Evening star., 1901-09-14

joined the clubs cruise at New London
and the run to Newport next day seemed
to show that the Priscilla was the better
boat. Two days later, however, the Puri-
tan showed her heels and proved her fit
ness for the post of honor.
Mr.. Beavor-Webb, the designer of the
Genesta, and the latter's skipper Captain
Carter, watched this race from the bridge
of the flagship. At of the most excit-
Ing stages of the contest the skipper was
seen to whisper something to the designer.
After the match had been decided Mr..
Beavor-Webb was asked one night at the
New York Yacht Club by one who had
noticed the occurrence what Captain Carter
had said. The designer replied with
faint smile: He said he wished the tree
that furnished the timbers for the Puritan
had never grown"
General Paine built the Mayfower in 1886
from Burgess designs, to meet the Galatea
and another and last attempt was made
with the rule-of-thumb model. Latham A.
Fish and other members of the Atlantic
Yacut Club built the Atlantic from designs
by Phil Ellsworth, who had designed the
schooner Comet and other fast yachts. The
Mayfiower completely outclassed her rival
and forever relegdted the old type racing
models to obscurity.
The First Metal Boat.
1t has been generally supposed that the
Volunteer, built in 1887, was distinctively
Burgess boat, but Mr.. Burgess has told the
Paines design as his. She was of steel and
the first metal boat, built for the specific
purpose, selected to defend the cup. The
Mayf1ower was no match for her, nor was
that years challenger, the Thistle. Be
fore the start of the first race the Thistle
capered about the line with the impatence
of a race horse, while the Volunteer moved
pointment escaped from the anxious spec
tators. What's the matter with the Vol
unteer? asked an alarmed patriot of his
companion. She is tied down. replied
the latter. Don't you see her head sails
are trimmed to windward?" When the start
was given her sheets We're trimmed prop
erly and she bounded away from the Thistle
as if the latter were anchored. After the
race Mr.. Bell. the managing owner of the
Thistle, naively said to a reporter that he
could not account for the sudden and re-
markable change in the relative speed Of
the two boats.
This match gave birth to q new deed of
gift. The official measurement of the This
tie revealed that her dimensions considera
bly, exceeded those given in the challenge
The discovery caused much discussion, and
to prevent like concealment in the future
Mr.. Schuyler was asked to formulate
new deed. This requires ten Qnstead Of
six) months notice of challenge and the
exact dimensions of the challenger.
Four More Racers.
In 1893 four new boats were built to meet
Valkyrie II. Burgess was dead, and the
Herreshoffs, who were known as the build
ers of fast steam yachts, came to the front
with bound. They built two boats for New
York syndicates; the Tobin-bronze center
board Vigilant, for e. D. Morgan, c. Oliver
Iselin and others; the steel keel Colonia, for
Archibald Rogers. Gen. Paine built from
his own designs the ballast fin Jubilee, with
two centerboards, one in the fin, the other
in the hull we'll forward. A Boston syndi-
cate also built the fin-keel Pilgrim. The
Boston boats were never in the contest 1t
was narrowed at the outset to the Vigilant
and Colonia, and the former proved the
better by several minutes.
Everybody Who saw the two first races
between the Vigilant and the Valkyrie was
disappointed, not to say dumfounded, by
the poor showing of the former in the
windward work of the last race. The fault
was not in the boat. but in the handling
capt lseiin had been warned in the morn
ing by the weather bureau, as had also the
challenger, that a storm was apprCa Caching
HE reefed his mainSail but made no corre-
spending decrease in his head sails Con-
sequently when the boat was put on the
wind the excess of sail forward unbalanced
the mainsall and made the boat sag to lee
| ward.
The skipper of the valkyrie displayed
better Judgment: he put half reef in
his mainsail and set smaller staysail and
sail spread. and beat the Vigilant hand
somely to the outer mark. But Captain
Iselin redeemed himself on the home run
py setting in gale every stitch OF can
vas that his boat could carry in light
weather. 1t was fine exhibition of pluck
and his boat gave an exhibition of speed
surprising anything that had ever been
seen In the history of yachting, and fairly
leapt from the crest of one huge wave to
the next. And how she overlook the Val