The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-27
Wind, Which Promised Well In the
Morning, Died Away In the
Afternoon.
When the Time Limit Expired Co.
lumbia Was Three-Ouarters of
Mile. Ahead.

NEW YORK, Sept. 26.-One of the big
gest crowds. that ever put to sea went
down to the Sandy Hook Lightship to-
day to witness Sir Thomas Lipton's sec
Ond challenger, Shamrock ii. and the
white flyer, Columbia, which success
fully defended the old America s 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 excursion fleet returned
disappointed. The great single stickers
went out this morning fresh for the bat
tie but the sea refused them field or
conflict. The wind, never more than nine
and sometimes as low as three knots was
too light and shifty to carry the con-
testants over the thirtymile course in
the time allotted by the rules At the
end of five and a half hours the pre-
scribed time the race was officially de-
clared off and the yachts were towed
back to their berths inside Sandy Hook.
When the gun aboard the committee
boat was fired to call attention to the
signal declaring the race off the Ameri-
can yacht was still five miles from the
finish line. The Englishman was hull
down astern of her, the experts esti-
mating her distance behind the Columbia
at over three-quarters of a mile.
COLUMBIA SHOWS BETTER
Americans will have reason to con-
graduate themselves upon the result of
the, first trial. The yacht which carried
J. P. Morgan's private signal, q black
pennant with a yellow maltese cross, to
victory two years ago, was headed but
once in the twenty-three miles covered
and then the Englishman showed the
way for only five minutes. In windWard
work the Columbia beat the foreigner
seven minutes and fifteen seconds to the
outer mark and increased her lead some
what in the board reach for home.
While the test was unsatisfactory the
yachting sharps who have been skept!cal
up to this time as to the ability of the
Columbia to successfully defend the cup
are more confident tonight that it will
remain on this side of the Atlantic yet
a while longer. Certainly Columbia S
superiority in light airs appears to have
been demonstrated today Shamrock ii.
did not, in fact, make as good a show
ing as did Lipton's first challenger in
the half dozen fiukeS that preceded the
actual races two years ago. What Sham
rock may be able to do in heavy weather
is of course, problematical, but Column
bia has been tried and all her admirers
insist that she is diStinctively a heavy
weather boat Two years ago Sir
Thomas, prayer was for wind, but when
he got smashing 25-knot gale in the
last race Columbias victory was even
then Columbia's ability in heavy weather
has been proved again and again The
harder 1t blows the faster she goes and
the better she behaves. 1t is not strange
therefore, that the patriotic shippers and
spectators who went down to Sandy
Hook this morning with misgivings, re-
turned tonight reassured and strongly
disposed to wager that the pretty wreath
OF shamrocks and white heather from
the Oldest yacht club in the world which
Hlr 1homaS is treaSuring in the cabin of
all - Va
The day promised we'll at first. A
strong northeast wind had been blow
ing for two days and the weather pro-
phetS had offered assurance that 1t would
hold.
1t had piled up what sailors call a
nasty lump of sea outside, and before the
race began was whipping the foam off
Tic waves. A heavy haze which hung
over the bay had blown away the bright
sunlight which gilded the water
The procession which sailed out of
New York harbor anticipated a fine DAYS
sport. So numerous were the different
kinds of craft that they seemed to fill
the broad expanse of ocean between the
Long Island and Jersey shores as with a
COUNTLESS FLEET.
MdSnlIlcent ana palatlal steam yachts,
steamers and excursion boats, filled
tier above tier with people, snub noses
with picnic barges and sailing craft gath
cred about the old yellow hulk which
for years has furnished a guide for ship
ping and in front of which the start was
to be made. Conspicuous among the
yachts were J. P. Morgans Corsair; F.
w. Vanderbilt's Conqueror; Cornelius
Vanderbilt's Mirage; Howard Gould's Nj
agara; E. T. Gerrys Electra; John ia