The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-26
In Glorious Breeze She 0utclaSSed the
 Shamrock. BRITIsHER IS IMPROVED
Sir ThOn1aS'S Boat Made Bet
 ter but Futile Showing.
With Every Sail Set in Roaring Burst of Speed Reliance Passes
 Even Guide Boat and Bounds
 Over the Line, a Winner.

New York, Aug. 25.-In a glorious wholesale breeze, over triangular course, ten miles to a leg, the fleet footed cup defender Reliance again today showed her hee.s to Sir Thomas Lipton's chal- lenger, taking the second race of the cup series of 1908 by the narro wmargin of one minute and nineteen seconds. It was pretty and as hard a fought contest as ever has been sailed off Sandy Hook and had not the wind hattened during the last ten minutes the record for the course, 3h 12m 15c, made by Columbia two years ago In her memorable race against Shamrock II, would have been broken. As 1t was, Reliance sailed the thirty miles within two minutes and thirty-pine seconds of the record which speaks wonders for her speed in the wind that was blowing. Reliance's victory, narrow as 1t was, would have been even smaller had not Captain Wringe. the skipper of the British ship bungled the start, sending his craft over the line nine teen seconds after the last gun and handicapping her to that extent. At every point of sailing the defenders superiority was demonstrated. She gained one minute and fifty-one seconds in wind ward work, forty seconds on the run to the second mark and forty-five seconds on. the close reach for home. Based upon
 
 in the two races already sailed, 1t is the belief of many of the experts that the cup Is safe and that it will take something better than Fife's latest creation to even budge It.
 An assemblage of excursion vessels almost as large as that of last Saturday poured down through the Narrows and out into the Atlantic today to witness the ravishing glory of the challenger.
 AAa city built upon the flood 6f the~ ocean, lined up raii to rail In great semi-circle to 1'ftnesB the start. The course, beat due south into the wind for ten miles, then a broad reach or run as the case might be off toward the Cholera banks, and thence home again to the old red hulled lightship had been set. The spec tators watched the jockeying for the start with eager interest. To the uninitiated, it was hair-raising to see what close company the giant single stickers kept. It seemed momentarily as if the spars and hulls would clash, but they wheeled and circled like gulls, tacking, glbbing and putting about with wonderful ease and grace. At last when they bounded across the line close hauled, for the thresh to windward, it was seen that the American skipper by his extremely clever work had again outgeneraled his rival and secured the weather gauge.
 Not only was the challenger's captain defeated in his effort to secure the wind- ward berth, but he actually failed to cross in time to save a handicap, an almost unpardonable sin in a cup contest Barr never relinquished his advantage after the start. holding the challenger under his lee all the way to the first mark. As the racers got farther out, the weight of the wind steadily increased, and the waves began to spill froth from their green crests. Both boats, with every stitch of canvas set, smashed into the seas, heeling down in the puffs under the press of thousands of yards of light can- VaPs until their lee rails were awash. Their crews piled up on the weather side, were repeatedly deluged with showers of spray. Slowly, but surely the thousands aboard the observation fleet saw that Reliance was gaining, opening a wider and wider stretch of water between her and the challenger. They each were bowling along at a terrific pace, when they turned beyond the mark. Reliance sailed the leg of ten miles in 56 minutes 90 seconds. The last leg was also cov- cred at roaring speed, Reliance still in- creasing her lead. The guide boat sent ahead to show the course, was too slow. and Reliance passed her before the line was reached. All the ocean-going tugs and many of the steam yachts were left Retern. Just before the finish of the leg. the wind died down. but Reliance went across in ample time to win having coy- cred the ten miles in 5 minutes 40 seconds. There followed the usual riot of whistles, bells, shouts of patriots and booming of cannon. Shamrock was about mile astern and crossed four minutes and forty seconds later to a repetition of the riot which had welcomed Reliance's victory.
 Then the great observation fleet headed back to New York at top speed. but be- fore half of the fleet had reached the up per bay, a squall out of the northwest struck the fleet, bringing grief to many excursionists and carrying away yacht and steamer awnings. Had the squall found the racers and the attendant fleet out on the ocean race course, the day might have chronicled a great disaster
 It was hard day for the overw orked newspaper reporters. There are three recognized methods for reporting yacht race: The wireless telegraph system, the fleet of small boats carrying the news from the course to the shore and line of shore observers along the Jersey and Long Island coast. This was a day on which all three systems proved failure. The experience of two years ago demon strated the comparative uncertainty of all wireless telegraphy but no one was pre- pared for the utter collapse of the system which occurred today. There were four competing systems, three of which were most active. The atmosphere above the triangular course was beaten into a hope less confusion so that the Marconi sys- tenn, with all its careful preparation was available but for a single message throughout the entire day. It would not have been so exasperating If the rival companies had been honestly striving to send their own bulletins, but much of the interference was obviously malicious.
 Before the yachts had reached the first turn a thick haze overspread the course and shut them entirely from the view of the shore observers. Then some indulged in a guessing match and one of Marconi's s opponent companies professed to nave re- eelved a message giving the hour. min ute and second at which each boat turned the first mark. This was well enough un- e1 the o01cial time Was obtained from the