The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-27
ChaIIcngcr's Sails Set Better. hut the
Defender Behaved Better i'm the
Long Ground Swell.
SHAMROCK ONCE IN THE LEAD
COLUMBIA HAD FALLEN INTO A
STREAK OF FLAT CALM,
While Shamrock Had n Gentle Breeze
wind Gradually Died out and
Boats Could Not Finish.


NEW YORK. Sept 2s-One of the big
gest crowds that ever put to sea went down
to the Sandy Hook lightshp to-day TO
see Sir Thomas Lipton's second challenger.
Shamrock II. and the white flyer Column
| bia, which successfully defended the old
Americas cup against his first trophy
hunter two years ago. struggle for the
| yachting supremacy of the world I'm the
| first of the cup races OF 1901. But the ex-
| cursion fleet returned disappointed. The
great single stickers went out this morn
| ing fresh for the battle. but the sea refused
them 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 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 Derths inside Sandy Hook When
| the gun aboard the committee boat was
| fired to call attention 10 the signal declaring
| the race off the American yacht was still
| five miles from the finish line. The
Englishman was well astern Of her, the
experts estimating her distance behind the
| Columbia at over three-quarters of a mile
late themselves on the result of the first
| trial The yacht which carried j. p Nor
gan's private signal. black pennant with
yellow Maltese cross. to victory two years
| ago headed but once I'm the twenty
| five miles covered and then the English
| man 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
somewhat in the broad reach for home.
While the test was unsatisfactory, the
yachting sharps who have been skepticaI
Up to this time as to the ability OF CO.
lumbia to successfully defend the cup. are
confident tonight that ii will remain on
| this size Of the Atlantic yet while longer.
| Cretainly Columbia's superiority in light
airs appears TO have been demonstrated
to-day. Shamrock III did not in fact make
as good showing as did Lipton's first
challenger i'm the half-dozen fiukes that
preceded the actual races two years ago.
DAY PROMISED WELL.
The day had promised well at first A
| strong northeast wind had been blowing
! for two days and the weather prophets had
offered assurance that il would hold. IL
had piled up what sailors call a nasty lump
| of sea outside, and before the race began
was whipping the foam off the crests OF
the waves. heavy haze which hung over
the bay had blown away and the bright
sunlight gilded the crinkling water into
| glory.
| York harbOr anticipated a fine days sport.
| So numerous were the various kinds OF
| craft that they seemed TO NIL the broad eN-
| panse of ocean between the Long islanc
| and Jersey shores with countless fleet.
| Palatial steam yachts. steamers and ex-
cursion boats filled tier above tier with
.nsafn "a
| and sailing craft gathered about the old
yellow hulk which for years has furnished
a guide for shipping. and I'm front Of witch
Conspicuous among the yachts were ]. p.
| MOrgan's Corsair. f. w. Nanderbilts Con-
| queror. Cornelius Nanderbllts Mirage.
| Howard Gould's Niagara. +. T. Gerrys
! Electra, John Jacob Astor $ Nourmahal.
| August Belmonts Stout, and half hun
| dred others. each flying the New York
| Yacht Clubs pennant AT the fore and the
| private signal Of the owner AZ the main.
| The big racers had already been towed
| out and when the fleet arrived they were
circling and wheeling like great gulls about
the lightships. The polished bronze hun
of the Shamrock, cleaning In the sunlight,
/ made her look like a yellow breasted gun
| with white pinions. The white revenue
| cutter and yachts OF the patrol feet. each
with the vertically striped revenue flag at
| the forepeak. marshaled the excursion
fleet behind the line. A little before IL
! O'Clock a big black tug flying the blue flag
/ of the regatta committee pufed through
Z the fleet measured of the 200 yards start
! ing line from the nRnlSnlp. ltt 20 ner an
| chor and then hoisted the signal. ID. q.
| V" indicating that the course would bs
! east by north. fifteen miles straight into
the eye OF the wind and return. Then an
the Long island shore 10 set the outer
mark
| the distance took no account OF the tide
| which was running, so that the distance she
! covered before the float was dropped over
board. measured by the bottom of the sea-
was probably nearer seventeen than fifteen
nautical miles
THE FIRST Gun
Five minutes before II o'clock a puf of
smoke burst from the committee boat. The
blue peter went up and the preparatory
signal for the race had been given. Then
began the jockeying behind the line In
which Charles Barr mas proved himself
many times a grand master. And the skin
he displayed to-day was enough 20 warm
the hearts OF those who saw H. He got into
the windward berth. and try the Eng
lishman would. he could not shake him or.
AS the red bali which marked the warning
signal was hoisted. ten minutes later, tho
! crossed the line and tackled about the light
ship but the Columbia hung 20 him as II
%ben S1s nth they va again in raced FOR The line
il was like two thoroughbred horses
neck and neck But Barr was
game the two shippers we're hghting
was 30 intense that both miscalculated
| the time and crossed the line thirty seconds
before the starting gun was fred. Then the
starting gun was fred. Three blasts OF the
whistle sounded the recall The two big
| canva s-clOuded iaccrS wore around as X
turning on their heels and. coming up
again in the smoke OF the gun, Aed away
across the line. both on the starboard tack.
but Columbia half a length In the lead
and a length 10 windward. Both carried the
same sails main. club topsan stay lib
and baby JiO. For ten miles down tia