The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1899-10-21
THE CUP IS STILL OURS
Columbia Defeats Shamrock in
Three Straight Contests.
NEARLY AGAIBFoR FINAL RACE

Plucky Challenger May Try Again.
New York oct. 21.-Through wild
and hoary seas. in a breeze that ap-
preached the dignity OF a gale, the gall
liant sloop Columbia yesterday van
quished the British challenger Sham
rock by 8 minutes and rs seconds ac-
tual time and minutes and "a seconds
corrected time, thus completing the
Ieries for the Americas cup with a
magnificent rough weather duel and a
glorious Yankee victory. For the
eleventh time the attempt Of a foreign
er to wrest from America the yachting
supremacy of the world has failed.
The trophy won by the old schooner
America As years ago is still ours. a
monument to the superiority Of Amer
lean seamanship and American naval
architecture. and a standing challenge
to the yachtsmen Of all nations. The in
trinsic value of the reward which hun
dTeds Of thousands Of dollars we're eX-
pended to secure is small-simply an
antiquated piece of silverware which
Queen Victoria offered to the best sail
ing ship in the world in the early days
of her reign, but around it cluster the
precious memories of unbroken Amer
ican triumph and the honor Of mastery
in the noblest of sports.
To Sir Thomas Upton, whose name
is now added to the list Of defeated as
pirants for the honor of carrying the
cup back across the Atlantic, failure
was a crushing blow His hope had
been high. But, like the true sports
man that he is, the sting OF defeat has
left no bitterness, and with undaunted
courage he intimates that he may he
back with better boat and try again.
During his stay here Sir Thomas has
made himself more popular than any
previous challenger, and theyachtsmen
of this country will be glad to welcome
him back. The boats have had two
fair and square races, one in light airs
and the other in a heavy blow, and Sir
Thomas is perfectly satisfied that he
was beaten by the better boat.
Yesterdays race was a glorious test
of the rough weather qualities of the
two yachts. There was too much frost
iness in the air for comfort, and It was
far too rough for land lubbers. Some
of the holiday fleet declined to brave
the perils of the harpies riding down on
the northeaster, and those that did
rolled and plunged in the tumbling
billows, sending all but old salts be-
low The prayer of Sir Thomas for
wind was answered. 1t was blowing
% miles an hour at the lightship. Even
the pilot boats, that can weather any
gale. were under shortened sail.
The course, Is miles before the wind,
south by west, carried the yachts
straight down the Jersey coast to a
| point off Long Branch, so that the
| race was sailed in plain view of the
! thousands perched upon the heights Of
! Navesink, and stretched along the
/ shore from Seabright to Asbury Park
! The crew of the Columbia were pre-
/ pared for the fray in yellow oilskins
and sou'westers, and those of the
| Shamrock in white canvas. It was
! blowing too hard for club topsalls, and
| both shippers contented themselves
with hoisting small working topsails.
Both yachts fled across the starting
| line before the 25 knot breeze wing
and wing, their spinnakers breaking
! out like puffs of white smoke and set
! ting hard as plaster. The Shamrock
was over a minute and one second be-
fore the defender. But this was not
due to superior seamanship. Captain
Barr held off for that length of time
after the green boat crossed in order
that he might get the position astern,
where he could have an opportunity to
blanket his rival.
The yachts made a beautiful picture
as they sped away with outstretched
pinions The big sloops set so hot q
pace that they left half the tugboats
and some of the steam yachts astern.
They were going at a 13 knot clip, the
Yankee slowly but surely, inch by inch,
overhauling her adversary. When the
Columbia had crept up to within strik-
ing distance the green boat crowded
on little more canvas, setting baby
jib topsail, and for ten minutes she
seemed to hold the American even. As
the yachts approached the outer mark
the patriots, with high bounding pulses
saw that the Columbia was again
picking up on the enemy. At 1910
o'clock, half mile from the mark.
the Bristol boat got alongside the chal-
lenger, and neck and neck, like a span
of race horses, they bowled down for
the float. Three minutes later, when
they took in their spinnakers prepara-
tory to gybing the Columbia was a
length in the lead The yachts swept
around the mark, the Columbia II sec
onds ahead, but so close that one
chorus from the fleet answered both
The Columbia gained a minute and
IS seconds in the fifteen mile run.
AS they leaned away on the star
board tack for the beat home the
white flyer was to the windward and
about length ahead. They careened
until their lee rails were awash, and
occasionally both shipped solid crests
of green water forward. Everything
aboard was wet and dripping. The
water spurted 20 feet into the air. The
green boat labored more than the Yam
kee. Once or twice she buried hel
bowsprit in the seas, wetting her head
sails II was a grand sight.
The Columbia pointed almost a point
higher than her rival and footed JUS
as fast. The Columbia had housed hel
working topsail before they turned th'
mark, but the Shamrock held on until
in the constantly freshening wind, sh,
decided that it was dangerous to carry
it longer, and a sailor was sent aloft t
lower it, IL was a delicate job, bu
after five minutes of hard work it wal
successfully accomplished. On ever!
tack of the thresh to windward tn,
Yankee increased her lead. sailing 81
close that the old salts said she coult
. "wipe the eye of the wind" At Ia
the Columbia was leading by a quar-
ter of a mile. The situation for tn
Shamrock was desperate, and reckles
of the consequences the British skip
per sent up a small club topsail. Tn
Columbia kept on under mainsail, sta