The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-17
THE GREAT YACHT RACE.
INTERNATIONAL CONTEST TO COST
MILLION TO EACH OWNER.
Manner i'm which American and
English builders Initiate Each
Other-WOrk on the Shamrock.

fA4c many people VINO are interested IN tHe
coming races. perhaps 10 per cent. under
stand the technical part Of the game, and
the rest, both English and American,
stand in awe OF the cosuiness of the
pastime. IL is a curious study. This race
viii cost Sir Thomas Upton more than
A,00,OOo, It is iutmated. To bring his
friends to see il he has purchased the new
Aegusa for f75OO0-say s375,O0O. He is now
bringing the vessel from Sicily, to remain
an commission til after the cruise to
America in September The expenses of
The Shamrock will also be more than $500
Geo. In preparing his new flagship, the
Corsair, and in paying for the new de-
fender Commodore Morgan will also
spend more than 81. 100000.
The initial cost Of both the new racers
will be $4,000. Both steel spars and wood
en- ones are being prepared. Steel booms
were made for the last race and not used
The Valkyrfe II had steel mast made for
her which was never even stepped. Sec
ond suits of canvas win be prepared, az
enormous expenses, simply to nave them
on hand, If required. and the further ex-
nary races, sailing masters, repairs. crews
tackle and entertainments Will make leaks
for long purses. In bringing across ms
friends in such a princely vessel as the
Aegusa Sir Thomas will add dignity 70 the
occasion. Earlier challengers nave come
across by ocean steamer ana joined the"
yachts here, or, like Asbury ana Sir hlch-
ard Sutton they have sailed across put
the new regime opens unlimited posslDlh-
Ties for magnifcance.
Exchange of Plans.
Some peculiar exchanges of late years
been made in the building OF cup-deIehd-
ers. The Valkyrie II came out as mar
row boat to compete against the great
beam power of the Nigilant, whose WON
was about twenty-six feet, but when the
latter boat was getting beat in Englaho
in 1894 Nat" Herreshof. who was pres
ent,. liked the ability of the yacht That de-
feated her, and the consequence was that
some of the comparative narroWness Oh
the Britannia went into the next boat punt
to defend the cup from the attack OF va
kyrie Ill and the aluminium Defender was
built with a water-line beam, as measured
by Hobson, of twenty-five teet. Ana II
was curious that while Herreshoff was
copying the weatherly and active slimness
of what was then the typical English
boat, G. +. Watson, the designer of the
Valkyrfe III was copying the power OF
the American beam and putting about
twenty-six feet into the English chai-
lenger.
In some of the Scottish and Irish clubs
where the old rule for measurement calcu-
lated beam OF cubical contents. the Vigil
lant was found to be no less than twenty
three tons-a whole goodsized yacht
larger than the Britannia. But in 1896 the
second Dunraven boat was a good-sized
Yacht bigger than the slim and much
more English looking Defender and the
pity of 1t was that no one ever knew what
the real power of that splendid Watson
craft was. on no racing course did a big
breeze try her weatherly abilities, and the
extent of the latent powers of that grace
full Leviathan, especially in comparison
with those of the Defender are still I'M
known TO any one Only the crew of the
Defender and Lieut. Habson and few
more know that the Defenders hull was
not strong enough to support the strains
OF the mast in a seaway and pitching.
Only the crew know why on such a day
she was retired from one of the prellmin-
airy contests with the Vigilant, when the
latter boat was about to weather her.
What would have happened If the same or
still stronger weather had come into the
cup races can hardly be called guesswork,
because i'm spite OF her great speed IN
light weather, Hobson officially pro
nounced her hull 20 be unsafe, and in his
report, made at the request of the govern
ment ne printed these words speaking OF
the weakness in the region of the mast:
But even with these special dispositions
the provisions do not appear commensur-
ate with the local strains, particularly on
the weather side that the structure will
undergo by reason of the narrow spread of
the stays, introducing an enormous thrust
of the mast and crushing force between
the sides, due to the enormous spread of
sail and the great hight of the center of
pressure. Notwithstanding the speciaI
provisions enumerated, it appears not i'm
probable that heavy wind, particularly
if applied suddenly, will cause the struc-
lures in the region of tine mast 10 spring
If not to give way.
In the new defending craft the Here
shofs have gone back to the old and valu-
able American beam, and are giving her a
width at the wateT-line of nearly two feet
more than the Defender had, to say Moth
ing of a vastly increased general strength
AS if TO continue the peculiar exchange in
the matter of beam, Fife has now gone
back 10 the typical English narrowness in
the design OF the Shamrock, and is produc-
ing her with a 22-foot width at the water
fine, the same as in the case of the De-
cause, although Fife gave much beam TO
the international winner the Canada. he
has nearly always chung to the traditional
English slimness, and in this case he is
building to sail in light airs He paid a
visit TO the Defender when he was here
and he knows that the fastest 9O-footer
for light weather that ever sailed was Just
% feet wide. That seemed a safe fact
for him to work on. But why, If the De-
fender was just right, did the Herreshoffs
make their new boat two feet wider?
Were they afraid of the Valkyrie's power
| in 1895? 1t looks a good deal that way
Some Of the conditions of the Vigilant-
Nalkyrie II race are about to be repeated
in the races of 1899. after a lapse of six
years
The PecuIiarities of the shamrocIs.
No boats construction was ever more
jealousy guarded than that of the Sham
rock, and at the yards of the Thornycrofts.
at Chiswiok the workmen are only per-
mitted to see the pieces they personally
handle. But now that the craft is being
framed up. large numbers Of men can I'M
derstand the general ideas in The design
Some Interesting facts regarding har "a