Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-10-19
ISELlN
VICTOR
Columbia is First in In
ternational Cup
Contest.
Shamrock DeCisiVely De-
feated at the Hook
Monday.
American Boat Leads by
More Than Ten
Minutes.


mandingly against all corners over
course around the Isle Of Wight in 81
will probably remain here another
year. In a glorious breeze, over
windward and leeward course of 80
miles, the Columbia scored against the
Shamrock Monday in the first race of
the '99 series for the trophy She
bounded across the finish line fully
mile and half ahead of the challen-
ger, defeating her by 10 minutes, IA
seconds of actual time, or 10
minutes, s seconds corrected time,
after allowing 6 sec
onds handicap which the Columbia
must concede to her challenger on ac-
count of her longer water line. 1t was
decisive contest, a magnificent race,
magnificently sailed and magnifcently
won. Although the preponderance of
expert opinion never wavered in it's
| loyalty to the wonderful speed and
ability of the white flyer, no nautical
sharp expected that the Shamrock
would be so overwhelmingly van
pushed as she was in Mondays strug-
gle. The Yankee boat outgeneraled
her at the start, beat her hopelessly to
WlndWard work to the outer mark and
gained p seconds in the run home be-
fore the wind. There was a good,
strong, 10 to II knot breeze, and
it held out throughout the
race. 1t is undoubtedly a bitter
blow because the English hopes of lift
ing the cup have never been higher
since the Thistle met the Volunteer in
ST. Like the Shamrock she was deci-
sively defeated in the first hours sail
ing. The regatta committee as a re-
suit of the showing made by the Col
umbia Monday is convinced that the
cup is safe. Sir Thomas Upton, true
sportsman that he is, confessed after
the race that he had been fairly beaten
1t was anything but a comfortable day
on the water. No large assemblagt
was on hand to witness the start, re
peated f1ukes having made the public
very chary about coming out. ,Wher
the starting gun was fired the Sham
rock had run parallel with the line tt
nearly the center of it. She held tC
her course until nearly over to the
lightship before she began to huff tt
cross the line. Captain Barr held the
Columbia we'll in hand, being at thi:
a good length astern, with sheets fla
aft. He began to huff the moment Ho
garth did, and shooting the Columbic
across the Shamrock's wake, sent hel
across the line more than fifty yards tt
windward of the challenger with sucl
a good overlap on her that, according
to the official time she was only three
seconds astern. Both yachts were nov
close hauled on starboard tack, carry
ing exactly the same sail-mainsail, cluI
topsail, jib, foresail and baby jib top
sail.
Shamrock is Beaten.
The first ten minutes were anXiou!
ones for friends of both yachts. Aftel
that time it was all over but the shout
ing. In five minutes the Columbia hat
widened the distance to the windwar(
between herself and the Shamrock full
ly a length. When the Shamrock
tackled to port at is and the Column
|
that Barr had so placed his boat on the
weather bow of the Shamrock as tt
spill back wind into the Shamrock
sails. Hogarth was obliged to KEEP
broad off for about 80 seconds to gel
out from under the Columbia's lee
By 1920 the Bristol boat was quite al
eighth of a mile to the windward, out
footing and outpointing her rival al
the lIme. Captain Hogarth, fnding
that the Shamrock would not point as
high as the Columbia flattened down
his sheets as hard as he dared and had
to be contented with giving her good
full. At 11:45 the Columbia was
fully quarter mile to the
windward. Captain Hogarth was
getting desperate now and resorted to
short lacking in the hope that his boat
would forereach sufficiently to make
material gain to the windward. The
| Columbia, however, if anything, was
quicker in the stays and better fore
reacher. At so when the Shamrock
| had settled down again to business on
the port tack and the Columbia, two
minutes later, came about to the same
tack, it was found that the Bristol boat
was a half mile dead to the windward
In three more tacks the Columbia still
increased her windward lead. Each
yacht made % tacks in the windward
work and in all these the Shamrock
took the initiative The wind became
lighter as they approached the turn.
Smart1y the Columbia's crew
launched her spinnaker boom out to
port before she fairly made the turn
and squared away on her homeward
course. They were exactly IS seconds
setting the spinnaker. The Sham
rocks men beat them five seconds in
this work
Americans Still Gain.
The official time at the turn was:
Columbia, 1:4S:19; Shamrock, 1:5S:0S.
This shows that the Columbia was
nine minutes and forty-nine seconds |