The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-04
THE RACE A DISAPPOINTMENT.
TIME LIMIT NOT COVERED AND 1T
WAS DECLARED OFF.


Ahead. and Twice the Columbia
Led-Ensiish Boat showed EN-
trnOrdinnry QuaIities-Said That
the Columbia showed Her SUI
periOrity-Coursc Kept CIear-Co-
IumbiaS Friends Proud of Her.
New York, oct. 3.-As the sun set be
4 hind the Navesnk hills, The biggest crowd
of sightseers and yaehtsmen who ever
sailed down to Sandy Hook TO witness che
attempt of a foreign mug-hunter to wrest
/ from America the yachting supremacy OF
/ the world. returned TO New York crest
| fallen and disappointed
The wind had proceeded too light ana
shifty, and the first Of the international
series of 1899, between the two greatest
racing machines ever produced by England
and America, degenerated into a drifting
match, and had TO be declared off be-
cause neither could reach the finish line in
the time allotted by the rules.
To avoid just such winds as occurred
to-day, in which luck and not the crew
and yachts win, the rules provide that If
one of the boats does not finish within
five and a half hours. the race is declared
off, so at the end of the time this even
ing when the yachts were sull four miles
from home with the Shamrock leading by
| some thing more than a quarter of O mile,
the committee officially declared that there
! had been no race. The yachts were then
taken in tow by their respective turs and
brought back to their anchorage inside
! Sandy Hook. Under the rules the first
| race Is now postponed for two days, or
until Thursday.
Promised Well at First.
The race promised well at first The
! sky was sulirched with few dirty clouds,
! but clear enough to permit the thousands
| of spectators who lined the Jersey shore
20 see almost every foot of the course. The
waves Were crested with whtecaps here
| and there, and "a fairly fresh breeze blew
| out Of the north-nOrtheast but after the
| Columbia and Shamrock had crossed the
line, the wind turned funky and variable,
and the race was a fizzle almost from the
start But the fuke to-day gave the
yachting sharps and the spectators much
! to think about-and some surprises.
The Columbia is undoubtedly the pret-
! test boat She is tall. stately, with grace
full lines and towering mast. The Irish
boat, with her broad 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 a
rapier.
4 Though indecisive in every respect as
to the abilities of the great rival single
stickers, to-day's race indicates that the
Irish boat, with her English skipper and
her Scotch crew, is the ablest sioop ever
sent across the Atlantic in the hope of
lifting the l00gulnea cup, which the
America brought back forty-eight years
ago, and which has since been success
fully defended against the world.
ShnmrOclS Thrice Ahead.
During the five and a half hours sail
the Shamrock was thrice ahead aud twice
the Yankee boat showed the way. For
the first ten minutes the Shamrock led
then for five minutes the Columbia s
graceful bow showed ahead of the
green boat; for forty-hve minutes follow
ing the Shamrock, then for three hours
the Columbia, and for the last hour and
half it was the Shamrock that led the
way The breeze blew as high as twelve
! knots an hour, and as low as three ana
shifted about through eight points Of the
/ compass. Each in turn beet the other
running before the wind and was in turn
! beaten, beating against the wind at Varl-
GUS stages of the race, so that many of
the experts who saw the two boats sail
to-day are disinclined to believe that there
! is a pin 20 choose between them, but
when the race is closely analyzed 1t is
HDSCluie.y proven LHdt the GOlUnDld snow
/ ed her superiority at every point of sail
ing, running reaching and beating when
ever the wind freshened and that il was
only in the ightost air that the Shamrock
could make headway against her Both
had their share of good and bad luck The
Columbia had the better of the shifting
wind on the run down 10 the mark and
beat the Shamrock two minutes and fortV-
four seconds while on the beat home af-
ter increasing her lead to over a mile At
one time the Shamrock overhauled the
Yankee and was quarter Of a mile
ahead when The time allowance expired.
Clear Field Great Feature.
The feature of the race which pleased
everybody most was the perfectly clear
field which was maintained. For the
first time, this year the government took
a hand to prevent a repetition Of the un-
fortunate occurrence which marrod the
race when the accompanying excursion
boats in ther frenzied eagerneas to Jet
nothing of the beautiful spectacle escape.
crowded dowT upon the racers until their
back wash impeded their progress through
the wafer and caused Lord DunraVen to
/ file his famous protest. The government
was determined this year that HE course
should be protected against unofficial tres
passers foula OF revenue cutters and
swift torpedo boats, flying red-barred
white flags, guarded the course, kept ex-
cuTs!on steamers, yachts and tugs at a
perfectly safe distance from the canvas
clOuded racers.
The course was laid fifteen miles dead
refore the wind and back again The direc-
ton Of the wind carried this course south
southwest from the Sandy Hook lightshlp.
almost straight down the Jersey coast to
point off Asbury Park. where a white
float with a red ball was placed to mark
the turning point The Columbia was ad-
mirably handled throughout the race.
CoIumbia's Sail First Spread.
Though the Shamrock was first across
the line by forty-,hree seconds, the Colum-
bias Deer Island crew Of Yankees, wear
ing their picturesque watch caps in Ise-
Inns colors were so much handler than
their Scotch rivals that they had the
Columhia's spinn1ker and balloon jib set
first by three minutes. The spectators mar
vcled at the cloud of canvas the Lev athans
carried Straight up into the air the sen-
der yards carried the point Of the Dyra-