The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-09-08

II the latter would split tackS with her,
came about. The challenger was. how
ever, unable to weather the Defender,
and when she passed under the Amer
leans stern, there was a shrieking by
the steam yachts and excursion boats
In attendance that will never be for
gotten by those who heard it. Valky
RE, on finding that she had not yet
gained enough to weather Defender,
came back again to starboard tack,
after l minute on the port. AS she
did SO, Defender came about to port.
1t was now Valkyrie's turn to refuse
splitting of tacks, and she followed
port. AT o'clock the contestants be-
gan long reach to starboard. Dur
ing this tack, the wind hauled gradu-
ally to the east, southeast by east and
finally to southeast. The breeze stiff
fened, too, up to about eight miles an
hour, and with that increase, the De-
fender began to overhaul the enemy.
She picked her rival up with burst
OF speed that was remarkable, as it
was delightful to the inhabitants of
the floating city that was looking on.
Had Been JoIIying.
SO easily did she overhaul the chal-
lenger that more than one observer
remarked to his neighbor something
to the effect that old Hank Half had
only been jollying his competitor all
the time. 1t was 2:55 when the Defend
er was on even terms with the Valky-
RE. Then she gradually forged ahead,
and at 3:20 it was estimated that the
Yankee boat was three lengths ahead
and well to windward at that. De-
fender was first to come around to
starboard, and head for the outer
mark. This was at 1925. It looked, just
then, as though Defender was. "a quar-
ter of mile to the good. When Valky-
RE came about, about Is seconds
later, she was well away on De-
tenders lee quarter. This breeze con-
tinued to blow at about eight miles an
hour from the southeast, and they
came along at pretty lively gait to
round the buoy and square away for
home. AS may be seen by the table
below. defender passed first by 3
minutes and 90 seconds, a gain of
minutes and 27 seconds from the time
of the start.
For the Finish.
On going around they eased off
sheets on the starboard side, set bal
loon jib to six sail and started for the
finish. The Valkyrie took in her jfb
and stay sails, while Defender hauled
down only her jib. Before long, how
ever, Valkyrie, seeing that Defenders
stay sail was drawing well, set hers.
The few champions of Valkyrie, who
were left, said that their boat would
overhaul Defender on this broad reach
home. But she did not. The same
sails were held in both ships all the
way to the finish, while the wind grad
ually dressed to its original strength
of about five miles an hour. On all
he h,
creased her lead over the Valkyrie,
and finished eight minutes and forty
nine seconds ahead.
1t was, taken altogether, especially
the concluding part of it, after so
much had been said about Valkyrie's
great powers in light weather, one
of the most interesting races that ever
took place. The only thing to mar the
days pleasure was the action of the
excursion boats, notably the Richard
Peck and the City of Lowell, on going
too close to Windward of the racing
yachts.
Perhaps the blanketing of these
steamers had little or no effect on the
result, but they showed very bad taste
IN hanging to the contestants in such
an important event, and their pas
sengers could have seen the race just
as well If the steamers had remained
a quarter of a mile further away.
Defenders Greeting.
When the Defender crossed the fin
fsh line. she was greeted by cannons,
whistles, tin horns and the waving of
handkerchiefs to an extent that en-
drely fitted the victory of a yacht
which all agree was the fastest ma
chine for her purposes that the world
has ever saw.
The official table is as follows:
Defender. start, 12:2O:5O; outer mark,
1856 20; finish, 5:21I4; elapsed time,
5:OO:24; corrected time, 4:59:55.
Nalkyrie, 12:20:46; outer mark. 3:39. ~.
hn1sh, 5;29:3O; elapsed time, 5:OS:44; cor
rected time, 5:0S:44.
Valkyrie allows twenty-nine seconds.