The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-10-18
COLUMBIA WINS ON A FLUKE
SHAMROCK,S TOPMAST SNAPS SOON
 AFTER THE START,

| Strain of Enormous CIub-Topsail Too | Great-ChalIenger Rendered . Hope- less Cripple Columbia Sails Over tho Couise Within Time Limit and Takes the Race-Rule Regarding Accident fs
 Ironclad-Shamrock Taken to Eric Basin for Repairs-Win Probably Take Spin n.TO-day-Lipton Asks for . TO-morrOw.
 New York, Oct. 17.-The topmast of the cup challenger Shamrock carried away twenty five minutes after the big sipgle-sticker had crossed the starting line to-day, and her enormous club-top- sail, with it's three thousand feet of canvas, came rattling down on the deck, leaving her a hopeless cripple. Captain Hogarth immediately abandoned the race, towing back to the anchorage af- ter he had cleared away the wreckage- The Columbia continued over the course alone, placing to her credit the second of the races for the Americas cup The accident to the Shamrock ruined the race and caused the keenest regret among the yachtsmen and the thou sands of sightseers who were on hand to witness what had promised to be a glorious duel.
 An IrOnclad Rule.
 It is unfortunate that the defender should have been the beneficiary of an accident, but the rule is ironclad If crippled before the start, time for re- pairs is allowed, but once over the line, if anything carries away the sufferer, must make such repairs as he can, or, if rendered hors combat, as the Shamrock was to-day, he must take the consequences. There is good sense and logic behind the rule. The races are a test of construction as well as design and seamanship. Doubtless if MT. Ise4 lin could have had his choice in the matter he would generously have de- clined to continue in view of the crip- pied condition of his rival, but the rules gave him no alternative. He was in duty bound to go on, and as he finished well within the time limit the race was his.
 Colum b ii's Race, Anyway.
 Had the accident not occurred, how- ever, it is believed that the Yankee boat would have repeated the beating she gave the challenger yesterday. During the twenty five minutes the yachts sail- ed she had gone through the Sham- rocks lead like streak and had estab- lished a lead of more than three hun- dred yards on her weather bow. When the Puritan fouled the Genesta on the inside course in 1887, carrying away the challenger's bowsprit and topmast, al- though the race was at his mercy un- der the rules, Lord Richard Sutton re- fused to claim 1t. To avoid just such a contingency a special clause was ads ded to the regular rules leaving abso- lutely no option in the matter This clause was signed by Sir Thomas Lips ton and MT. Iselin few days before the date of the first attempt to race. The accident to-day shows what delicate machine a racing yacht is nowadays, and how close to the limit of safety it is built. The simple breaking of a stay to-day wrecked the Shamrock.
 Cause of the Accident.
 The wire back stay of the topmast, which helps to support the slender, sky- spars, gave way and this sup- port removed, her Oregon pine topmast. sixty feet long and fourteen inches in diameter, snapped off like match just above the lower mast-cap. This mast was not only supporting the pressure of a tifteen-knot breeze against her big kite, but was also sustaining the crush- ing weight of the sail itself and the two ub-topsailyards, each forty feet long.
 Remeasurement for Shamrock.
 Later in the afternoon the Shamrock was lowed up to the Erie basin. Al new topmast will be sent up tomorrow and she will be remeasured by request of Sir Thomas Lipton. She vii proba- lily be taken out for spin tomorrow to try her new stick and the third race of the series will be sailed ac- to agreement this afternoon. This race will again be over the wind- ward and leeward course, and if the Columbia wins the series will have been without giving the Sham- rock an opportunity to test her merits m her favorite point of sailing over a triangular course.
 Glorious Contest Promised
 The day had promised glorious con. est. There were only gray neutral .ints in the morning, but hard, strong ,welve-knot breeze from the east kick sd up the whitecaps. A big excursion feet ploughed out to witness the sec- ,ond duel between the Shamrock and he Columbia. Later in the day the wind drove the clouds away. The Shamrock went out eager for the fray. She cast off her tow before she reach- d the bell buoy at the head of the ;wash channel and made the remaind- r of the way with a light shift under Ter own canvas. It looked like blow uch as the Shamrock is reported to nave been praying for and her sailors made everything snug aloft.
 On ShamrOck's FnvOrite Point,
 The race was to he an equilateral tr,s lngle ten miles to the leg, which would rive the challenger a chance at her avorite point of saiing-reaching. As oon as the committee had sgnalled the