Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1899-10-18
Second Race Awarded to the
American Yacht.
ACCIDENT TO THE SHAMROCK
Cup Challenger's T"pmast Was Carried
Away Twenty five Minutes After She
Had Crossed the Line. Columbia
Sailed the C0urne Alone. M.
lEN Tc!tgraph.l

| NEW YORK, oct. 1.-THE topmast
/ OF the cup challenger. shamrock. car
| rle' away twenty-five minutes after
the big si,glc-s,icker had crossed the
starting line today and her enormous
| club sail with ks 3.00U feet Of canvas
came rafting down on the deck, le;.v-
! ing h'1r q hopeless cripple. No amount
| OF pluck Or courage could face such
! Il catastrophe and Captain Hogarth
immediately abandoned the race, tow
ing back to the anchorage after he had
| cleared away the wreckage.
The Columbia continued over thu.
! course alone, placing TO her credit the
second of the races for the Americas
cup. .+.
| RUINED THE RACE.
| me accident to the Shamrock ruin
| ca the race and caused the keenest re-
| sret among the yachtslnen ana the
| thousands of sightSecrS who We're on
hand TO witness what had promised to
| be glorious duel. ... ..
| 1t is unfortunate that the defender
| should have beer the Beneficiary OF an
accident. rs there is little glory in beat
| ing l cripple but the rule is irnn-rlad
Ii crippled before The start. time for
| repairs is allowed, but once over the
line if anything carries away The suf-
te!er must make such repairs as he
can, or. # rendered ,lors lu combat as
| the Shamrock was today. he must take
| the consequences. There is good sense
and logic behind the rule. The races
are test Of construction as Well as de-
| sign and stewardship.
NO ALTER @.
| Doubtless, ii Mr.. lselin could have
had his choice in the matter. he gener-
otlsly would have declined to contiue
III View of the crippled condition of his
rival, but the rules gave him no al
Tentative. He was III duty bound To
| go on and as he finished Well within
| the time limit. the race was his.
! Had the accirent not occurred how
ever, it is believed that the Yankee
bont would have repcated the beating
she gave the challenger yesterday.
During the % miles the yacht sailed
she had gone through the Shamrock s
lead like 4 streak and had established a
lead of more than 800 yards on the
| weather bow. -u
PuRFrAN-G ENESTA AFFAIR.
! When the Puritan foued the Genes
| ta on the inside course in 1887. carry
| ing away the challengers bpwsprit and
| topmast. although the race Was at his
mercy under the rules. Lord Richard
sutton maSnanimously refused to
| claim it. TO avoid just such a contin-
gel cy. in which the beneficiary of an
| accident is. always reluctant to claim
| his rights. a special clause was added
| To the regular rules this year. leaving
absolutely no option in the matter
| RMS clause was signed by Sir Thomas
l.lrt9n and Mr.. Iselin few days before
| the date Of the first attempt to race
| The accident today shows what IL
ceiicale machine a racing yacht is
nowadays and how close TO the limit
o.: safely it is built 1t is a super a
/ lively light structure weighed down by
enormous ballast to carry the gigantic
spread of canvas. The most delicate
and scientific adjustment Of weights is
| required.
CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT.
The simple breaking OF a stay today
Wrecked the Shamrock.
| The wire backstay of the topmast
which helps to support the slender
spars, gave way and this support re :
moved. her Oregon pine topnast, as
bis as telegraph pole, sixty feet long
and fourteen inches in diameter. snap
Fed Off like match just above the
lower mast cap. This mast was not
only supporting the pressure Of 10
Knot breeze, against her big kite, but
was also sustaining the crushing weight
Of the sail itself and the two club top
sail yards. each forty feet long Later
in the afternoon. the Shamrock was
lowed up to the Erie Basin, in the up
per bay. A new topmast will be set uD
tomorrow and she will be remeasured
! she will probably be taken out for a
SPIN tomorrow to try her new stick and
the third race Of the series will be sail
ed on Thursday. This race will be
AGAIN over WindWard and leeward
| course. and if the Columbia wins the
series will have been completed Without
giving the Shamrock an opportunity to
test her merits in her favorite point Of
sailing over triangular course.
DAY WAS PROMISING.
The day had promised a glorious con-
test. There We're only gray neutra!
tints in the morning. but hard. strong
l2-knot breeze out of the east kicked up
the White caps, and the wind and tide
helped to pile up the tumbling waters
! The pulses Of the sportsmen throbbed
1 in az. fift,, fS>x,