St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-09-06

Newport. r. L., Sept. 5.-Columbia
yesterday demonstrated that she Is the
peer of Defender, the 1895 champion, by
defeating her 10 minutes and seven Sec
onds, over a triangular course in an
eight-knot breeze and a smooth sea, In
the second and last of the official trial
races for the settlement of a defender
of the Americas cup.
The contest was a procession through
out, with the Columbia leading at the
start by 10 seconds, and gaining on
every les cf the course. The first leg
was distance of 10 miles, and from the
moment Columbia crossed the line she
steadily sailed away from her rival,
going round the first mark three min
utes and So seconds ahead.
The second leg was also a reach, lit
tie broader than the first, but even II
Defender did set her spinnakera mile
from the turn she dropped two minutes
and 10 seconds more in the run to the
second mark
The third leg of the triangle was al
most dead beat to the finish, the two
boats making a long hitch clear up to the
Narragansett shore. Columbia made
two other short tacks before she fetched
the line, but Defender, by holding longer
in-shore, managed to reach the light
ship without another tack. Still Column
bia gained showing that with sheets
close hauled she Is the fastest American
sailing yacht aHoat. On this last leg
she added four minutes and % seconds
to her lead, making a total for the entire
course of 10 minutes and seven seconds.
There will be no more official races,
that of Monday settling concusively in
the minds of the committee which Of the
two boats is best fitted to meet Sham
rock.
In Saturdays race Columbia made n
good gain on Defender, running down the
wind with spinnakers and ballooners set,
despite the fact that Defender held the
breeze longer than her rival, while on
the windward work that day, the new
boat also made many minutes over her
rival. Yesterday the two boats were
tested with sheets lifted, and at this kind
of sailing Columbia proved that she is a
wonder.
Coumbias mainsail fitted little bet
ter yesterday than it did on Saturday,
| due no doubt to the stretching it re-
ceived in the first trial race and sub
sequent hauling out on the boom and
gaff. Still there is an opportunity for
much Improvement, as there is a curl to
| the leach that some of the yachtsmen do
not like Columbia's clubtopsail was a
bit better than in the previous race, but
there was a fluttering at the head All
| doubts as to the strength of the rigging
and the steel mast must have been dis
PEELED by the thorough tests which they
received, both before and during the race.
Fifteen minutes before the start, while
jockeying for position, the Columbia
was swung round with sheets fiattened,
so that she held down to an angle of
nearly As degrees; still everything stood
the strain.
There was little opportunity for shift
ing sails, although at one time the crew
of Defender were kept pretty busy set
ting and taking in spinnaker. On the
first leg both boats dropped their bal
loon staysails which they hoisted at the
start, and substituted working staysails
AS the shift was made simultaneously
on both boats it gave the erroneous i'm.
preston that something had gone wrong
with those sails. Aside from changing
jibtopsails two or three times Columbia:
crews had little to do but lie out to wind
ward.
Iselin expressed himself as being per-
fectly satisfied with the Columbia
He said that the new boat had more
than come up to his expectations. Ev-
eryone who was on the Columbia were
delighted with her work. 1t was sale
that they had got the Columbia about
right now, and that there would be bu
few changes made before the cup race:
in October