Evening star., 1900-08-18
Cornelius Vanderbilt's Yacht Home
First in a Big Squall.
GRAND CIRCUIT RACES CLOSED
Base Ball News and Gossip Of In
terest to "Fans."
INTERESTING GOLFBYLADIE

Just three minutes before the breaking
of big black wind squall from the north
of Newport that made coasters douse
everything but mainsails and jibs, Cor
nelius Vanderbilts seventy-foot yacht
Rainbow, under mainsail, clubtopsails and
balloon jibtopsails, drove across the finish
line in the last of a southwest breeze off
Brenton's reef lightship yesterday after
noon in the first of the series of races for
a trophy offered by the Newport Yacht
Racing Association. She was the leader
but not the winner. in the official race of
seventy-footers. The Yankee, which
crossed the line one minute, twenty-one
seconds later. had won the race by fifty
two seconds. August Belmont's Mineola,
which would have been third boat, lowered
away her clubtopsan and mainsail. and
was taken in tow by her tender, the Scout.
w K. Vanderbilt, jr.'s, Virginia, after
lowering her clubtopsail and ballooner
pluckily held on to her mainsail a-d jib,
and crossed the finish line sfter the sauall
struck her. Through a second squall, with
rain, her skipper sailed her right up to her
anchorage, In Brenton's Cove, arriving al
most as soon as the other three, which
were towed in. The race as a whole was
an excellent ight-weather test Of the four
yachts
Fog and calm weather gave but little
prospect OF race early IN the morning,
but by II o'clock 1t had cleared. and soon
after the committee yacht Mirage arrived.
with Messrs. Ellis. Garfield and flumer on
board. and took her position north of Bren-
toms reef hghtship. She gave the prepara-
tory signal at :35 and one to start at
n:iO. Breaking out No. 2. or reaching.
jibtopsails as they approached the line.
the Rainbow and Mineola crossed 1t In
that order with only four seconds between
them. All were on the starboard tack. and
the Rainbow had the lee berth. The Min
cola had half length overlap on the Rain
bow and the Yankee the same overlap on
the Mineola-
When Herman Duryea, at the Yankees
helm. saw the Virginia far astern, he
turned his boat back just before reaching
the line. and went to meet the other. Then.
placing her on the Nirginias weather bow,
he crossed the line twenty-three seconds
ahead OF her The Yankee was then one
minute and thirteen seconds behind the
leader, the Rainbow.
The course twice around a triangle
of fifteen miles, the first leg. east-southeast
four miles. being a close reach; the sec
ond southwest, one-Quarter SOUTH five and
a half miles. beat, and the third. north
five and a half miles, a run. In this close
reach to the first mark the Yankee beat
them. Her time was twenty minutes thir-
teen seconds, Nirginias, twenty-five min
utes. fifteen seconds; Rainbow's. twenty
one minutes, thirty-six seconds, and Mineo-
las twenty-five minutes. forty-two sec
onds. The mark was rounded like this
Rainbow. 1902; Mneola. 12::O3 10; Yam
kee, 12O4:5O. and Virginia, 12:O5:15 The
wind was about south at the start. 1t had
now fallen lighter and backed to the south
west. Then windward work began by the
Mineola and the Yankee splitting tacks
with the other two.