The San Francisco call., 1899-10-21


lock need be turned again. Twine
garlands around the trophy. but scatter
about ii ashes, for once more it is an urn
for ashes for hope, not the chalice of
victory which Sir Thomas Upton had
hoped to lift.
Beaten at every point of sailing and in
every sort of weather, there can be no
further doubt that the Shamrock is not
in the Columbia's class. One lone doubt
that remains is whether there is any such
thing as Shamrock weather" That
which was appOrtioned to her to-day was
popularity regarded as the kind in which
the broad-beamed Irish cutter would show
to greater advantage than her narrow
wasted competitor. But from the start
TO finish throughout the wild dance TO
the outer mark. and throughout the dip
ping and rearing spray-beaten thresh to
windward there never was time that su-
periortty of the Herreshoff racer was not
apparent.
I'VE might as we'll wait until HERES
hoff retires from yacht building" said a
discouraged British yachtsman as he
closed up his binoculars and placed them
In their case There seems to be no use
in our building challengers so long as he
continues to build defenders"
Clean-cut as was this victory of to-day
Ii was even more glorious as spectacle.
Imagine two superb racing yachts sway
ing and staggering before a wind which
had the weight of half a gale in 1t, their
swollen sails threatening each moment to
bid farewell to creaking boom and buck
ling spar. Picture. If you can. the stream
of foam which came boiling about the
flying yachts as, driving before the wind
and sea, they rose buoyantly to the swells
| to sink stern first into the sloping val
| leys that came racing after them. Then
| home again with fat sails, as taut as
drumheads and lee scuppers knee deep
! In FOAM one straining spar and shroud
and sail and stay in a terrific effort to
| keep the vantage gained. the other as
! desperately striving to overcome the lead.
| 1t was we'll worth the ten misspent days
| the excursionists had squandered on these
other lifeless Efforts at racing and which
proved to be little more than days of fog
and calm and drift.
Straight out of the north a lively wind
was blowing when the two yachts arrived
| off the lightship. The wind had a twenty
! mile-an-hour gait and the Shamrock, as
she dipped her green hull into the sea, had
! now-or-never look about her. 1t was
wind that Sir Thomas had been looking
for, and in 1t all realized lay the Sham
rocks last, long, lingering hope of taking
away the cup. In all other sorts OF
weather she had been weighed and found
wanting 1t remained to see what she
could do In wind of the kind that was
blowing to-day.
The start was at the lightship and the
course was g fifteen-mile run to leeward
and a beat back to the finish line. Both
boats were standing to the northwar6
under mainsail and jib when the prepara-
tory gun was fired. The wind was ther
too brisk for the yachts to show club top
sails but their working topsails were VI
in stops and ready for setting. The Sham
rocks was sheeted home three minutes
after the preparatory gun was heard. The
Columbia setting her staysails four min
utes later.
At five minutes to IL came the warning
gun, and the racers headed for the line
both 1ockeytng for position and neither
gaining any decided advantage. The start