Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-06
Defender and Valkyrie Measured
This Morning.
REPORT NOT YET MADE KNOWN
Prominent Yachtsmen Present at
the Ceremony.
DUNRAVEN NOT BETTING

NEW YORK, September 6.-Everything
Is in readiness for the yacht race tomor-
row. The official measurer, Jas. D. Hyslop of
the New York Yacht Club, went this morn
Ing to the dry dock in Erie basin and meas
ured both the yachts. Mr.. Hyslop said
that his report will be made public late in
the afternoon at the New York Yacht Club
to whom. he says, he feels in duty bound
to send it first before giving it out
With Mr.. Hyslop were ex-Commodore
James D. Smith and a number of the prom
inent members of the New York Yacht
Club, every one of whom expressed him
self surprised at the beauty and general
excellence of the two boats.
Commodore James D. Smith of the New
York Yacht Club, in giving his opinion of
the relative merits of Valkyrie and De-
fender, says:
The Valkyre and the Defender are the
creations of very brainy men. They are
racing machines, and only fit for that pur-
pose. They are useful only for this and
are dangerous when they enter any har-
Dor on our coast on account of their great
hXed draught of water. AS to their speed
! have seen the Valkyrie sailing only twice
but not at all In what should call her en-
deavur trials
. II have seen the Defender in races and
all ways OF going, in company with other
yachts, steam and SAIL and also alone.
oeem her very fast all-around boat
the fastest by all odds ever built in this
country. We have made our best effort In
design and structure she has had the best
talent in this country and the best super
vision. She will have the best talent in her
management during the races, ana l think
she Will wiD."
IF we should lose, would a boat be built
to go over aztec the cup?' he was asked
'Oh, yes; certainly" he replied.
Ninety-Footers Too Big.
Lord Dunraven has declared himself in
favor of smaller racing craft.
The ninetyfooters are too big" he said
They are not so handy as the smaller
boats, not so safe, and cost more to build
and run. They do.not admit of such nicely
of handling, and there is not the sport to
be got out of them that there is out of
smaller boats.
Had my first challenge been accepted,
would nave come over with seventy
foot Vaikyrie. Personally l like the twenty
raters best. There is more sport in racing
them than any other class. l believe there
could be splendid racing in seventy-five-
fCoters. One could have rigs and sail
spreads in them which would stand"
Lord Dunraven spoke frankly of the
coming races. He declared that he knew
very little of the abilities of his own boat,
and absolutely nothing about the Defender.
He simply could not compare them.
Dunrnven Wants II Good breeze.
1.-The Valkyrie," he said, ito my mind,
does not do SO well in light winds as she
will do in good strong breeze"
AS to his boats great beam, he said:
In my opinion, beam pays in a racing
vessel
Lord Dunraven expressed himself as per-
fectly satisfied with the conditions for the
races. He denied positively that he had
ever offered or would offer to wager any
money on the result.
More Interest Than Ever Before.
No previous contest for the Americas cup
has ever aroused such intense and wide
spread interest on both sides of the At
lantic as the coming races.
Not only are hundreds of strangers In
town from Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Chicago and many cities of the far west
eager to witness the grand struggle between
the two speediest yachts ever built, but the
number of foreign visitors who are here for
the same purpose has never before been
exceeded.
The hotels are packed with guests, and
every available excursion steamer in the
vicinity has been pressed into service to ac-
conmodate the thousands of sightseers who
will witness the rare spectacle.
Such a big rush tor the ocean course has
been anticipated for tomorrow that unusual
precautions have been taken by the cup
committee to have the course properly
y
rot be interfered with by the excursion
fleet. The patrol force will be in charge of
b. S. Osbon, who looked after the recent
naval parade at the opening Of the Harlem
ship canal, and Lieut.. Delehanty. supervisor
of the port. Col. Gillespie of the engineer
ing corps of the United States army and
the navy yard officials are all interested in
securing fair play for the racers.
The committee has also issued a notice to
all captains of excursion boats and pleasure
craft urging the necessity of keeping an
absolutely clear course and doing all in
their power to prevent interference with
the races, so that there may be no cause
for complaint, as there was on several oc-
casions during the international races two
summers ago.
The Probable Weather.
Local Forecaster Dunn said Of tomorrow's
probable weather:
Taking it all In all, the conditions most
likely to prevail tomorrow will be favor
able for the contest. There will be brisk
wind of from twelve to eighteen miles an
hour. 1t will come at first from the north
east, shifting to southeasterly quarter.
1t is bound to be an on-shore wind.
"The indications are that the sky will be
overcast nearly all day. There may pos
sibly be light showers, but it is not likely
that there will be any heavy rain
Was Watson Joking.
Designer Watson of the Valkyrie said to-
day to a reporter: Il am going down to
the race tomorrow expecting to lose'
He said this seriously, but neither he nor
any Of the other Valkyrie people looked
very doWncaSt.