Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1899-10-06
The FIRST RACE A ElzzLE.
Columbia and Shamrock Did Not Go
Over the Course in the Allotted

Columbia and Shamrock Did Not Go
Over the Course in the Allotted
Time.
New York, Oct. 4.-As the sun set
yesterday behind the Navesink hills |
the biggest crowd of sightseers and
yachtsmen which ever sailed down to
Sandy Hook to witness the attempt
of n foreign mug hunter to wrest
from America the supremacy of the
world returned to New York crestfal- |
len and disappointed. The winds
had proved too light and shifty, and
the first of the international series
of 1899 between the two greatest rae.
ing machines ever produced by Eng
land and America degenerated into a
drifting match and had to be declared
off because neither could reach the
finish line in the time allotted by the
rules.
TO avoid just such winds as occurred
yesterday 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 half hours
the race is declared off, so at the end
of that time last evening, when the
yachts were still four miles from
nome, WlUn U1G
by something more than quarter
of a mile, the committee officially de-
clared that there had been no race.
| The yachts were taken in tow by
their tugs and brought back to their
anchorage inside Sandy Hook. The
racers had sailed out in the morning
fresh for battle, but the sea had re-
fused them a field for conflict Under
the rules the first race is now post
poned for two days, or until Thurs
day.
The day promised well at first. The
| sky was smirched with u few dirty
clouds, but clear enough to permit
the thousands of spectators who lined
the Jersey shore to see almost every
foot of the course. The waves were
crested with white caps here and
there, and fairly fresh breeze blew
out of the northeast, but after the
Columbia and Shamrock had crossed
the line, the wind turned tluky and
variable and the race was a fizzle al
most from the start. But the f1ule
gave the yachting sharps and the
spectators much to think about-and
some surprises.
Though indecisive in every respect
as to the abilities of the great rivals,
the race indicates that the Irish boat
with her English skipper and her
Scotch crew, is the ablest sloop even
sent across the Atlantic in the hope
of lifting the cup which the America
brought back 4S years ago,
During the five and half hours sal
the Shamrock was thrice ahead, ano
twice the Yankee boat showed the
way. For the first ten minutes the
Shamrock led, then for five the Co
lumbia's bow showed ahead of thu
green boat; for As minutes following
the Shamrock, then for three hours
the Columbia. and for the last hou,
| and half it was the Shamrock tina
, led the way. The breeze blew a
high as 12 knots an hour and as lov
as three, and shifted about through
eight points of the compass.
Each in turn beat the other runnin,
before the wind and was in turn beat
en-, beating against the wind at vari
: Gus stages of the race, so that man.
: of the experts who saw the two boat
sail are disinclined to believe tha
= there is a pin to choose between then
The feature of the race whic
pleased everybody was the perfect
clear field which was maintained. Fo
the first time, this year the govern
o ment took hand to prevent repet
ton of the unfortunate occurrenc
which marred the track when the eH
cursion boats in their frenzied eager
l. ness to let nothing Of the beautifl
It spectacle escape, crowded down upo
v the racers until their back wash in
y peded their progress through til
- water and caused Lord Dunraven
i file his famous protest.