Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-03
~ u s@Ae-s- s-s<2.-R
HAS BOUGHT THE VlIsL SM!!R!E
Harry MCCaImont Is Now Her
Sole Owner.
WANTS TO RACE DEFENDER
And W. K. Vanderbilt Who Now Owns the
Crack American Yacht Is Likely to
0bIige Him.
New York World.

New York World.
1t is stated on authority which is al
most hnimpeachable that the two great
est yachts OF the century, Defender and
Valkyrie III, will fight their battle over
again in series of matches this coming
season, Defender as the sole property of
William X. Vanderbilt and Yalkyrie as
the sole property of Harry McCalmont.
AS long ago as September Is last the
World exclusively announced that w K.
Vanderbilt was making arrangements
and concluding negotiations whereby he
was 10 become sole owner of Defender
The Worlds announcement was denied
very generally at the time, but subse-
quent developments prove it TO have
been founded on fact
AS Mr.. Vanderbilt was to the Defen-
der syndicate, SO was Harry McCalmont,
the young English millionaire, to the
Valkyrie syndicate. 1t has been an open
secret that of the $4,000 odd charged by
the Herreshoffs for Defender Mr.. Van
derbilt put up $4,000, e. ID. Morgan and
G. Oliver Iselin, the other two members of
the syndicate, chipping in, it is said but
$1,000 apiece. In fact, Mr. Iseln almost
admitted as much, though he claimed
that the time he had spent on Defender
was equivalent to an outlay on his part
of large sum of money.
The Valkyre syndicate. was composed
three lords were Dunraven, Lonsdale
and Wolverton. The commoner was Nc
Calmont, VINO had more money than the
three lords put together, multiplied by
ten and was willing to spend it. His
monetary interest in Nalllyrie was very
much the same as Mr.. Vanderbilt's was
in Defender, Dunraven and Iselin being
chosen on account of their experience as
practical yachtsmen managing owners
of the respective boats.
During his recent trip to the Medterra-
mean the American millionaire frequently
met Mr.. McCalmont, whose steam yacht
Gralda is in some ways even more of
marvel of the ship builders art and sci
CAGE than Valiant herself.
Up to the. time of the meeting of the
two mllionaires, Valkyrie was adver-
tised for sale in all the papers in which
one would naturally look for such an adj
Vertisement. She was also on the books
of all the yacht agencies and George l..
Watson, who was intrusted with her sale,
in a letter to a Mr., Meserole of Spring
Vile, Pa. put her price at, in round num-
bers, 5000 guineas.
Before Mr.. Vanderbilt had left the Ri
viera on his way home the advertisement
had totally disappeared, and the Nalky-
res name was taken off the books OF the
yachting agencies.
This sudden withdrawal of the adver-
tisements could mean but one thing-that
the yacht had been sold.
But who had bought her?
From information received in this city
yesterday there seems to be no doubt
that McCalmont was the purchaser, and
that his object in buying the boat had
been clearly formula ted in the course of
his recent conversations with Mr.. Van
derbilt in the Mediterranean AS has
since tranSpired through the medium of
letters received in this city from the other
side both men professed themselves as
thoroughly dissatisfied with what Nils
Olsen once cleVerly described as the
"huxe, foul and fizzle" of 1895. Mccall
mont, like Dunfaven, was not willing to
accept the conclusion, inevitable to Amer
lean minds, that in Defender Nalkyrle
had met her mistress. a race between
Defender and a boat in which DunraYen
owned any part or parcel would, on the
face of things, be practically Impossible.
So, unless man who ought to know has
woefuly missed his mark, McCalmont de-
termined to purchase Valkyrie outright,
and, being a mastery and energetic
young man, forthwith did so.
The future movements of the two big
boats, where, when and how they will
meet. are still in the dark. w. *. Van
derbilt could not be seen last night. Val
kyrie still lies at her dock in the Erie
basin, untouched and untrod, except by
the solitary man who keeps watch and
ward over her. However, there Is
likelihood that the next mail from Eu-
rope will throw some light ON the matter.
The option ON the tender, the City of
bridgeport, for the coming season still
remains remains in the hands of the Val
kyrles managers, and it is quite on the
cards that the work of overhauling and
hitting out the British boat will be COM
menced in a comparatively short time
The man who is said to be Valkyrie's
sole owner has almost as many millions
of dollars as he is years old. and he is 36
at that. He is a high type of the English
sportsman and thorough athlete. He
stroked in Elton eight, played on the
Elton football team, and, as lieutenant
in the Scots Guards, was one Of the
founders of the Army Football associa-
ton. He was transformed from young
officer to the richest commoner in Eng
land by the death of an uncle, who left
him an estate valued at 500 600.
His love for sports embraces all
branches. On the turf he has played a
prominent part. his derby winner, lsin-
glass, being one of the greatest horses
of the decade. He is a member of parlia-
ment, too, having defeated Sir George
Newnes for the Newmarket division of
Cambrdgeshire in the unionlst interest.
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