The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1899-10-05
WERESHORTOF WIND
Columbia and Shamrock Fail to
Finish First Race.
RACE, HsU4V-R, WaSAPRETTY ONE.
First One Boat Leads and Then the
Other-Iim Limit Expires Be-
fore EInIsR, with Shamrock
Slightly ahead.

New York, Oct. AT sunset Monday
the biggest crowd of sIghIseers and
yachtsNen who ever sail,d down to
Sandy hook to witness the attempt of
foreign mug hunter to wrest from
America the yachting supremacy of the
world, returned to New York crestfall-
en- and disappointed. The winds from
the caves OF old ocean had proved too
light and shifty, and the first of the in
ternational series of 1899 between the
two greatest racing machines ever pro-
duced by England and America de-
generated into drifting match, and
had to be declared off because neither
could reach the finish line in the time
allotted by the rules. To avoid just
such winds as occurred Monday, in
which luck and not the crew and yachts
win, the rules provide that if one of the
boats does not finish within 5A hours
the race is declared off, so at the end OF
the time Monday evening, when the
yachts were still four miles from home
with the Shamrock leading by some,
committee officially declared that there
had been no race. The yachts were then
taken in tow by their respective tugs
and brought back to their anchorage
inside Sandy Hook.
The Columbia is undoubtedly the
prettier boat. She is tall, stately, with
graceful lines and towering masts. The
Irish boat, with her broader beam and
longer base line, looked slower and
heavier. Perhaps her green color
makes her look clumsier, as if she were
forced through the water, while the
slim Columbia pierces it like rapier
Though indecisive in every respect
as to the abilities of the great rival
single stickers, Mondays race indicates
that the Irish boat, with hrss English
skipper and her Scotch crew, is the
ablest sloop ever. sent across the AT.
lantic in the hope of lifting the one
hundred guinea cup, which the America
brought back 4s years ago, and which
has since been successfully defended
against the world.
A Pretty Race.
During the So hours sail the Sham
rock was thrice ahead, and twice the
Yankee boat showed the way. For the
first ten minutes the Shamrock led
then for five the Columbia's graceful
bow showed ahead of the green boat:
for As minutes following the Shamrock
then for three hours the Columbia. anC
for the last hour and half it was The
Shamrock that led the way. The breezt
blew as high as ~ knots an hour and as
'ow as three, and shifted about through
light points of the compass.
Each in turn beat the other running
before the wind and was in turn beaten
beating against the wind at various
stages of the race. so that many of thu
experts who saw the two boats sail arr
disinclined to believe that there is pin
TO choose between them. but when the
race is CLOSELY analvzed ii is absolute
" proven that the Columbia showed
her superiority at every point of sail
ing. running. reaching and beating
whenever the wind frPshened. ard tina
il was only in the lightest air that tn,
Shamrock could make Roadway agains
her.
Both had their share of good and bat
luck The Columbia had the better O
the shifting wind on the run down t.
the mark and beat the Shamrock tive
minutes and "A seconds. while on tht
beat home, after increasing her lead t.
over a mile at one time, the Shamrocl
overhauled the Yankee and was a quar-
ter of mile ahead when the time al
lowance expired.
The feature of the race which pleased
everybody most was the perfectly clea
field which was maintained. For tn
first time the government took han'
to prevent a repetition of the unfor
tunate occurrence which married tn
race when the accompanying excursion
boats in their frenzied eagerness to lie
none of the beautiful spectacle escap
crowded down upon the racers unit
their backwash impeded their progress
through the water and caused Lore
Dunraven to file his protest. The gov
eminent was determined this yea tina
the course should be protected agains