Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-10-09
STILL NO RACE.
The Yachts Third Trial Proves
to Be Another Failure.
The Shamrock Shows Up Much Better
Than the Columbia.
Neither Finishes in Time Limit Owinq 10
the Lack Of Wind.

October gales which were to make the
| yachts racing for the America cup
| mouse their toDmasts and reef their
malnSalis, and where are the strong
| winds which the weather bureau so
| confidently predicted for today's
| race Echo answers "Where?''
Neither the Octobker gale nor the
strong breeze was on hand yesterday.
| The breeze at an early hour Saturday
morning, was indeed blowing u miles
an hour, but by the time the yachts
We're sent away il had dropped to
| barely 10 miles and was still dropping
| like an OverWeighted balloon.
! 1t dropped during the progress of the
| race until at last it was the merest
| zephyr across the water-scarcely
enough 70 give the racing yachts steer
age room The result was a third fail
ure to sail the first Of the races in the
| present match.
When at 4.30 O'Clock the race was de-
| clared off by the New York cluL's re-
| gatta committee the yachts had sailed
i miles to Iceward. rounded the outer
| mark. ana had come six miles toward
| the lightship on IN ir beat To windwari.
The Columbia had started in the lead
| had rounded The outer mark ahead. AT
! the time the signal was set from th=
| tug declaring the race VII. TIN Column
hia was in the lead. having position
on the Shamrock's weather beam ana
/ barely q hundred feet away. Like the
| previous attempts at races. Saturdays
| had been closely fought from start to
| finish. 1t had been at times decidedly
| interesting. but toward the close de-
| cidedly the reverse. TX also upset sev-
cral rreCpnceived ideas rs to The rela-
| tive abilities If the beats. ana tonight
even the most export yachtsman would
| b. puzzled to draw Il fair conclusion
or - pick final winner from the three
meetings which the Columbia ana tha
Shamrock have had.
on The other two days the Columbia
showed superior reaching ability In
! Tue sday's race she showed the greater
speed lnNn the wind with spinnaker
set. Saturday the Shamrock beat Her
fairly on both these points Of sailing
The heating was one Of only 4 ftw sec
onds N time. but it was there never
thelcsS. ana must be placed to the
Shamrock S credit
In turning to Windward in breeze
varying from six miles an hour at the
first to four miles or less at the last the
boats Wcr" 50 closely matched that the
slightest advantage To one or the other
by favorin- puff Of wind was suffi-
cient to put that one in the lead.
In this sort Of work the Shamrock
again showed her rcmarkable ability IL
the lightest Of airs. and kept her sails
full and was under good headWay
when the Columbia would he standing
up like a church ana throwing the wind
out Of her sails with every roll of the
sea.
Only one thing stands out clear and
plain the result Of Saturdays. and
Of the previous trials. and that is q
repetition of the statement 50 often
made that the Shamrock is the most
dangerous challenger for the America
cup that ever crossed the water. and
that the winning yacht in a race be
tween the boats Will know that she has
been in Il race and rot in procession
Owing to the direction Of the wind,
which was hauling to northeast, it ap-
peard thai course to leeward or wind
ward might end on some Jersey hotel
piazza or Long Island truck farm
At 1890 the signal letters ID. F. J.
fiuttered in perpendicular line from
The triatic stay of the committee tug
Luckenbach, indicating that the course
would be South-sOuthWest. This would
bring the turn about two miles from
the beach off Asbury park.
Both yachts worked very slowly back
and forth to the windward of the mark
in the half hour preceding the start |
Both had staysais UP in stops and the
Columbia a working topsail also. but
the wind was hattening. and Shamrock
sent up medium club topsail. Diff |
Guilty was experienced in getting it fiat
tened out properly. The Columbia !
quickly sent up the biggest club top
sail in her locker 1t was set in less |
than three minutes. while the Sham |
rocks men We're still struggling with |
their sail.
Before this was accomplished a sailor
had to so out on the gaff to assist in
the work. a task calling for the coolest |
kind of seamanship. Even after the |
sail was in place it did not set salts |!
factorialy and was taken down. More |
than 90 minutes had been lost in set |
ting the sail. taking it in and sending |
up the one that followed it, which was |
tlt same ltliSd1l uSeu iHurSudN. ana /
the largest one in the boats wardrobe. |
All this time the committee had ac-
commodatingly delayed giving the pre-
paratory signal. This most sportsman
like conduct must have been appreciat-
ed by the shippers on the Shamrock.
The wind was still falling when the
preparatory signal was given at Hos,
and seemed to be blowing about 10
miles an hour.
When the preliminary gun, five min
utes before the start, was fired. both
boats We're to the eastward of the line.
on the port tack, and near together.
Neither had her staysail broken out.
The Columbia came about while Sham
rock Wore shin. and both bore toward
the line on the starboard tack, with
lifted sheets. breaking out their stay
sails and dropping their spinnaker
poles to starboard simultaneously.
Coming along almost parallel to the
line, the boats bore well over toward
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