Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-10-05
RACE Was ADRlPTING MATCH
And Failed by Expiration of
the Time Limit.
BUT WAS A MP AND TUCK AFFAIR
Shamrock Led at the Start and
the Finish.
But Mt Times tho COLUMBIA Forged TO the
Front-Aithoush Disappointingly slow,
the Race Was Full of Interest, and whet-
ted the Public Interest In the Next Con-
test, Witch Takes Place Tomorrow.

7
race was disappointment, the wind
being so light that the yachts could
not go over tho course of 80 miles
within the time limit, 5i5 hours. They
were three miles from the finish when
time was up. The next race will be
sailed tomorrow.
The Official time of the start was !:
Shamrock, II. 10. 81 ;Columhia, IL. l6 90.
The Shamrock had tho better of the
tart by 43 seconds.
| As the Columbia crossed the line she
broke out her No. ? iibtopsail to the
breeze. At 11.17 the Columbia's spin
maker blossomed out to port and she
began ut once to overhaul the Sham
rock. For some reason Capt. Hogarth
did not soc fit to set the Shamrock
| spinnaker until four minutes after the
| Columbia had set hers, but as soon as
it was set the green boat held her own
with the Columbia, the yachts. being
then not more than three lengths apart.
At lbs the Columbia's bowsprit was
| Just overlapping the Shamrock S star
board bow, the Shamrock having the
otfshore berth, but the Columbia was
unabls to hold that position long. In
eight minutes the Shamrock, which
seemed to hold the wind better, had
pulled out fully five lengths ahead Of
the Columbia and seemed to be gaining
every minute.
| Both yachts were heading consider
| ably to the westward of their COURSES,
and at II o'clock the Shamrock, which
had been steadily gaining, was an
eighth of mile ahead of the Bristol
| boat.
AT 10. 10 the wind shifted to the
| Northwest. The Columbia being in
| shore caught it first. The crew took
in the spinnaker shortly. Capt. Barr
| gybed, sending his mainsail to port,
trimmed down the sheet of the staysail
the main regular headsail, also that Of
the balloon jibtopsail, and in just FIVE
minutes tho Columbia had walked past
the Shamrock and was the leading
boat. Capt Hogarth gybed the Sham
rock, too. after taking in the spin
maker, at ~. 10. He set her spinnaker
to starboard at u. 30, but only for five
minutes. Cant. Hogarth, finding he
was losing time, took the sail in
smartly and luffed the green sloop
across Columbia'a stern.
The outer mark was obscured by a
| haze SO that it was not visible from
| the yachts until ] p. nj. That did not
matter much to either Capts. Hogarth
or Barr, for they were INDUCING in q
luffing match, closing in on the Jersey
| beach. for more than half an hour.
Finally Cant. Barr having the Column
bia we'll ahead, eased off his sheets
and kept off for the turning float at
Los, crossing the Shamrock's bow one
| eighth of mile ahead. At ]. II he
| set the big spinnaker on the Columbia
| to starboard and went down toward
| the stake. which denoted the end of
the 15-mile run before the wind. He
was then going at perhaps not more
than six-knot gait. At l. % in came
the spinnaker again on the Columbia.
the wind having hauled back to the
northward, and her main boom was
gybed to starboard.
The Shamrock had gybed five
minutes before, but she was not gain
ing any UP to this time. Approaching
the outer mark the Columbia's crew
took in smartly their balloon iibtop-
sail. and as they rounded the mark, a
float bearing red ball, with white
stripe, which had to be left on the
starboard or right hand. the big main
boom swung over to port, all sheets
were trimmed fiat on the starhoard
tack, and the Columbia thus began her
| ~ Vi WihdWNfd WDEhs
| The time taken at the outer mari, as
each yacht luffed around it was:
Columbia, 1.37.57; Shamrock, /. IS. 58,
So it will he seen by the official figures
that in the run OF Is miles from the
start to the outer mark the Columbia
outsailed the Shamrock 2 minutes "A
seconds. Her elapsed time to this
point was 3 81; Shamroci's, 224.2l.
Now began the zigzag lacking re-
| quired in going toward the wind,
Capt. Barr kept the Columbia on the
! inshore tack force minutes and As
seconds after rounding the mark, when
he let her come about to the port tack,
with the wind on her left, setting the
baby jibtopsail assshe filled away. In
20 seconds he swung her about again.
Tho Shamrock, meanwhile, stood off
on the stsrboard tack 2 minutes aud -
seconds, when Skipper Hogarth put
her about and beagn his windward
work.
The wind was now northeast north.
and on the port tack both yachts were
heading with sheets trimmed down fat
| within four points of the wind, which
had now increased to about 10 miles
an hour. 1t was not steady, however,
and its fukiness became apparent at
l.53, when it began heading off the
Columbia.
The Shamrock tackled to starboard
at l.5G, spinning around on her heel in
10 seconds, but, to the astonishment
of the thousands who Witnessed the
Columbia's next tack 10 seconds later.
she swung around in the almost in
credibly short space of 10 seconds,
timed by a stop watch.
Capt. Hogarth, apparently feeling
confident that by series of short taoks
he could get to windward of Columbia,
put the Shamrock about four times in
3 minutes and 40 seconds. Capt Barr
| followed suit, and his nimble crew
trimmed sheets Just rs fast as those on
the Shamrock, and when they both
settled down to steady work again, at
2. Ia. so, the Columbia was still we'll in
the lead and gaining.
Capt. Hogarth thought it best, at
3, 20 to split lacks with his Antagonist;
that is, to sail in one direction while
his rival sailed the other. He then
put the Shamrock on the port tack,
thinking tho Columbia would not
follow, but she did, and when the
Columbia tackled, at 2.2l.35, she was
nearly a mile dead to windward OF the
| green boat. 9
During the next 30 minutes dozen
short lacks were made, the wind con-
tinuing fiuky all the time until few
minutes before 3 o'clock. when the
wind left the Columbia for fully five
minutes. She had the inshore berth,
while Shamrock, off shore, held n
| breeze from the northeast. When the
Shamrock at 3.1l went about on the
Columbia's lee bow she was well ahead
| that is to say, il She had gone ahnnt