Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-09-27
MISUNDERSTANDING
Sir Thomas Finds 1t to Get That
Cup Off Its Perch on
This Side.
FIRST RACE TURNS OUT NO RACE
But Gives a Very Good Idea oi
What the Boats Can Do.
Columbia's Advantage.

New York. Sept. 21-One of the big
Eest crowds that ever put to sea went
down to the Sandy Hook lightship yes
terday to witness Sir Thomas Lipton's
second challenger. Shamrock ii, and
the white flyer. Columbia. which sue
cessfully defended the Americas cup
against his first trophy-hunter two
years ago. struggle for the yachting
supremacy of the World in the first of
the cup races of 1901. But the eXcur-
sion feet returned disappointed. The
great single-stickers went out fresh for
the battle. but the sea refused them
u field Of conflict. The wind, never
more than nine. and sometimes as low
as three knots, was too light and
shifty TO carry the contestants over
the thirty-mile course in the time al
lOtted by the rules.
Race Oncially Declared or
At the end OF five and half hours.
the prescribed time, the race was Off
cially declared off. and the yachts were
towed back to their berths inside San
dy Hook. When the gun aboard the
committee boat was fired to call at
tention to the signal declaring the race
off the American yacht was still five
miles from the finish line. The Brit
lSIleT WIS wei Dtnlnu OOluInDlb AuleI-
leans have reason to congratulate them
selves upon the result of the first trial.
The Columbia. was headed but once in
tie twenty-five miles covered, ana
then the Britisher showed the way for
only five minutes.
John VIII Have To Try Again.
In the wtindward work the Columbia
beat the foreigner seven minutes and
fifteen seconds to the outer mark. and
increased her lead in the broad reach
for home. While the test was unSatis-
factory. the yachting sharps who have
been Skeptical up TO this time as to
the ability of the Columbia to success
fully defend che cup are confident that
4. will remain ON this side of the At
lantic vet n while longer Certainly
Columbia's superiority in light airs ap-
pears to have been demonstrated.
Shamrock III did not, i'm fact, make as
good Il showing as did Lipton's first
challenger i'm the half-doZen dukeS that
preceded the actual races two years
ago. What Shamrock may be able 10
do i'm heavy weather is. of course. prob
lematicaI. but Columbia has been tried.
and all her admirers insist that she is
distinctively n heavy weatheC boat.
Started in Good Breeze.
There was n fair breeze at first. and
when the starting gun was fired Barr
got the best of it-Over the line first
and the Windward position. Then for
ten miles down the Long Island shore.
the big single-stickers smashed into
the head seas. sending spray smoking
to the cross trees. Strain as Shamrock
would he could not held her white
rival even. Slowly but surely Column
bia forged ahead. pointing higher and
footing faster. Shamrock tackled ana
tackled again. but Columbia went about
with her each time and appeared to be
the more nimble. Timed again and
again by the experts. she was quicker
in stays by ten seconds.
Then Came the FIukey Winds.
r. After the first ten miles the wind
dropped and became fukey, one boat
would have breeze while the other
had none. 1t was in one of those
fiukeS that the Shamrock got ahead.
As soon as the Columbia caught the
wind she went ahead again. The rest
of the race was merely n drifting
match, but wherever there wns any
test it showed the Columbia to be the