The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-09-07
OFR TO THE YACHT RACE.
Monster Crowds to Witness the
Great International Event.
THE MEASUREMENTS A SURPRISE.
Defender Gets Only Twenty-Five sseonds'
Time Allowance from Her British Rival.
The Amsrica's Cup and Its Many Success
ful American Defenders.

Dotohuef oets Oniy hWeng-hiHo S7cohuh
Time Allowance from Her British Rival.
The Amsrica's Cup and Its Many suceess-
fui american Defenders.
NEW York, Sept. 7.--Never In the his
tory Of yacht racing in this country havu
thcro been such monster crowds to witness
such an event MS will view the race be
tween Defender and Valkyric III off Sandy
Z Hook today From early morning trains
from Philadelphia, Boston and NIL other
sections within half days ride have beon
bringing the enthusiasts, and all quickly
hurried to get on board one of the many
bonts which were advertised to carry ex
curslonists to the race.
Last night it was impossible to secure
accommodations at any of the large mp
town hotels The guests caine from all
parts Of this country, and Canada sent
many, but New England, and particularly
Boston, mustered the largest number, All
the incoming trains from New England
were crowded, and the. sound steamers
have done great business the past two
days.
The result Of the measuror's work on the
competing yachts was great surprise.
That the English yacht should yield less
than half a minute was astonishing to
all the smart people. However, here are
the figures:
Defender-Length on load water line,
eS.45; length from after end of main boom
to forward point OF measurement, 1St.7a;
length from foreside Of foremost to for
ward point Of measurement, 1855; length
extreme Of spinnaker boom, S36; length
main gaff, 64,95; length topmast, 81 AZ,
one-flfth, 1894; height upper side of main.
boom to topsail halyard block, 1s5.4s, sail
area as per rule, 1885, sailing length as
per rule, 100,38
Valkyrie-Length on load water line,
1855; length from after end OF main boom
to forward point of measurement, 1856 02;
length from foresido of foremast to for
ward point of measurement, 1894; length
extreme of spinnaker boom, 1884; length
main gaff, $3.50 length topmast, 55.aS;
one-fifth, 447S; height upper side of main
boom to topsail halyard block 1880; suil
area US per rule, 1l4,14; sailing length as
per rule, 101. 40.
The length Of Defenders gaff went con-
siderably toward reducing the small adj
vantage gained on the water line.
When Mr. Hyslop brought the measure
ments to the New York Yacht club house
he said that the Valkyrie would have to
allow Defender 1910 seconds The com.
mittee considered the question for long
time, and finally posted up notice to the
effect thnt the allowance would be 20 sec
onds. The races will perhaps be very close,
Tut no tenths of seconds will separate the
boats at the finish.
The tale Of the Americas cup has beeu
many times told, but 1t never loses iutcf'
est. 1t was during the year 1851 that the
schooner yacht America went to Europe
NI,a N,h h..s ..it
borne the name of that vessel. The idea
of building the boat was conceived by
Commodore John G. Stevens, of the New
York Yacht club. Commodore Stevens
consulted with other members of the club
and a syndicate was formed to build the
boat. In the syndicate with the commo
dore were Messrs Hamilton Wilkes, George
l.. Schuyler, James Hamilton anu j. B.
Finley.
When the America first appeared before
the gaze OF the Englishmen she created Il
feeling of great surprise, Nothing like her
had ever been seen before, as she carried
neither jibboom nor foretopmast. When
under way her sails set flat and stiff, while
1t was the idea of tho English yachtsmcn
that sail should bag somewhat in order
to obtain the full benefit OF the wind. But
in q brush or two that the visitor had with
yachts In their own waters the. Yankee dis
played great speed, and it quickly became
known that the new arrival was a racer.
The regatta took place on Aug. %, and
the prize was the Royal Squadron cup
worth 100 guineas. The course was from
.Cowes around the Isle of Wight, without
time allowance for tonnage The America
had fourteen competitors, several of them
being of greater tonnage than herself. The
a faH "a Safbn1 ~ Nv
ty-four minutes.
1t seems strange to think Of but it Is q
fact that the Americans entered that re-
gatta only with reluctance The only
thing to win was the cup, and they wanted
to make money enough to pay at least O
part of the cost of building the yacht and
taking her across. They hunted high and
low for bets, but failed to discover u single
sport who would wager enough to make IL
worth while. 1t is said that all they won
on the race was IA flying jibboom and set
OF sails.
The America afterward sailed in match
with the 100 ton schooner Titania in q
strong breeze, and beat her by more than
an hour. Commodore Stevens could not
induce anybody else to meet him, and h,
finally sold the yacht to Lord de Blan
quiere for 5000, under whose manage
ment she afterward raced the eighty ,foul
ton cutter Arrow twice, losing once and
then winning.
The yacht remained in England until
1861, changing ownership several times
and was then sold to southerner, who
converted her into u blockade runner. While
In this business she ran up the ST. John,
river, In Florida to escape the United
States frigate Wabash, and WAS scnttlet
there, After the war the government
raised her and made school ship of hel
for the cadets of Annapolis. When thu
Cambria challenged for tine cup in 1871
the navy department fitted the yacht ou
for competition, but she finished no bette
than fourth. The old boat finally passed
into the hands of General b. +, Butler, o
Massachusetts, and is still owned by tn,
late generals son.
In 1857 Messrs. Stevens, Schuyler ant
Wilkes, who alone survived of tho syndi
cate that built the America, presented
the cup won in 1851 to the New Yorl
Yacht club, in whose hands it has since
remained as a trophy for which any coun
try may challenge.
1t was not until 1870 however, that
challenge was received. 1t came from Mr.
james Asbury, of the Royal Thames Yach
club with the schooner Cambria. Th,
start was made from anchorage, with al
sails down, the competing vessels beinl
the schooners Cambria, Fleebwing, Daunt
less, Restless, Rambler, Alarm and Taro
linta and the centerboarders Magic, Tida
Wave, Silvie, Madgie, Phantom, Made
line, Idler, Jessie, Halcyon, Widgeon, Ca
iypso, Josephine, Era, Flcur de Lis, Alic
and Palmer. The Magic led throughou
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