The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-08-31
Wringe Unduly Criticised
for His Mistakes.
CAPTAIN BARR MADE A BREAK
Showed Bad Judgment in Arrangement
of His Sails in the Second
Race of Series.

lnougn he mas been consistently out
Unanswered by Barr. he has made no
serious mistakes. His worst was at the
start of the second race. when he handi-
capped himself 10 seconds. but that did
not affect the result. II he could have
placed the Reliance under his lee in
crossing he might percbance have won
the race, but that was impossible for
him to do. Whether the Reliance be the
easier OF the yachts to handle, OF
whether Barr be the superior heImspan.
the fact remains that 1t has been i'm
possible at any OF the starts for the
shamrock to get the better position.
Wringe has fought hard. and fought ably.
for that position, but somehow or other
Reliance has always shot into the right
place at the right moment.
Bars Bad Break.
Barr has unquestionably done great
work In every start SO far made. but
ne has not always been free from mis-
takes. For example. he made bad one
IN The second race by setting a reaching
1iotopsail instead of a baIlooner on
rounding the first mark. He made a
worse mistake In the last race with the
Columbia and Constitution on Newport.
when he set his spinnaker on the wrong
SIDE at the start. The effect was shown
when both his antagonists, who had
started astern. passed him down the
WIND That neither the Columbia nor
the constitution was able to run with
the Reliance was proved when the lat
ter went to the front again after the
error had been Fectifed by taking in
the spinnaker and resetting IL on the
right side
ana this recalls some mistakes I'm
handling that were made in former cum
majority of which. II rnust
De acknowledged. were on our side Per-
maps the most notable in its effect on
the result was the mistake OF Captain
Croker. the skipper of the Puritan. in
her last race with the Genesta. The
yachts started before the wind with
spinnakers on the starboard hand Tho
Genesta had the lead. but the Puritan
soon overlook and passed her. When
something more than half the twenty
miles to leeward had been covered the
wind, which had been northwest. backas
somewhat TO the southwark, SO that
spinnakers did not draw well on ,be
starooard hand Captain Carter, of the
Genesta' who subsequently ACQUIRED
great celebrity as skipper Of the Prince
OF wales Britannia, promptly took in
his spinnaker, jibbed his mainsat, and
reset the spinnaker to port. Imrnedt-
ateiy 1t was apparent that the Genesta
began TO close up the gap between her
self and the Puritan. Yet the Puritan,s
skipper did not shift his spinnaker. The
mark was In sight, and he probably
thought he could hold the lead around
IT, But he was mistaken. The Genesta |
took the lead and turned two minutes
and six seconds ahead.
His Second Error.
Another and almost fatal mistake WAS
made by the Puritan's skipper on the
beat home. Once on the wind Puritan |
went speedily to the front, but after
she was well IN the lead, with Genesta |
hopelessly to leeward, the wind sudden
ly shifted to the northward and en-
abled the latter TO go about and Law
her course for the finish. Both yachts |
had been on the port tack The Puritan. |
Instead OF going about at once. held
that tack for two minutes longer. When |
she did go about she was astern once /
more. Nevertheless. she outreached the
and. notwithstanding that
she had TO give more than half a min
ute time allowance. won the race by l
minute and SO seconds. Why the Puri-
tan held so long on the port tack was
not made public at the time, but Capt.
Joe" Ellsworth, the most famous New
York skipper of his day. who was on
the Puritan in an advisory capacity.
told the writer afterward that a chain
had been used for the sheet of the stay
sail, and link Of IT becoming turned
N the block the two minutes were con-
sumed IN the effort TO free it. OF
course, the yacht could not be put about
until the sheet of the staysail was freed.
To use chain on the sheet of CUP
defender now would be regarded as the
of a badly-equipped fisher
man.