Omaha daily bee., 1895-07-21
DEFENDER COMES IN FIRST
Vigilant Fairly 0u,sailed in the First Trial
for the Coveted Post.
FAST TIME MADE IN A LIGHT WIND
Lazy Tack Outward Followed by a Quick
Run Home shows the True Quail
ity of the Syndicdte's
New Craft.

Run Home shows the True Quail
ity OF the syndicate's
New Craft.
NEW YORK, July 20.-Defender has met
Vigilant and vanquished her over a course
of fifteen miles to windward and return in
the same waters that the cup race will take
place in, in September The course was ono
Of the kind wherein Valkyrie III. will meet
the cup defender and that Defender is
boat much superior to the Vigant was
clearly proven. The new boat not only out
sailed the old champion 10 remarkable
| extent, but she outfooted her as WELL when
sailing to windward. Moreover, on the run
home before the wind, with Vigilants center
board hauled, she gained on the champion,
an advantage that her most enthusiastic ad
| mirers did not anticipate. The weather was
about what is to be expected during the
season in which the cup races will take
| place There was a good breeze Of from
twelve to fifteen knots an hour blowing
| throughout the day and the water was
smooth. Taking everything into considera-
ton, the trial was all that could have been
| expected for in its results. 1t is believed the
Vigilant has been improved from five to ten
| minutes over such a course, and IL this is
| the case the Defender must be a marvel.
| The public did not seem to understand that
the Of today and that of Monday may
| do away altogether with the necessity Of
| formal trial races. Therefore the very inter-
| esting race was witnessed by a compara-
lively small number of people. A yachtsman
who has witnessed all the races during the
last twenty years says that in his experience
| he never saw anything prettier in the way
of start than that of today. They were
both of them over and away so quickly after
the starting gun doomed that every on
| locker knew the fight was to be to the death
| Vigilant was in perfect trim. 1t is thought
the owner Of the Vigilant has spent any
where from $4,000 to $4,000 in getting his
| boat ready, either to beat the Defender, and
in that way enable him to carry out cher
| ished desire, or to convince the American
| cup committee that in beating his boat De-
| fender will be well worthy of her name There
was no doubt In the mind of any expert who
saw the race today that Vlgilant was sailed
for all that was in her. That she was beaten
| can be explained only one way, that is, that
| the other racer was a better boat.
| The program called for a start at II a. M
and II was only twenty minutes after that
| hour that the regatta commenced The club,
| who had arranged the race and were on
| board Commodore Browns steam yacht
| Sylvia, ordered the firing Of the preparatory
| gun. Sylvia took up a position to the east
| ward of the Scotland light and notified the
| yachts by signal that the course was to be
| lrOn an imaginary line between the flagship
and the manmast of the Scotland light. to
| windward, out into the open water or down
the New Jersey coast and return before the
| wind.
TEN-MILE WIND.
The wind at this time was blowing about
| ten miles an hour, almost due from the
| south. The same breeze he'd all day. 1t
| even increased during the afternoon, but the
sea was at no time rough. Boats cruised
around to the eastward of the starting line
| until the word was given. When that did
| come both were standing in toward the New
Jersey coast with the wind coming over the
port side. They tackled down. Defender al
ways in the lead and getting over the water
| at very rapid rate Vigilant appeared to
be rather sluggish, even as early in the day
| as that when they both came around and
headed back toward the Scotland lights,
where she took more the form Of a racer.
Defender was at least four lengths ahead.
| Coming up close to the lightship, Defender
was still several lengths ahead She came
| around under the stern of the o!d vessel and
| then stood of. Both yachts had set main
stills, staysails, jbs and jib top sails, with a
great club topsal at the head of their masts.
Defenders club topsail is the biggest top
sail that was ever put at the top Of a single
stick, and In view Of the fact that the De-
tenders gaif runs almost up and down from
pole to deck, the size of the sail may be
estimated. Round the lightship she flung
herself across the line in way that was not
OHiS CleNeT lTOHl the expert standpoint, Dut
beautiful. In twenty five seconds came Vigi-
liant, and she looked beautiful rounding the
lightship.
The yachts started over the line on the
starboard tack. Defender was not fifty feet
beyond the line when she went over to the
port tack and headed for the New Jersey
shore. Vigilant continued on her tack off
shore up to- 1875, or over four minutes from
the time when she went over on her original
| tack. At 1:37 Defender went about again.
In tacks that followed some people took the
: time between the luif in the wind and a full
sail on the other tack ten seconds. Val
kyrie was indsputably quick boat to tack
She gained somewhere between ten and fif-
teen seconds on Vgilant in getting about. II
Defender can make her turn from full to full
in anything like fifteen seconds she will do.
On every tack that was made Defender
showed up in the lead and her pointing ul
against the wind was something astounding
Defenders sails were almost chock full o
wind. yet she headed up higher than the old
boat by from point to point and a half.
The Herreschof model was steadily increas-
ing the lead until she mistook the spot where
the turning buoy was placed. and by this mis-
} judgment lost probably three and half min
utes. At the time Defender made the mis-
, take at the buoy she was something more thar
mile ahead. Getting back to her course
however, she rounded the buoy two minutes
7 and thirtyfour seconds ahead of Vigilant
: Heading up for home the yachts ran up bal
, | loon JlD tOpsdllS swung over tnelr Splnnahel
jibbooms and set their sails over them. Ii
the handling of the sails Defender showed
: he excellent training that her crew had
, undergone, while the Vigant's men were
slower. In running home it looked as though
I Vigilant, with her center board hauled up
was gaining, but Defender went over the line
2 first by two minutes and forty-ive seconds
. having increased her lead on that run by
] forty-one seconds.
ITniyersIrx Iluhs Mart Racfa
. The University club will give its secont
i bicycle meet of the season at the park, cor
ner Twentieth and Miami streets, next Sat
urday afternoon. July a. One of the specia
features of the meet will be a five mil
military race, in light marching order, opei
Q to all military organiza tions in Omaha.
= race of this kind will be something of
= novelty in the west. but the United State
army. as well as the national guards ar
| beginning to realize that the bike Is tn
i | speediest mode of transportation, and thes
. contests are common in the eastern cities
7 The other events on the program are:
: | One mile novice. First Morgan 4