The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-03

petehuer. ''''''.''' 80 Is . - 10 g ~ 81
The first turn was rounded by Columbia at
) 0O:O3.. Defender rounded the mark n,
I54 SO. 1t took the Columbia hours. Il
minutes % seconds TO cover the windward leg,
md l hour. 32 minutes. 40 seconds to run
homo under her smother OF canvas Tho De-
fender turned the windward trick in hours.
IL minutes. 30 seconds. and she ran homo in I
hour. "a minutes. 80 seconds.
Nature frowned upon the first OF the
trial series all through the morning A dis
printing drizzle kept Newport's feminine
population in doors. dressed the
floating contingent in yellow oil skins
and souwesters and tried vainly to dampe the
racers bran new suit Of sails. A fair breeze
held steady from the southeast and late arriv-
ing yachts reported the conditions outside to
be favorable for race. barring the rain. There
was not mist enough to oil a club topsail, but
the ancient and honorable mariners one aud
all declared that the day would be wet one
from sun up to sun down.
The harbor was not TANNED with the big
feet OF toothpick steam yachts and cruising
sloops and 'schooners that graced her waters
for the past races between the big soops. The
representation. however. was typical OF the
flower OF American steam yachts. staunch and
roomy. The fleet OF 30 Hooters. chailng at their
leading strings as though they could not wait
for their daily brush lay in shore like a line OF
pickets guarding the big craft. The naval
reserves floating schoolhouse. the converted
cruiser Prairie and the revenue cutter Dexter
bravely tried to MI the deficiency that the
North Atlantic squadron made yesterday when
il weighed anchor for Philadelphia All was
gray and grim. hut the sun was gameIy prick
ing q Path through dim patches OF clouds and
1t finally succeeded
Meanwhile. in gentle fall OF rain the Re-
eatta Committee. s. Nicholson Kane, Chester
Grswold and Irving Grinnel. was holding an
outdoor macintoshed conference at the club
station landing. with G. Oliver Isel,n Column
bias managing owner. Mr.. Iscln informed
the committee that he would not like to take
out his boat in the rain. as the sails were
new and would stretch with difficulty IL
drenched His wishes were OF course
respected and after short powwow. the com
mittee ouletined the statement that their de-
eision would be made at noon. and that the
raco would be started at | o'clock II the rain
had ceased by that time. Mr.. Iselin then took
his launch to the Columbia. and the committee
boarded one Of the Corsar's launches with
Commodore j. Pierpont Morgan.
The Columbia was lying at her moorinR
in Brentons Cove with her tender. the st.
Michaels. lowering nearby. The Defender
was of the torpedo station. Both sloops
Hdu bcou slOpliloh W 'hc llllh VI cOnulLlOn,
Columbias bronze underbody had been
polished until it presented a fawless surface
to the water. She had been Skinned out
until there were only the tvs -'ael bulkheads
below decks. Her decks were broken only by
neatly coiled halyards. the foot rails and
hatchways.
II was hard to believe mat the graceful stick
that tapered far above the spars OF the sur
rounding feet was the one that had bucked in
her second race off Newport. The wooden club
topmast that teescored into the hollow stee
mast was painted the same grayish brown oil
the mast and with the usual hamper between
hounds and mastheads done away with. II
looked like one spar. Two stout OAK
and steel spreaders Jutted out from II
with a businesslike air and every stay and
shroud was leading true. Three Lore tons o.
lead ballast were slowed away in her under.
body. and the transerral OF $500 pounds o.
above-deck weight was expected to work
wonders. The Defender was skinned out too
and her Tobin bronze underbody had beer
painted green, closer approach to the Emer'
aid Isles color than is Shamrocks.
The fall q rain was done for the day at l | &c
o'clock and Newport woke up To watcl
the racers Bright bits OF bunting were fut
tered from the Corsair promptly at noon anC
their Interpretation was that the race woulr
be started from the Brenton Reef LiGhtshp al
! O'Clock. dull boom and the drift OF smoke
TO windward moment later ordered the feet