The San Francisco call., 1899-10-04

sea The Shamrock had been described
as sluggish when going dead before Z
light breeze, while on the other hand
that had been reckoned as the CoIurn-
bias best point OF sailing.
But the race Of to-day showed that
the Shamrock, so far from being slug
gish when running before a light wind,
IS an exceedingly nimble craft. and the
best the Columbia could do with her
during that long run down the wind
was 10 round the mark two minutes
one second ahead Of her opponent
n the opinion OF many, this failure
20 lead the Shamrock by a greater mar
gin was due more to bad Judgment and
bad handling on the part Of the Co
lymoia than 10 any other cause. These
critics wondered why Mr.. Iselin or Cap
tain Barr. whichever Il might have
been. thought It necessary 70 sheer 50
Tar over TO leeward when fair slant
Of wind could be seen coming from the
eastward.
The Shamrock. being on the Colum-
bias port hand, naturally caught il
first and made such good use Of il that
she half way Iessened the big sap
which the Columbia had opened ahead.
Other observers say that this was
merely another piece Of Upton luck.
and that Captain Barr exercised good
Judgment in holding his luf, so long as
experience had shown that under
weather conditions z breeze was likely
TO make in that direction and as a mat
ter Of fact II did soon afterward come
in gush from over the Jersey hills
again. giving the advantage 10 the Co
lumbia.
IN the beat back up the coast the
Shamrock seemed to be either better
handled than the Columbia or 10 have
much better luck The wind was nuky
and from the manner in which the Co
lumbia consistently fond ell the soft
patches. It was argued. nd with appar-
ert truth, that bad luck did not enter
50 much into the case as did bad man
agement. For luck as rule. does not
run so much in streaks as did that wind
of to-day Time after time the Colurn-
bia was at standstill with headway
lost and sails idly Tapping, while at the
same time the Shamrock was slipping
along with sails rap full and pulling
hard Nor could bad luck be blamed
for keeping the sails OF the Columbia
so pinched, so starved on that beat
back 10 the starting line that all the
life was taken out of the craft And
this. too. against a lumpy head sea
which required wind power to drive a
yacht through.
But despite all the III luck and all the
handicaps that were imposed upon her.
the Columbia showed her quality 10 the
satisfaction OF all concerned. Experts
who Witnessed the race declared en-
phatically that she can outpo1nt and
out1oot the Shamrock.
They pointed out that every time that
q chance was given the American yacht
every time that a bit was Ioosened as
il wer@she footed faster and pointed
higher than her opponent She Ger
tainly did have bad luck with wind.
notably at the close Of the contest,
when she ran into zone OF idle
zephyrs which for fully FIVE minutes
went shiveTing down one sail and up
another And during this good time
the Shamrock. catching q breeze from
the northwest, went driving along al
clipping gait, widening her lead 50
much that it looked as though II would
be impossible for the American yacht
10 overtake her unless she made pur-
suit in tow.
Then came the thrill The Colun-
bias adherents were aStonished By the
luck Of their favorite, while the ad
nlirers Of the Irish yacht were rela-
lively elated To the first II looked as
though the battle had been lost, and
II looked 10 the other as though VIC
tory was 70 be gained And while they
We're talking about It a partial wind
heeling slightly TO laggard breezes the
cup defender, gathering headway al
most as quickly as an arrow starts
from It's bow. darted through the blue
water sentient with cup responsibility.
The Shamrocks wind still held fair
and had apparently as much strength