The herald., 1896-04-26

things will be very duh for the owners
of the big racing sloops.
There are many reasons why Ameri-
can yachtsmen would hail with JOY an
announcement that the Defender was to
seek fresh honors in British waters In
the first place the English critics. during
the Defender Nalkyre races last ran.
sneeringly said that the American boat
was the lightest kind of racing poat
and could never cross the Atlantic, as
the Nalkyrie had. They asserted she
would go to pieces at the first touch OF
stormy weather. or. if she survived the
voyage, would be So badly strained ana
crippled that she could never again don
her racing canvas.
This miserable libel on American ship
luilding would be refuted by the pro-
posed trip, and moreover. it would give
the Defenders owners chance to dem
onstrate that the 1895 American boat is
as good as if not better than the 1896
English boat The Defenders superb
ority over the Nalkyre was 50 marked
that it is doubtful if the Englishmen
can make Improvement enough in
year to overcome the failings of the En-
gliSh craft.
Should the Defender make the voyage
her particular target will be the boat
now building for the German emperor at
Tenderson'S Glasgow yard. This boat
will be launched about the first of May.
and like all vessels yet untried. is said
ID nave Int tdll1lI1kS Ol Il Moitu DtdltI.
There is no doubt that G. j. W0tSor the
designer of the yacht. has put the best
of his art into this boat. for the German
emperor is not an easy man to deal with.
and unless she comes up to his expecta-
tons there is every probability that he
will throw her back ON the hands of her
designers and builders.
The poor showing 'ot the Nallcyrie in
American waters last year has made
Designer Watson doubly anxious to re-
trieve his reputation and if the Meteor,
the name of Emperor Williams s boat,
Il not superior to the Britannia and Ailsa
the best of the English single-stic ickers,
there will ba a vacancy among the lead
ing British yacht architects.
Much mystery has surrounded the
building of the Meteor, as is usual with
all of Watson's boats. The workmen
engaged on the craft have been pledged
to secrecy and the large shed in which
the unfinished boat lies is guarded day
and night. Rough drawings and ode
bits of information have leaked out from
time to time, however, and the Englsi,
sporting papers have not scrupled to
make use of them. although when Val
kyrie was building these same papeIs
never printed any of the secrets of the
boat in the fear of their Yankee cous-
iHs taking advantage of them. In the
case of Vaikyre she would have Jared
much better if the Yankee cousins could
have been induced to copy from her, for
the 1elenutI WOUlu nave Detn slower
and the now historic cup race of 1895
might have had another ending.
The Meteor will have tremendous sail
carrying power, it being estimated THAI
her canvas spread will measure 1300n
square feet. She will have a lead keel
weighing seventy Eight tons No alum
mum has been used as far as can be
learned, Notwithstanding the success of
that metal as demonstrated by the De-
fender Her beams are of nickel steel
and all of the frames are Of the same ma
terial. People who have seen her de-
scribe her as a network of nickel steel
frames. angle iron sheet plates. hori-
zontal strihgers and diagonal bands
She is not unlike Nalkyrie except that
what less The lead keel is about
a foot and half longer than that of
Dunpaven's boat. and is two feet and
half deeper forward than aft. In the
Meteor Watson seems to be after the
maximum of stability and sail power.
end in the rough waters frequented by
yrtish yachts she is counted upon to
show a clean pair of heels to anything
now on that side of the water
Emperor William will not sail the
yacht. but has placed her in charge of
Richard G.. Allen. one of the cleverest
amateurs on the Clyde. He can be
counted upon to race her for all she is
worth. blow high or blow low, and will
not scruple to beat the Prince of Wales
Britannia if it is in the Meteor to
do it.
The prince. II is said is waiting for
the trial spin OF the Meteor with more