The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-10-06
WILMINGTON. N. c.. FRIDAY OCTOBER 6. 1899.
THE AMERICAS CUP RACE
THE RACE DECLARED OFF ON ACCOUNT
OF TIME LIMIT.
THE SHAMROCK IN THE LEAD.

| Not Sufficient Wind for Either Boat to
sail the Course Within the Time
Limit-The Next Contest to Occur on
Thursday-The Columbia Out Maneu-
vers the Irishman and Out Sails Her
In Good Breeze In Light Wind the
Shamrock GIides by the Yankee.
| New York October 3.-As the sun
| set behind the Navesink hills the
biggest crowd of sightseers and yachts
| men who ever sailed down to Sandy
Hook to witness the attempt of a for
eign mug hunter to wrest from Amer
lea that yachting supremacy OF the
| world returned to New York crestfallen
| and disappointed. The winds had
proved too light and shEtty, and the
| first of the international series of 1899
| between the two greatest racing ma
| chimes ever Produced by England and
America degenerated into drifting
match and had to be declared off be-
cause neither could reach tine finish
| lime in the time allotted by the rules.
/ To avoid just such winds as occurred
tltoday, in which luck and not the crew
| and yachts win, the rules provide that
if one of the boats does not finish with
in five hours, the race is declared off,
so at the end of the tir-le this evening,
when the yachts We're still four miles
from home, With the Shamrock leading
by something more than a quarter Of a
mile, the committee officially declared
that there had been no race. The
yachts were then taken i'm tow by their
respective tugs and brought back to
their anchorage inside Sandy Hook.
| Under the rules the first race is now
postponed for two days, or until Thurs
day.
The day promised we'll at first. The
sky was snlircIhed with a few dirty
Clouds, but clear enough to permit
Thousands of spectators who lined the
Jersey shore to see almost every foot
of the course. The waves were crest
ed with white caps here and There, and
la fairly fresh breeze blew out Of the
northeast, but after THE Columbia and
the Shamrock had crossed THE line the
wind turned f1uly and variable 1.-The race
was a fZZle almost from the start.
But the fuke today gave the yachting
5harps and the spectators much to
think about-and some surprises. The
columbia is undoubtedly THE prettier
boat. She is tall stately, with grace
full lines and towering mast. The Irish
boat, with her broader beam and long
er base line, looked slower and heavier.
Perhaps her green color makes her
loook clunlSier ais if SHE were forced
through the waiter, while the slim CO.
lumbia pierces it like a rapier.
! Though indeciSive in every respect as
to the abilities of the great rival single
stickers, today's race indicates that the
| Irish boat with her English skipper
and her Scotch crew, lis the ablest
sloop ever sent across the Atlantic in
| ,0f1 l+I,
which the America brought back forty
eight years ago, and which has since
been successfully defended against the
world
During the five and a half hours sal
the Shamrock waS thrice ahead, and
twice the Yankee boat showed the way
For the first ten minutes the Shamrock
led, then for five the Columbia's grace
full bow showed a head of the greer
boat; for forty-five minutes following
the Shamrock, then for three hours
the Columbia, and for the last hour
and a half it was the Shamrock thai
led the way.
The breeze blew as high as twelve
knots an hour, and as low as three
and SHIFTED about through eight points
of the compass. Each in turn beat
the other running before the wind an6
was in turn beaten beating against the
wind ait various stages of the race, 81
that many Of the experts who saw THE
two boats sail today are disinclined tt
believe THAT There is pin to choose be
tween them, but when the race i:
closely analyzed it is absolutely proven
that the Columbia showed her superi
GRITTY at every point of sailing. run
r | ming, reaching and beating whenever
| the wind freShened and that it wa.
Y | only in the hghtest air that the Sham
5 rock could make headw'ay against her
? Both had their Share of good and bat
luck. The Columbia had the better o
t | the shifting wind on the rum down Il
the mark and beat the Shamrock tive
i. | minutes and forty -four seconds, Will,
= ON the beat home, after increasing he
| lead to over mile ait one time, tbs
= Shamrock overhauled the Yankee ant
e was a quarter Of a mile ahead when tn
!, | time allowance expired.
l The course was laid fifteen miles deat
before THE wind ard back again TIL
!, direction OF the wind carried this cours.
Y souhh-southwest from the Sandy
t Hook lightShip, almost straight dowl
e the Jersey coast to a point off Asbur.
e Park where a white float with a re-
ball was placed to mark the turning
point
The Shamrock made more fuss for
ward and dragged a wave aft. The Co
lumbia was the first to mark. Sh
reached the stake two minutes and on
$ second ahead of the Shamrock.
THE BEAT HOME.
= On the beat home against a head
= wind the Columbia showed her heels t
t the Irish boat unmistakably while tn
[ wind held. Time after time the Sham
0 rock tried for the weather gauge, bu
s without avail. The Columbia not onI,
held as high but out footed her tacl
after tack
After the Columbia had gotten aheat
the breeze again half failed and tn
shamrock drew gradually ahead. /
was marvellous that in so light
Il breeze, boat could slip so swiftl
: through the sea. After that, the Sham
rock was never headed, but from tha
I1lme to the finish the Columbia hai
nothing but bad luck. In addition t
her faster footing powers in the ex
!. tremely light air, every puff Of the ca
PRECIOUS wind seemed to strike tn
shamrock and leave the Yankee boa
practically becalmed. The Shamroc
gained foot by foot until she overhaul
$ ed the Yankee. crossed her bows, an