The Washington times., 1901-09-23
THE AMERICAS CUP RACES
Twelfth Series of Yacht Contests
to Begin This Week.
The Eleventh Attempt to Tnke the
Trophy Away From This Side of
the water-ChanEes In Types of
yesseI,a Since First Competition.


NEW X. Sept 22.-The twelfth Sc
ries OF ra. for the Americas Cup will
begin this *. The America won the
cup in 1851, a1.s since the cup has been
made an international challenge trophy
there have been eleven challenges. Ten
times the cup has been raced for by
yachts of foreign countries, and now the
eleventh attempt to take it away is to be
made. When the America won the cup
she sailed against a fleet. The cup was
then offered for a race between yachts oil
all nations. to be sailed without time al
lowance. The course was around the Isle
of Wight, and the America, owned by
members of the New York Yacht Club,
won. Some years afterward the cup was
decided to the New York Yacht Club to be
held as perpetual challenge cup. and
after fifty years the club still holds the
trophy.
In 1870 the first challenge was received
for the cup from James Asbury, and he
thought because he had beaten some
American schocners. that visited Eng
land with his yacht. the Cambria, that
he would have no trouble win ming the
cup. He hat to sail against a fleet of
yachts and finished long way back in
the bunch. The Magic was the winner
Mr.. Asbury came again the next year
and this time induced the New York
Yacht Club to change the conditions of
the match. A series of races was ar
ranged and the courses were to be those
of the New York Yacht Club. starting off
Owls Head to the lightship and back
and twenty miles to windward and re-
turn, starting outside Sandy Hook. The
English yacht was the Livonia. She lost
then won one race through the Columbia
breaking down. The Sappho was Sc
lected to take the Columbia's place and
she won the next two races and saved the
cup.
Two attempts were then made by the
Canadians to win the trophy, the chal-
lengers being the Countess of Dufferin
and the Atlanta. These matches were the
best two out of three races and the
courses were the same as for the former
match. In 1885 the Genesta came over.
She was followed by the Galatea and
Thistle These three yachts went home
without the cup. III 1893 the Valkyrie was
the representative Of the Royal Yacht
Squadron and in this match the courses
were from Scotland Lightship. The first
race was to windward fifteen miles and
return and the second a triangular course
of thirty miles. The Valkyrie lost as did
the next VaIkyrie, which visited these
waters in 1895. This time the match was
made the best three in five races and the
start was from Sandy Hook Lightship.
The courses alternated, to windward and
return and triangular, and the Valkyrie
lost. Shamrock t raced under similar
conditions in 1899 and the second Sham
rock is to try this week
George L. Watson, who has designed
four of the yachts that have challenged
for the Americas Cup. first attracted at
tention when the ten-ton cutter Madge of
his design, was brought to this country in
1851. The Madge was brought over on
the deck of the steamer Devonia. She be-
longed to Mr.. Coats. of Paisley. and had
been sent to test her sailing qualities
against the American yachts. She was
buEt in 1879, and had very successful
career. The Madge was typical English
cutter. built under a rule that put an ex-
cessive tax on beam and consequently
she was deep and narrow. MIR. Watson.
who had been designing successful racing
yachts for some time, discovered that lead
and canvas were important factors
toward speed and All MS experiments
were working on this line. In this coun-
try the bearny. shoal-draft, skimming dish
was the popular type, yachtsnen favor
ing boats that sailed over the water rath-
er than through it. The Madge was IS
feet inches on the water line: her beam
was only feet inches; her draft was s
feet 4 inches and on the bottom of her
keel was bolted ten tons of lead. Her
length over all was &c feet inches and
her depth of hold feet inches.
There were in these waters two very
the Schemer and the Wave. The Schemer
was 1896 feet over all. 37.17 feet on the
water line and l4.5 feet beam The Wave
was 4l-3 feet over all, 3s.7 feet on the wa
ter line and All feet beam. Each was
fitted with a centreboard and all the bal
last was slowed inside. 1t VIII be noticed
that while the three yachts were very
nearly the same length on the water line,
the Madge had only half the beam of the
two American yachts. The idea of the
Madge being able to beat the American
boats was ludicrous in the minds of many
yachtsmen here, but she did and the re-
suit was that designers gave more
draughts TO their boats and began TO use
more outside ballast. Several compromise
cutters were built one of them, the Be
douin. being in the big class and proving
very fast.
When the challenge for cup race was
received in 1885 on behalf OF the Genesta,
a cutter with IS feet oeam to 81 feet water
line length and 13 feet inches draught,
two yachts were built to defend the cup.
This was really the first extraordinary
effort made in cup defence. For all races
prior TO This the best yacht in the fleet
had been chosen, but from 1885 a defender
some times more than one-has been
built TO meet the challenger. The late
Edward Burgess designed the Puritan
and he gave her % feet beam. S feet 2
inches draught to SO feet water line. The
other defender was the Priscilla, designed
by A. Cary Smith, and on a water line
of IS feet he gave her z feet inches
bean and feet inches draught. The
Priscilla easily beat the last defender, the |
Mischief, and the Puritan when the trial
races were sailed, defeated the Priscilla,
Bedouin and Mischief. Later On she de-
feated the Genesta in the cup contest.
The next challenger was the Galatea, a
cutter designed by J. Beavor Webb, the |
designerLof the GeLesta. Her waterline |
lengti. was Sc feet and she was Is feet |
beam and Is feet inches draught. so that |
in proportion to her length she was mar
rover than the Genesta- Burgess built |
the Mayfiower and made big change in |
his model With five feet more length on !
the waterline than the Puritan, he re-
duced the beam to i9 feet 6 inches. in
creased the draught 10 feet and put on |
more outside ballast. The Priscilla was |
altered that year and the Atlantic was |
built. so that there were four competitors |
in the trial races. The Mayiower was |
an easy winner and she successfully de- |
Tended the cup against the Galatea.
IL was In 1851 that George l. Watson |