The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-04
COL UMB|A
LEADS
SHAMROCK
CONTINUED from Page -


ed and tackled again, but the Column
bia went about with her each time and
appeared to be more nimble. Timed
again and again by the experts she was
quicker in stays by ten seconds. The
beat down the Long Island coast made
a beautiful marine spectacle. The patrol
feet, under the direction of Captain
Walker of the revenue cutter service,
maintained perfectly clear field. Half
a mile of revenue cutters and yachts
at an angle of four points from each
side of the course formed a right an
gle. changing direction as the yachts
tackled.
INTO THE BUCKING SEAS
In the hollow of this angle as If on a
fence corner there was no more inter-
ference with the yachts than If they had
been sailing in the middle of the Atlantic,
while behind the fence on either side
were the solid, floating, moving lines of
careenfng hulls, rail to rail, their smok-
ing stacks making a black wall above
them. On into the bucking seas the
yachts went, squirting great geysers from
their sharklike bows. The American was
undoubtedly the prettier boat. Her sky
scraping club topsail was not so high by
eight feet as that of her rival, but she
appeared more stately and graceful She
seemed a thing of life, lifting to the seas
with less effort or piercing them with
less fuss, while the heavier-breasted
Shamrock pointed and shivered them
with the force OF her impact. The slen-
der hulls of the racing machines looked
too frail to carry the canvas which tow
cred above them. About $50 feet above
the water line, height equal to a mod
ern ten-story building, the slender top
mast of the Shamrock lifted her pyramid
of canvas, but her S33 square feet more
of canvas than the Columbia caIried
could not make her oveTrai1e the white
beauty.
1t was directly off Long Beach Hotel,
with its crowded piazzas, that the Sham
rock showed in front for the first and
only time during the race. AS the wind
had hauled more to the southwark and
had died down somewhat, Charley Barr
headed the Columbia off shore in the
hope of meeting it. Instead he poked his
nose into g, dead calm, and for some min
utes the Columbia lay with her sails
Tapping, while the Shamrock, catching
a slant of wind nearer shore drew rap
idly ahead. But the victory was short
lived. The cant of the wind to the south
ward held and freshened to about six
knots, making 1t from this point close
hauled reach to the mark. The Column
bia rapidly overlook her adversary and
Captain Sycamore in desperation conclud-
ed to press on more canvas by trying a
larger jib topsail While the sailors
were out on the bowsprit, taking In the
old and bending on the larger sails, the
Columbia went by the Shamrock as If
she had been moored to the dock, max
ing two feet to her one. From that time
to the outer mark the Columbia gained
steadily. AS she came alongside the
turning point, leaving the mark on the
starboard hand Barr put his helm hard
down and luffed around it. Then she
filled away. Her great balloon jib broke
OFF Ike a puff of smoke, her boom was
eased off and she was away for home
on a broad reach The band crashed, the
whistles blew, and the crowd aboard the
excursion fleet cheered. The fleet cour-
teously waited until the Shamrock round
ed seven minutes and four seconds later,
and gave her cordial reception. From
that time on it was a procession, not a
race.
AMERICAN FORCES AHEAD.
The Englishman tried half a dozen
head sails in the hope of improving his
position, but the American forged stead
lily ahead Then the wind which had
been seven knots at the stakeboat, grad
ually died down, and an hour before the
time limit expired it was evident that
the yachts could not finish In time. The
committee boat finally hoisted signals
declaring mo race and the big ex-
cursion feet headed back for New York.
Only the steam yacht Erin, with Sir
Thomas and his party aboard, remained
alongside the challenger and escorted her
to her anchorage.
Under the rules the unfinished race
will be resailed on Saturday and the
course will be again fifteen miles to
windward and leeward and return.
When seen after the race Sir Thomas
said:
at was not satisfactory race, because
the wind was so erratic. I hope we shall
have better luck next time. A race sail
ed on such a day, if it can be finished at
all, depends upon the lucky chance posi-
ton as tc winds of one boat or the other.
I was never more hopeful of the Sham
rock than l am now. I am confident 1
shall get the cup. have never seen any
more skillful handling of a boat than ,
was shown by Captain Barr of the Co
lumbia today. The Shamrock too, was
well managed. All the arrangements for
handling the yachts and steamers at the
course have been perfectly satisfactory"
Manager Jameson said:
II am both surprised and pleased at
the excellent manner In which the course
was kept clear. The day was a poor
one for racing on account of the flukes."
Designer Watson said:
IT am very we'll satisfied with what the
boat did today" /
E. D. Morgan of the Columbia said:
The Columbia did very well under the
We made a good start,
but of course the other boat may be
more fortunate next time"
Captain Barr of the Columbia was non
committal When asked If the Columbia
did as well as he expected, he replied:
Il have nothing to say about her"
The story of the race as it progressed
tack by tack, with all the maneuvers
that make a yachting contest, follows:
FIRST AT TIE START.
The Columbia was first to reach the
scene of the start, being towed from her
mornings out to Sandy Hook Iightship
Her mainsai was set, but it took her
skipper some time to decide what sized
gaff topsail to send aloft. The breeze at /
10 o'clock was blowing about 10 knots an
hour from east-northeast, and 1t then
looked as though it must increase. At
last it was decided to set the biggest club
topsail aboard, and a very pretty sail II i
was when mastheaded and sheeted The
Columbia took quite kindly to the swell /
that rolled in from the sea- She made