The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-10-03

bow. she was three feet shOrted than
the Thistle and three feet wider and
gained an overwhelming victory.
Steel frames had now replaced oak
and now in '93 in the big Single stick
ers' came the steel hull. Lord Dunra-
ven came forward with the Valkyrie
and HerreshOh succeeded Burgess with
the Vigilant
She was the first craft to have an
underbOdy Of TObin bronze to reduce
the minimum OF friction and was as
light as possible above the water line
with tremendous weigh in her keel
to carry great sail plan. Her center
board. of hollow bronze. had a drop Of
ten feet drawing fourteen feet without
1t. She was 1856 feet over all with
26 foot beam.
The Valkyrie was the prettier look
ing craft of the two. but she was beat
en- nevertheless. One race indeed the
Valkyrie might have won had il not
been for little tear in the spinnaker,
made in hauling it out OF the locker.
1t was on the run home. and the squall
found the flaw and blew that sail, and
succeeding hurricane cloth, into ribbons.
The Nigilant saved the cup that day,
October 13 1893 by only forty seconds.
Meantime the challenging cutter though
the loser, had so OutpOinted, outfOOted
and outrun the centerbOarder that Her
reshoff boldly abandoned the center
board and brought forth the Defender
in '95 as pure a type of racing craft as
was ever designed.
Now the national characteristics of
the crafts had ceased to be distinct,
they were no longer national types and
differed no more than boats designed
by different men in the same country
might.
The factor Of safety on the two boats
Of 95 the Defender and the Valkyrie III
was reduced t. a minimum. The races
proved nothing. They were truthfully
summed up as a foul, a fiuke and
fizzle."
In '9S came Sir Thomas Upton with
his shamrock designed by Fife win
ming for the challenger much popularity
but mot the cup. The Shamrock was
the nearest boat ever built by the other
side to American traditions and had
wonderfully fitting suit of sails.
1t is generally conceded that the
Shamrock was not sailed at her best.
Her owner was sick, unable to see the
race, and three expert English captains
sailed her. Still the Columbia was the
better boat and won on her merits.
This year comes the Shamrock III built
by the same designer, Fife, for the
same owner Sir Thomas Upton, who
has expended over a million dollars in
his latest attempt to bring back the cup.
save that she runs closely to American
lines, has a beautifully fitting set of
sails and has shown herself in her trial
trips on this side of the water to be a
rival not to be despised, if indeed not
to be feared.
There have been some lively trials in
American waters this year to determine
which boat shall be the defender. The
new Constitution, built at New York
for the purpose has proved herself after
repeated trials the inferior of the CO.
lumbia, the last defender and the Bos-
ton boat the independence, though
showing remarkable speed in the final
trials was outclassed by both of the
Gotham boats. Up to the day of the
race the odds have remained steadily in
favor of the defender and some heavy
wagers have been placed on the result.
The trials for the cup have so far re-
suited in the following contestants and
, results.
1851, Pilot boat America wins from
Arrow and other English boats and
brings the cup to America.
In 1870, America wins once more from
| the Cambria. Eighteen vessels started
and the British boat was beaten by nine
American boats.
In 1871 the Livonia in 1876 the Coun-
| tess of Dufferin and in 1881 the Alta
| lanta all failed to lift the cup.
| In 1885 the Puritan beat the challeng-
! ing Genesta by a narrow margin. In
/ 1886 the Mayflower beat the Galatea,
! 1887 saw the defeat of the Thistle by the
! Volunteer. In 1893 the Vigilant beat
| the Valkyrie in a series of close races
4 In 1895 the cup was retained in the dis
appointing races between the Defender
and Valkyrie Ill In 1898 the Columbia
won from the Shamrock.