The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-10-18
Columbia Sailed Over The Course
Alone.
Was In Lead When
Accident Occurred.
The Next Race VIII Be Sailed
Thursday.

New York. October 1.-THE topmast OF
the cup challenger Shamrock csrrled
away IS m inutes afer this big single stick
er had crossed the starting line today and
her enormous club topsail with It's 5000
feet of canvass came rattling down on the
deck, leaving her hopeless cripple.
CaIt1in Hogarth Immediately abandoned
the race, towing hack to the anchorage
after he had cleared away the wreckaRe.
The Columbia continued over the oourss
alone, under tbs agreement, placing to
her credit the second OF the racts for tbs
Americas CUP. The accident to the
Shamrock ruined the race and caused the
keensst regret among the yachtsmen and
the thousands of sightseers who were on
hand to witness what had promised to be
u glorious duel.
Had the accident not occurred, how
ever, 1t Is believed that the Yankee boat
would have repeated the beating shs gave
the challenger yesterday. During the 20
minutes the yachts sailed, she had gone
through the Shamrock's lead like a streak
and had established lead of more than
300 yards on her weather bow.
his accident today shows what deli
cate machine racing yacht is nowadays
and how clcss to the limit of safety it is
built. The simple breaking of stay
today wrecked the Shamrock. The wire
Dackstay OF the topmast which heirs to
support ths slender, skysoraping spar,
gave way and this support removed. her
Oregon pine toplnast, 60 feet long and IA
Inches in diamettr, snapped of like q
maton. just above the lower mast cap.
Later In the afternoon the Shamrock
was towed up to the Erie basin. A new
topmast will be sent up tomorrow and she
will be re-measuTed. She will probably
ba taken out for spin tomorrow to try
her new stick and the third race of the
series win be sailed on Thursday. This
race Will again be over windward and
leeward course and IL the Columbia
wins. the series will have been completed
without giving the Shamrock an oppor-
tunity to test her merits in her favorite
point of sailing over Triangular course.
Tbs day had promised glorious con-
tstt There wers only gray neutral tints
in the morn Ing, but a hard strong 10 knct
breeze out of the east kicked up the white
Gaps. A big excursion feet ploughed out
to witness the feSond duel between the
Shamrock and the Columbia.
Never probably was there more excit
ing start in CUP contest and the Irish
man carried on the honors. The two
yachts wheeled and ciroled about like
big whitssgulls es oh striving for the adj
vantage. The Shamrock finally got the
Columbia under her lee two minutes
bt fore the start and, try as the defender
would. she could not shake of ner rival.
Both were on the port tack TO the south
ward of the lighiship. FINALLY. when but
20 seconds remsined, the Columbia went
around beautifully, while the Shamrock
simultaneously tackled in the other direc-
ton and thus making two divergent cir
Giles they came around on the starboard
tack and headed for the line. A collision
was almost inevitable, had they ap-
proa ched each other at an acute angle
under the lee of the llghtship. But the
Shamrock established an overlap and tbs
Column ia had to keep of, and almost
together they bounded away in the smoke
of the gun. 90 close that sailer might
have stepped from one boat to the other
We're started some OF the sharps with
their glasses glued ON the two boats
noticed that the Shamrook's topmast ap-
peared TO sag little. Several times she
wss luffed Up sharply.
''She won't carry that club topsail over
the course" said one OF the men aboard
the Associated Press tug Suddenly, ut
1i.24 the big kite and the whole top
hamper Of the gresn boat ,tumbled lee.
ward and the challenger was q helpless
cripple. 1t was almost n cry of agony
that went up from the sightsesrs and
never were there more sincere expressions
Of regret than when the Sh amrock gave
up the contest The Columbia went on,
as she was bound under the rules to do,
but several IF the steam yachts went over
alongside the Erin and former Commo-
dore Benedict anu others expressed sin
cere regrets over the hard luck of the
challenger. Sir Thomas phiIosophioslly
replied that Il was the fortune of war,
A large majority OF the vessels of the ex-
cursion feet continued over the course
with the Columbia but the interest in this
race was gone. They saluted her with
their whistles az the two outer marks and
gathered at the hnish to give her well
coma The Columbia made tine race
Of ID. holding on to her club topsail
throughout and setting her balloon lib
in the final reach for home. Her tims
was a little short of marvellous. She
covered the course in thtes hours and
thirty ssven minutes the first tan miles
to windward In one hour and thirty-nine
minutes and eleven seconds the reach to
the second mark in fifty-thres minutes
and fifty nine seconds aud the last leg In
one hour. three minutes and fifty seq
onds. AS she CROSSED the finish line shs
let go her head sails spd one of the Deer
Isle sAilors treated the spect DIS to an
exhibition of daring as he climbed out
over the peak halyard eighty fest in the
air to loosen the club topsail.