The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-08-21
THE TRIAL RACES.


select defender for the Americas cup,
are very different from the trial races OF
past years.
The cup was originally won in feet
competition, and OF the eight unsuccessful
attempts by Canadian or English boats to
recapture II, four have been sailed by
the single challenger against any and all
yachts that choose to enter and race In
the defense, the idea OF selecting par
| ticular yacht to represent America hay
| ing originated In 1885, and being due to
| the fact that America had no yachts to
| compare with the big single stickers
that England had developed, and accord
ingly yachts had to be built expressly to
meet Genesta. That year Priscilla, the
New York boat, ana Puritan, the Boston
boat, competed for the honor OF defend
| ing the cup the trial races being sailed
exactly as the cup races themselves were
to be sailed. The following year when
Galatea came after the cup, New York
and Boston were again represented by
Atlantic and Mayfower. In 1887, to meet
Thistle, Volunteer was the only boat
built, and had only the boats OF preced-
ing years to compete against much the
situation that exists this season. Then
i a. f,.to In, ha oh
ges, and In 1893 the coming OF Valkyrie
resulted in the launching OF four fine
yachts-Vigilant, Colonla, Jubilee and
Pilgrim to contest for the honor OF rep
resenting America. The superiority OF
the two HERREsHoFF boats, Vigilant and
Colonia, and the record before and since
made by the Rhode Islanders, practically
left nERREsHoFF alone in the field this
year as the leading yacht architect of
America, and no one cared to undertake to
go elsewhere to build in competition with
, the IsEIIN syndicate boat.
Fortunately, however, vigilant's sports
manlike owners have put the cham
pion OF 1893 into the best possible form
that the new defender might have al
good a chance as possible to test her pow
ers, and II was thought also that Colonit
and Jubilee might contribute to give thu
new yacht struggle for supremacy il
trial races. But prior to yesterday
contest Defender had not only alread,
shown a tremendous advance over tn,
boats Of 1893, but over the improved Wig
liant, as well, SO that the result OF any tria
races could only be foregone conclusion
and their only value would be to tune ul
the new yacht and perhaps discover an,
weak places that might exist. And 1t wa
to test the Defender rather than to selec
a defender for the cup that yesterday
"trial race" was had.
In a topsail breeze yesterday, and wha
seems to have been a particularly mast
sea, Defender demonstrated finally tina
o she is far better boat than vigilant !
appears that her rigging stretched O
slipped and she abandoned the race les
the ugly tossing about the sea wa
giving her would pull out her stick.
is not unlikely that she might have fin
shed the race without accident, bu
weakness having been brought out b.
the thrashing the main object OF the con
], test may be said to have been accom-
plished. There is no reason to believ
that the stretching or slipping of the rig
ging is anything to be alarmed about o
that there is any mysterious trouble wit
j, the new yacht. Defender is all right, 81
far as is known, and 1t is a good thin
II the weak spots are all discovered be
=, fore the cup races are on.