Waterbury Democrat., 1901-09-25
POINTS ABOUT YACHTS.
A Few Hints That May Make Some
 Things Clearer.

~a~~~J
 Things Clearer.
 Yacht racing is sport in which
 large number of people profess to tak'
 delight, and in which a still larger
 number assume pleasure thougi i they may feel it not. These last be alsC
 prone to ask riot provoking questions as to the relative value of fin kee
 over a starboard tack. or just wherein
 a gybe exceeds in merit a balloon jib
 It is the purpose of this effort to give
 the enthusiastic ineXpert some few hints which may furnish him or hel
 with clearer understanding of tht game.
 The Constitution and the Columbia so closely resemble each other that few outside the initiated can tell one from the other. Both have the same marble
 white hull, the same great towering
 mainmast stepped just forward o1
 amidships, the. same great bowspri1
 spearing out from forward, the same Matterhorn of canvas. One unfamiliar with the two might have before him perfect technical description of each
 and the photographs of both and the chances are he would search the pic torial representation i'll vain for iden tification of either.
 And yet there are points of dissim, ilarity which the trained eye will dis tinguish as far as it can see. The one distinguishing point in these two which all who sail may note, is the double spreader of the Constitution whereas the Columbia carries only 3 single spreader. To make plain what a spreader is, it may be well to ex- plain that it is a small spar extending Iatera1ly on either side of the mast for ythe purpose of spreading" the shrouds and in so doing giving them greater strength and resisting power. As between the challenger and the de fender there will be no need of search in out fine points of differences, as the color of the hull will indicate which is wbichAthe one being emerald green, the other milk. white But he or she who goes rown to the course in an ex- cursiop craft may still be at sea as to which is winning the race or which comes in victorious across the finish line, as there are rules which compli- cate results. One yacht, for instance, will have to give the other time all lowance, and the one which to all ap- pearances may seem the winner may, when the count is done. show up loser by so many minutes or seconds, as the case may be.
 Coming now to the projected races these will be run over what is known as the Sandy Hook course, the victor being the yacht which wins three out of five events. The races are to be a fifteen-miIe straight-away beat or, run to an outer mark and back to the finish line, and contest over triangular course with ten miles to each leg: Like racing thoroughbreds of the turf, Ia ing yachts have their specialties, but ln the case of the latter these may be broadly summarized under the head of pointing, reaching and running.
 Unquestionably a racing yachts most admirable quality is her ability to lie close to the wind, and to sail fast when going in the direction from which the wind is coming. This is tech nically known as pointing" and the yacht which can sail straightest and quickest stoward the wind will, of course,~ beat any competitof which has not this uality of footing fast when pointing high. In pointing the main. boom is laid as nearly parallel with the keel as possible. and the sheets ropes which control the sailsl are hauled aft until the sails are taut as drum heads. in which position the yacht is said to be "cTose hauled," and if good at this sort of going she will .eat" her way into the. wind and make slanting ap- proaches to her destination at an angle well within four compass points, or forty-five degrees.
 Suppose then that at the time the first race is called the outer mark is placed due south of the staring line, and that the wind is straight from the southward. The first part of the outer mark, in which case the contestants would have an opportunity of showing their respective merits in this matter of pointing. The one which can sail closest to the wind and maintain good speed will naturally be the first around the mark. Thence on will be a run, by which is meant that sheets (already ex- plained) will be eased off or loosened, with the main boom at a broad angle to the hull. Then if the wind is not too strong the immense balloon jibs and spinnakers, great expanses of silk sails are flung to the impelling breeze, and with ''every stitch showing the yachts drive before the wind to the fin ish line.
 But it is in going over the triangular course that the best all around quali- ties of a yacht are brought out. The wind holding fair, she must show her paces in every point of sailing, point ing, running and reaching. In reach ing, the boom is eased off at an angle the acuteness of which is determined by the angle which the wind makes to the direction of the course. In the close reach. it is little more than it is for pointing, in the broad reach a little less than in running. In reaching, a yacht, though sailing against the wind, displays greater speed than she does in going dead before it. This may sound incredible, but it is never the less true For instance, it is in- that yacht going before B ten knot breeze can go faster than ten knots, whereas one reaching on a Eor1 Iynot hPooza rniuhf comet d es.o IIx, ov