El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-03
TOday'S Great
Yacht Race
wv
Written for the HERALD.

Written
No matter how far inland one may
be, there is no less interest In the race
that comes off between the two slim,
| broad winged yachts that are racing TO-
day for the cup that America won
from England and has kept for forty
wears while Britain, calling herself the
mistress of the seas, has strained every
nerve trying to take the trophy back.
This year the Shamrock races with
the Columbia and experts find both
ships SO perfectly adapted for nice
speed that they cannot say surely
that one or the other will win. The
history of the cup does not take long
in the telling. In the summer OF 1851
al the time OF great 1nternatlonai ex,
hibition in London the British offered
cup to be sailed for by boats OF all
nations. A few Yankees sailed across
the ocean in the schooner yacht Am
erica and sailed away again with the
cup. The course was around the Isle
of Wight and it's no discredtt to the
Britishers to say that they were much
chagriued at the success OF the Yankee
vessel in English waters. Six years
later the owners OF the America pres
ented the cup to the New York achting
club to be held as perpetual interna-
tional challenge cup. 1t has been In
the possession of the Yacht club ever
since, despite the fact that every time
the English have raced us they have
gone home and built a better yacht
for the next trial. The American
yachtsmen, however. did not rest on
their laurels at all, but after every sue
cess have set about building boat
th at would be speedier than the vic
tor.
10 1870 James Ashbury with the
Yacht Cambria came over and sailed
against q whole fleet of American
yachts-for that was the way of conduct
ing the race then. The Cam bria came
In about tenth, the American yacht
Magic winning first laurels. Mr.. Ash
bury pluckily went home to build q
better boat than the Cambria and
came back the next year with the LII
vonia and was beaten again, though be
gave the merican . good run for his
victory. In 1876 the Canadians thought
to win the cup with schooner, the
Countess, of Dufferip, but she was out run
by the American Madeleine. In 1881
the Canadians came again, sailing
the sbs Mischief . snd S we're
this time had built yacht which they
were confident was the best that
science and craft and skill Of every sort
could devise, and Sir Richard Sutton
entered the famous Genesta for the
cup while the Americana confidently
built the slim craft the Puritan and
put her into training to defend our
possession of the cup. She won the
two races out of three. In 1886 Lieut.
q prominent and popular yachtsmen,
came over with the Galatea. To
% boss .s hans the Dea' Puritan 'e had
to be constructed and two new boats,
the Atlantic and the Mayflower, were
built and after many careful trials the
Msyfiower WAS chosen and again our
right to the cup was well proved. In
1886 the English boat, the Thistle, now
our Volunteer and lost. We held
undisputed possession of the CUP for six
or seven years until the Earl of Dun
raven entered his sloop Valkyrie and
the Vigilant designed by N. G. Her.
reshoff was chosen from among many
excellent vessels to argue the
question. The Vigilant won the three
out of five races and Dunraven went
home and built him second Valkyrie
Valkyrie was built and came over here
in the summer of 1895. Herreshoff de-
signed and built the Defender for ].
Pierpopt Morgan, w. K. Vanderbilt,
and @. Oliver Iselin. Knowing that
the English ship builders had done
their best, the Defender was carefully
tried against the old Yankee cham
pion the Vigilant and the new boat be-
ing few minutes faster was chosen to
the English boat in three
straight races. Dunraven elaine ed foul
play but the Yacht club Immediately
set forth the facts before a committee
of dignified and honorable men OF in
irrational reputation and the de-
;ision did not uphold Dunraven's
harges. The Yacht club expelled
Durraven and for little while such |
bitter spirit prevailed that it seemed |
Is though the celebrated contest would |
never be revived. But the Britishers
are too throughly sportsmanlike to
give up thing that can be won by |
brains and Drawn and this year we |
have Sir Thomas Upton here
With the Shamrock and great courte-
lies between :him and our yachtsmen,
Upton saying that he intends to win |
t if he has the better boat, and the |
A americans saying that the Columbia is |
Ill that a boat should be but if she |
oses and the cup goes to England they |
will have great pleasure in going |
over to win it again, and the two on
ooking nations are promised as true |
port as they could wish.
This is the history of the cup. The
yachts have changed great
y since the first race forty-eight years
lgo. The British have had the disad
vantage of having to learn to build q
boat that would sail swiftly in our wa
;ers. Their ideas of yachts at first were
adapted to the choppy waters of
he English Channel and their boats
we're almost helpless in the still waters
Ia light winds of Sandy Hook, but
hey have learned each year new
1iceties of balance, of keel, and of sail.