The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-07-21
The Syndicate Yacht shows Her Abil-
isy to Defend the Americas Cup
in the Coming Contest.
FIRST OF THE TRIAL RACES
THE NEW BOAT oUTsAILs THE OLD
CHAMPION IN EVERY WAY.
She Keats the Ccntcrboarder I'm Tack
ing and Running Before the Wind
-A Successful Test.

yigilant and vanQu.shed her over course
OF fifteen miles 10 windward and return IN
the same waters that the cup race will take
place in September. The course was one OF
the kind wherein Valkyrle III viii meet
the cup defender. and that Defender Is a
boat much superior TO the Eigilant was
clearly proven. The new boat not only out
sailed the old champion 10 a remarkable
extent, but she outfooted her as well with
sailing TO windward. Moreover. on the run
home before the wind, with Vigllants CEN
terboard hauled up. she gained on the
champion. an advantage that her most en-
thusiastic admirers did not anticipate.
The weather was about what is 10 be ex-
pected during the season in which the cup
races will take place. There was good
breeze OF twelve TO fifteen knots hour
blowing throughout the day. and the sea
was smooth. Taking everything into con-
sideration, the trial was all that could have
been asked for in it's results. IL is believed
that the Vigiiant has been improved from
i've to ten minutes In the course OF thirty
miles. over her form OF 1896. and IL this II
the case the Defender must be a marvel
The public did not seem to understand that
the race of to-day and that OF Monday
may do away altogether with the necessity
of formal trial races. therefore the very in
teresting race was witnessed by a compare
lively small number OF people.
A yachtsman who has witnessed ali the
races during the last twenty years says
that in his experience he never saw any
thing prettier in thu way OF a start than
that of to-day. They were both Of them
away so quickly after the starting gun
doomed that every onlooker knew the fight
was to be to the death. yigilant was IN
perfect TRIM 1t is thought that the owner
of Vigilant has spent anywhere from $500
to $4,000 in getting the boat ready either
TO beat the Defender. ani in that way en-
able him to carry out cherished desire. or
to convince the Americas cup COMMITTEES
that in beating hss boat Defender will be
well worthy of her name. There was no
doubt in the mind of any expert who saw
the race to-day that Vigiiant sailed
for all that was in her. That she was. beat
en- be explained in only one way-that
is the other racer was a better boat.
THE START
The programme called for a start at II a
m, and II was only twenty minutes AFTER
that hour that the regatta committee ~
board Commodore Browns steam yacht
Silva. ordered the firing OF the preparatory
gun. Silvia took UP a position to the east
the yachts by signal that the course was
to be from an imaginary line between the
flagship and the mainmast OF the Scotland
light, to windward, out into the open sea
or down the New Jersey coast. and return
before the wind. The wind at this time was
blowing about ten miles an hour, almost
due from, the south. The same breeze held
all day. 1t even increased during the after
hut he ~ fr.a .uts
The boats cruised around to the eastward
OF the starting line until the word was
given. When that notice did come both
were standing in towards the New Jersey
shore with the wind coming over their
port sides. They tackes down, and got ever
the water at a very rapid rate. The vigi-
liant appeared 10 be rather sluggish. even
as early in the day as that. But when they
both came around and headed back for the
Scotland light, the older yacht took on
more the form OF racer. Defender was az
least four lengths ahead. Coming up close
to the lightship Defender was still several
lengths ahead. She came around under the
stern OF the old vessel and then stood on In
artistic style. Both yachts had set main
sails, stay sails. 3ibs and baby jib topsails
with a great big club topsail at the heads
OF their masts- Defenders cluo topsau IL
the biggest topsail that ever was put at the
head OF a mast of single sticker, and IN
view of the fact that Defenders gan runs
almost UP and down from pole ic deck. the
size of that sail may be estimated. Around
the lghtshic she flung serseI across the
line in a way not only clever from the ex-
pert standpoint, but beautiful Within twen-
ty-hve seconds came yigilent ard she also
made beautiful rounding ot tf.e iightship.
AFTER THE .,URS.
The yachts then started over the line on
the starboard tack. Defender was not Ave
hundred feet beyond tie line be-
fore she went about. went over
the port tack and hfad,d In for
the New Jersey shore. vigilant con-
tinued on her tack OF shore up 10 IL s55.
or over four minutes from the time that
she went over on her original tack. At
llS7 Defender went about again. In the
tacks that followed some people took the
time between a luff into the wind and
full sail on the other tack as ten seconds
Valkyrie OF 1888 was indisputably quick
boat TO tack. 1t has been estimated that
she gained somewhere between ten and
fifteen seconds in vigilant on going about.
If Defender can make her turn from full
TO full in anything like fifteen seconds she
will do. On every tack that Was Hiaoe
Defender showed up in the lead. and her
pointing up against the wind was something
astounding
Defenders sails were almost always
checked full OF wind, yet she headed I'D
higher than the old boat by from point
to a point and a half The Hereeshoff
model was steadily increasing the lead
until she mistook the spot where the turn
ing buoy was placed and by this mis-
Judgment lost probably three and a half
minutes. AT the time Defender made the
mistake at the buoy she was something
more than a mile ahead. Getting back 20
her course again. however, she rounded the
buoy 2 minutes and seconds ahead of
vigilant. Heading up for home the yachts
ran up balloon jib top-sails. swung over
their spinnaker jib booms and set their
sails over them In the handling OF the
sails Defender showed the excellent train
ing that her crew has undergone. while
| the visilant with her center board hauled
up was gaining. but Defender went over
| the line first in two minutes forty-tlxe Sec
onds having increased her lead in that run
| By forty-one seconds