the starboard tack
Vigilant was the first TO come about. De-
fender won't In stays, too. and although
she came up into the wind five or six sec
onds later than Vigilant, she was fully on
the other tack before the centerboarder.
When both boats had come around to the
port tack Defender was nearly a sixteenth
of o mile ahead in that first five minutes
of the race. At 11;o9 Vigilant went about
again, and Defender followed suit In
stantly.
The breeze freshened to about twelve
knots an hour at this time, and both racers
felt 1t simultaneously. They stood on
long board, and 1t was not until ls:01 that
Defender came about. Vigilant remained
on the same tack until 1903. Ten min
utes later Defender came around to the
starboard and crossed Vigilants bow. She
stood on that tack for three minutes and
then came about to port we'll on Vigi-
lant's weather bow, and stood down for
the outer mark. 1t looked as though she
could have made the mark, but she did
not She made Q couple of taoks before
rounding. Vigilant made a good long
tack to port and then came about to stand
we'll over to the eastward. Her next tack
fetched her around the mark with ease.
Defender was then five minutes and
twenty-five seconds ahead. She gibed
over and prepared for her run before
the wind homo. But that preparation,
which included the settling Of the spin
maker and the balloon jib topsail, was per-
fected In very SLOW manner. Then came
the run home before the wind.
In view of Defenders great work on
Thursday, on run before the wind, many
people thought she would beat Vigilant
yesterday. On the contrary, Vigilant
gained ton seconds on her. and Defender
was the winner by five minutes and
twelve seconds, rs the following official
time table will show:
Outer Elapsed
Start. Mark. Finish. Time.
Defender. .1l:l0;O8 12:47:25 2:0II8 R,52:I0
Vigllant.---l1:l0;1s 12:53:4e e:074O 2:57:22
The racers had not proceeded a mile on
their course when the English yacht VAL
kyrie doomed up to the northward beat
ing down from the point of Sandy Hook.
She was never nearer to the Vigilant than
five miles; but even at that distance 1t
could be seen that the challenger kicked
up good deal Of fuss in the water Val
kyrie did not come near Defender and
Yigilant until the very close of the race,
when she drew up to the finish line and
witnessed tho Defenders success.
The Americas cup committee formally
decided at q meeting held on the commit
tees boat last evening that they had So
lected Defender to meet Valkyrie for tho
Americas cup.