New-York tribune., 1899-07-07
VICTORY FOR COLUMBIA.
THE NEW BOAT WINS HER
FIRST RACE.
A BEAT TO wINDwARD UNDER Diff.
CULTIES- HANDLING AND
SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN HER
SAILS LIKELY 70 MAKE A
BIG DIFFERENCE.

brushes with the Defender the old champion
which successfully frustrated Lord Dunraven's
designs upon the Americas Cup in 1895. but
these meetings were hardly more than mere
cruises arranged for the purpose OF allowing.
the Columbia TO find her sea legs. and so in
formal as to allow OF estimate being made
Of the relative merits OF the two boats The
first real test came yesterday. when the Co
lumba and Defender were pitted together upon
triangular course Of thirty miles, starting
from and finishing at Sandy Hook Lightshp.
The new boat, all things considered. acquitted
herself In style that augurs badly for Sir
Thomas Lipton's ambition. and assured those
who her performance that the millionaire
British tea merchant is not likely 10 succeed
where so many Of his countrymen have failed
There is no undue bombast in saying this much.
In the absence Of official timing. It was vart-
ousy figured out that the Columbia beat the
Defender yesterday in anything from 200 to
$50 minutes
Great is that achievement on the part Of q
racer against seasoned craft and a crew
whose mutual experience enabled them 10 work
together like so many mechanical parts. the
Columbia by no showed her fullest ca
pacity yesterday Besides being extremely un-
lucky at more than one point OF the contest
her sails admittedly did not At we'll. The ex-
serve faults in the cut Of her mainsail and
forestaysan faults which will be remedied be-
fore she sails against the Defender again To-
morrow at the Larchmont regatta.
Again. after passing the first mark the Co
iumbia lost ground in consequence OF the fall
ure 10 shake the jibtopssil clear. and just be-
fore the yachts crossed the finishing line II Is
estimated that the Defender. then long dis
tance in the rear. gained something like a
minute by her good fortune in first feeling the
impetus Of a suddenly rising strong wind
In summing up the deductions 10 be drawn
from yesterdays tusse. yachtsmen gave II as
their opinion that Herreshoff's new creation.
when properly tuned up and her sails adjusted.
would prove the superior Of the Defender by
fully FIVE minutes a similar course 10 thai
followed yesterday. And nowadays. with yacht
building brought 10 the perfection that IL Ia.
five minutes a great deal
Ten years ago. when the volupteer beat the
Mayhower in the trials by ten minutes, that
was looked upon as an eminently satisfactory
performance but 1t would be incompatible. ao- '
cording to the opinions gathered yesterday after
the race from old yachting men. TO see only a
five minutes victory of the Columbia over the
Defender Some people were inclined TO be
downcast last night by the narrow margin that
separated the two yachts at the finish And yet
when the Defender first met the Vigilant In the
preliminary spins, she only beat her competitor
by about three minutes; but for all that VAL
kyre III was obliged 10 depart for home with
out the much coveted cup in her locker.
Altogether the enthusiasts who went down
the bay yesterday are well satisfied with the
new fer, and believe that she may safely be
trusted TO uphold the prestige which this coun-
trv has retained since that famous victory or
the old America some forty years ago.
GLOOM AT THE START
To accommodate the members who wished 70
be present a the first appearance Of the Column
bia the New-York Yacht Club chartered the
canbaus the same steamer that took the clubs
guests down the Bay when the Defender made
her first bow 10 the yachting public When
iuet after @ 80 o'clock the Cepheus cast on,
/ ,bera Uere probably not a score out of the four
| hundred or more people on board who nad any
sanguine expectations Of seeing tuly saied
out race At that hour the atmosphere was
dull and heavy. and with not enough vino 10
raise penny kite Gloomy indeed were the
ADMINISTRATIONS heard on all sides as 70 the
outlook for the day. but some or the oid satS
on board after glance az the lowering clouas'
inst smiled and told their neighoors tnat ins'ue
of an hour or two there would oe no oc'as'0n
m whistle for Wind. Ana, as IL t"lii'' 49, -
,bav read the skies fairly well. The trip OF the
cApheus down the Bay was made IN company
with TWO or three score OF craft Of all Sizes
makes and colors laden with passengers ANXIOUS
10 make the acquaintance Of the ne" protector
~ tho Nations Yachting honor. All of them
made for A common meeting point AZ the SCOT
land rjghtship Long before the lightsnip came
IN sight the forepart Of the Cepheus was crowd
ed with enthusiastic yachtsmen ana equd"S
ardent yachtswomen eager To OBTAIN ntst
glirpse Of the two racers. which had been to"ed
ont from their moorings OF Tompkinsville IN
the early hours of the morning.
probablv not half Of the men and women VINO
were peering with strained eyes through the
mist knew the difference between a spinnaker
and q centreboard. but that did not tend IN
The least 10 abate their ardor. They were OUT 70
cheer and admire. and such unimportant con-
siderations as technical details were not 20 st@ha
in the way Of their patriotic demonsuauons'
RAIN STOPPED THE INSPECTION
=. was not until the Cepheus came WITHIN
ohou, half a mile Of the lightship that the TWO
,,ocb,s came into view and then almost before
a satisfactory inspection could be made OF thein
a. thew Law under nearly bare poles oesloe 'nsi
,onasrs a heavy rain squall came on ana hia
,horo for the time being entirely from slght
VIII the coming OF the rain what htoe "iho
,hers was at that time dropped, ~hereupon =
p,srnont Morgan's yacht. the corsair carrying
Nicholson Kane. Chester Griswold ana irving
cr,nnel the Regatta Committee. hois'eo Ss
nails changing the starting point 10 the ssh''
Hook Llghtship
p-ocaed,ng leisurey in the wakes or 'he nas-
sh,n and the excursion steamers the TWO yaon"
80 ' ,hs,r uav out to sea. reaching the hght-
- t,s, after i2 O'Clock The foroiddihs
."na,hsr conditions which marked the starr
go, Nsw-York grew worse. Every now ana
.na,r rain fell in sheets. while the heavy swen
-rh,cb came rolling in from the ocean made !.
exceedingly unpleasant for the people on oo".u
the rocking and pitching steamers "al'ihs