The record-union., 1899-10-21
The COLUMBIA'S
GLORIOUS VICTORY,
For the Eleventh Time Has a Graft
From a Foreign Land
Failed to Wrest the Yachting Supremacy
From the Yankee Sailors.
The Trophy Won by the Old
Schooner America Forty-Eight
Years Ago Still Ours, Thanks to
the Superiority of American
Seamanship and American Ma
val Architecture.


Seamanship and American Ma
val Architecture,
NEW YORK, Oct. 20.-Through wild
and hoary seas, in a breeze that ap-
preached the dignity Of a gale the gall
liant sloop Columbia to-day vanquished
the British challenger Shamrock by six
minutes and eighteen seconds actual
time and six minutes and thirty-four
seconds corrected time, thus complet-
ing the series for the Americas cup
with magnificent rough weather duel
and glorious Yankee victory.
For the eleventh time the attempt of
foreigner to wrest from America the
yachting supremacy of the world has
failed. The trophy won by the old
schooner America forty-eight years
ago, is still ours, a monument to the
superiority of American seananship
and American naval architecture and a
standing challenge to the yachtsmen
of all nations.
Unbeaten America again tasted the
glory of victory. The intrinsic value
of the reward which hundreds of thou
sands of dollars were expended to Sc
cure is small-simply an antiquated
piece of silverware which Queen Vic
toria offered to the best sailing ship
in the world in the early days of her
reign, but around it cluster the pre-
vious memories of unbroken American
triumph and the honor of mastery in
| the noblest of sports.
is now added to the list of defeated as
pirants for the honor of carrying the
cup back across the Atlantic, failure
was 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 be
back with a better boat to try again
During his stay here Sir Thomas has
made himself more popular than any
previous challenger and the yachts
men of this country will be glad to
welcome him back.
Except for the repeated fukes and
the .llnfortlf.- e accident to the chal-
lenger on Tuesday, this series of races
has been unmarried by a single un-
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
To-days race was a glorious test of
the rough weather qualities of the
two yachts. There was too much FROST
mess in the air for comfort, and it
was far too rough for land lubbers The
sky was overcast with cold gray clouds.
and the fierce flaws of a chilling blast
out of the northeast whipped the foam
out of the racing waves until they
whitened the face of the sea- Outside
the ocean was a riot of whitecaps
Some of the holiday fleet declined to
brave the perils of the harpies riding
on the northeaster, and those that did
rolled and plunged in the tumbling bill
lows, sending all but the old salts be-
low.
The prayer of Sir Thomas for wind
was answered. 1t was blowing twen-
ty-f1ve miles an hour at the lightship
enough wind and enough sea to make
any racing machine stagger Even
the pilot boats that can weather a.
gale. were under shortened sail. and
the wind fairly tore the steam out of
the exhaust and from the smokestacks
into shreds. A course fifteen miles
before the wind, south by west, car
ried the yachts straight down the Jer-
sey coast to a point off Long Branch
so the race was sailed in plain view of
thousands of persons perched upon the
nights of Navesink and stretched along
the shore from Sea Bright to Asbury
Park
After the race was over grand spec
taele followed, the victor after low
ering her sails, set the Stars and
Stripes at her topmast truck at both
ends of her spreader and at the taft
rail. Soon the whole fleet blossomed
out in American flags. Patriotic skip
pers ransacked their lockers for them.
and they flew from every stack and
mast The Corsair, the flagship of
the New York Yacht Club, had six
flags Tapping in the stiff breeze as she
went alongside the Columbia and gave
her three shrieking blasts Then her
crew cheered, and the hardly Deer ISL
anders aboard the defender responded
with barred heads. All the ships in
the excursion fleet followed, turning
loose their whistles in a maddening
chorus. Some of the excursion boats
kept their whistles going half way back
to New York.
Later the Erin, which had remained
behind for few minutes with the
Shamrock, steamed up to the Column
bia, the Stars and Stripes futtering
from the main and mizzen The Cor
sair greeted her with cannon, which Sir
Thomas acknowledged by dipping the
English jack at the taffrail. Then by
Sir Thomas orders the crew of the
Erin lined the rail and gave three good
Anglo-Saxon cheers for the victors
They were returned by the proud
crew of the Columbia The American
boat was the first to reach her moor
ing buoy inside the Hook. and when
her late rival came up in tow the sail
ors on both shared the opportunity to
cheer each other Justify. Later Sir
Thomas went aboard the Corsair and
there soon afterward Mr. Iselin, man
aging owner of the Columbia, Joined
him. There We're toasts to victor and
vanquished, to America and Great Dri-
tain, to gentlemen and ladies and all
sorts of things, and so, with felicita-
tions all around, the cup series for 1899
ended with the best of good feeling.