Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-10-04

Navesink hills, and the sparkling stars
came out into the fawless heavens,
the biggest sights of sightseers and
| yachtmen who ever sailed down to
Sandy Hook to witness the attempt of
a foreign mug-hunter to wrest from
America the yachting supremacy of
the world, returned to New York crest
fallen and disappointed. The winds
from the caves of old ocean had proved
too light and shifty, but first of the
international series of 1899 between
the two greatest racing machines ever
produced by England and America de-
| generated into a drifting match, and
had to be declared off because neither
| could reach the finish line in the time
allotted in the rules.
To avoid just such winds which oc-
Cured to-day, in which luck and not
the crew and the yachts win, the rules
| provide that if one of the boats does
not finish within five and a half hours,
the race is declared off, so at the end
of the time this evening when the
yachts were still four miles from
home, with the Shamrock leading by
something more than a quarter Of a
mile the committee officially declared
that there had been no race.
The clean limbed racers had sailed
out this morning fresh for battle, but
the sea had refused them a field OF
conflict. Under the rules the first race
is now postponed for two days, or I'M
til Thursday.
The day promised well at first. The
sky was smirched with a few dirty
clouds, but clear enough to permit the
the thousands of spectators who lined
the Jersey shore to see almost every
foot OF the course. The waves were
crested with whitecaps here and there
and a fairly fresh breeze blew out Of
the north-northeast, but after the
Columbia and Shamrock had crossed
the line. the wind turned fluky and
variable and the race was a fzzle al
most from the start. But the fiuke to-
day gave the yachting sharps n he
| spectators much t 0 think about-and
some surprises.
The Columbia is undoubtedly the
prettier boat. She is tail, stately, with
graceful and towering mast. The irish
boat, with her broader beam and
! longer base line. looked slower and
heavier. Perhaps her green color
makes her look clumsier, as il she were
| forced through the water, While the
| slim Columbia pierces it like a rapier.
Though indecisive in every respect
as to the abilities of the great rival
single stickers, to-day's race Indicates
that the Irish boat. with her English
skipper and her Scotch crew, is the
ablest sioop ever sent across the At
lantic in the hope of lifting the one
| hundred guinea cup which the America
brought back foTty-eight years ago, and
| which has since been successfully de-
| Tended against the world.
During the five and a half hours sail
the Shamrock was thrice ahead, and
twice the Yankee boat showed the way.
For the first ten minutes the Shamrock
led, then for five the Columbia's grace
full bow showed ahead of the green
boat; for forty-fve minutes following
the Shamrock, then for three hours the
| Columbia, and for the last hour and a
half it was the Shamrock that led the
way.
The breeze blew as high as twelve
knots an hour and as low as three, and
shifted about through eight points OF
the compass. Each in turn beat the
other running before the wind and was
in turf beaten beating against the viz
at various stages of the race, S o that
many experts who saw the two boats
sail to-day are disinclined to believe
that there is a pin to choose between
them. But when the race is closely
analysed, it is absolutely proven that
the Columbia showed her superiority at
every point of sailing, running, reach
ing and beating whenever the wind
freshened, and that it was only in the
highest air that the Shamrock could
make Roadway against her. Both hat
their share of good and BAD luck. The
Columbia had the better OF the shifting
wind on the run down to the mark, and
beat the Shamrock two minutes and
~forty-four seconds, while on the beat
home, after increasing her lead to over
a mile at one time, the Shamrock over
hauled the Yankee and was a quarter
Of a mile ahead when the time allow
anee expired.
The feature of the race which pleas
ed everybody most was the perfectly
clear field which was maintained. For
the first time this year, the govern
ment took a hand to prevent a repi-
tition of the unfortunate occurrance
which marred the race when the az
companying excursion boats In their
frenzied eagerness TO let nothing Of the
beautiful spectacle escape, crowded
down upon the racers until their back
wash impeded their progress through
the water and caused Lord Dunraven
to file mis- famous protest. The gov
eminent was determined this year
thaf the course should be protected
against official respassers. A iotiIla
of revenue cutters and swift torpedo
boats, flying red barred white flags,
guarded the course. keeping excursion
boats. yachts and tugs al a perfectly
safe distance from the canvass clouded
racers.
On the way down, they maintained
two parallel lines. . mile apart. two