The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-11

would probably have been one of the finest
in the history of America cup contests.
Nothing was lacking to make 1t memor-
able affair. The crowds of spectators and
the fleet of excursion craft and private
yachts were present to lend animation to
the scene. There was a good sailing breeze,
the sky was clear after the mist of the
morning had been dispelled and the ocean
was comparatively smooth.
1t was a good day the for VaIkyrie, but it
would have been better one for the De-
fender had she not met with an accident.
The weakened topmast of the Defender pre-
vented her from carrying the sail that the
Valkyrie carried and she could not keep
the pace set by the Dunraven boat. In the
beat of ten miles to windward to the first
turn the Valkyrie gained an advantage of
two minutes and fifty-two seconds. At one
time she led by fully mile, but as the
wind freshened from the six knots at the
start to fifteen at the first turn and eigh-
teen shortly afterward, the Defender,
crippled though she was, began to gain.
The second leg of the race was broad
reach and the Valkyrie used a balloon jib
uopsail, while the people on the Defender
had to be contented with a baby jib top
sail. In spite of her handicap the De-
fender gained seventeen seconds on the
second leg.
On the run home the Defender continued
her good work, gaining one minute and
seventeen seconds. The time allowance
of the Valkyrie to the Defender is twenty
nine seconds, and allowing for this the diff
ference between her time over the course
and the Defenders time WIS forty-seyen
seconds only.
The early morning crowds found the
harbor and bay wrapped IN fog. A gen.
eral murkiness filed the air and blew up
the city's streets from the river. The du-
bious outlook kept many people at home,
but there were many thousands of others
who filed down to the water front and en-
barked upon everything that was going
out to see the race. Many of the steam
boats were dangerously overcrowded,
owing, no doubt, to their reduction in
price of tickets from So to 81. Yachtsmen
and men wearing yachting caps were nu-
merous on the club steamers. They were
not dismayed by a little fog in the early
morning. Yachtsmen and others who
were not were gotten up in blue serge and
white duck suits.
On the steamer st. John the members of
the New York Yacht Club and their guests
were assembled. The America cup com
mittee and the regatta committee went
down the bay on the tug Walter F. Luck
enbach. The yachting contingent was not
dismayed by Whit OF fog in the morning.
The people were out to see all that could
be seen of the great international doings
beyond Sandy Hook. That portion of the
general public which was actuated by a
patriotic desire to be present when the
crack yachts of Uncle Sam and John Bull
met for their second bout made haste to
secure good seats on the excursion boats
and club steamers. The crowd was not as
numerous as on Saturday, but it numbere
we'll up into the thousands. Most of the
steamboat captains named an earlier hour
for departure than on Saturday, as they
found it no easy matter to push their
deep-laden craft through the thirty miles
of water that interviewed between the Bat
terry and Sandy Hook lightship.
Down at Bay Ridge, tugging at their an
chor chains, lay the two yachts in whose
performance the world is deeply interested
at present. After yesterdays sail-stretch-
ing spin both sought the picturesque
anchorage inside Owls Head. Their tow
ering spars poked holes in the mist this
morning as each champion tugged at its
moorings. Like racehorse champing at
the bit they seemed anxious to get away
The crews breakfasted early in the lum-
bering propeilers Hattie Palmer and City
of Bridgeport, which served as floating
boarding houses for the men. After break
fast there was a careful tautening up and
testing of rigging and deck tackle. The
shippers of both yachts looked long and
earnestly at the weather. The wind was
light from the southwest and the fog was
lifting slowly. Both boats got club top
sails ready and made preparations for
light airs. The Defender was the first to
leave Bay Ridge. At 7:40 she took line
from the tug Wallace B. Flintan started
for the scene of action.
The Valkyrie left her moorings ten min
utes later in tow of the White Star tug
Pulver. Both boats got up their mainsails
going down the bay. The Defender used
the Herreshoff mainsail and the snow
white topsail which she displayed for the
first time on Saturday. The Valkyries
mainsail was fitted far better than that of