The sun., 1903-05-24
RELIANCE A GREAT DRIFTER,
FINISHES DEFORE COLEMDiA
AND CONSTITUTIONS.

breeze SO Light That Yachts Fail to tset
Inside OF Time Iimit--C'olumbia Does
Better Than the Constitution AkainSs
New Boat In Flrky and ia ming Winds.
For four hours and forty minutes the
Reliance, Constitution and Columbia werc
sailing yesterday on the Sound and for
almost four hours of that time they had
scarcely any wind. The Reliance again
showed that she is a wonderful drifter.
She managed to keep ahead to the first
mark although pressed hard by the other
two boats.
This leg Of the course was reach with
balloon iibtopsails. After turning tho
first mark the yachts had the wind over
the port quarter. The breeze had in
creased then to about a three-knot strength,
and the Reliance under its influence quickly
pulled away from the other boats. Then
If the wind had held true it would have
been beat home, but after two tacks the
Columbia and Constitution were becalmed
while the Reliance had drifted far enough
ahead to catch slight breeze drawing out
of the Dariea River on the Connections
shore.
To the westward it was seen that new
breeze was coming and the Reliance, the
leading boat. got this breeze first She
quickly heeled to her sailing lines, although
it was not of more than seven knots
strength, and even when the Columbia and
Constitution got the new breeze the Re
lance left them rapidly.
BY an agreement between the managers
Of the three yachts and the Regatta Com
mittee no time was to be taken after $50
o'clock. At that time the Reliance was
about of Stamford, several minutes ahead
Of the Columbia. The Reliance held on for
seven minutes longer and then luEed into
the wind and sent her club topsail down
SO quickly that to many who were some dis
tance from the yacht it seemed as though
she had lost her topmast As soon as the
club topsail was lowered she bore OF on
her course again and luffed by the
finishing mark at GAO. The Columbia car
! ried her topsail right into Glen Cove and
passed the finishing mark at 6:545o.
The Constitution lowered her club topsail
| soon after the Reliance had sent hers down
and did not make any effort to get to the
finish
| The trial was an unsatisfactory one, but
It proved that the Reliance had not won
her race on Thursday by fluke, but that
| in the lightest of breeZes she keeps forging
ahead even when her sails seem to hang
limp. The race, like Thursdays. WAS n
reach all around the course, and the sea was
smooth.
Capt. Barr berthed the Reliance in the
best position at the start, and she led the
other two across the line. The Consti-
tuition was on her lee quarter and the Co.
lumbia about three lengths astern and a
\ little to windward Capt. Rhodes Of the
! Constitution for some reason or other
allowed the Reliance to take this position.
The Constitution could have luffed out
before the start and crossed little later.
but in better position.
The Reliance and the Columbia carried
balloon jb topsails. while the Constitu-
ton had up No. 2 jib topsail, jib and
fore staysail. This was an error that cost
the Constitution some minutes The Jib
topsail had to be lowered and balloon sent
up in its place, and by the time the change
had been made the Reliance had made a
big gain
The wind was fluky and battling Re-
,iance went on about her business, bucking
a tide running to the west; Columbia and
| Constitution worked out more into the
Sound and got less tide by 80 doing. They
also carried little air longer than the
Reliance, and as they approached the first
mark the yachts were not three hundred
wards apart For time it looked as though
the Columbia would turn first, but spinna-
ker was set on the Reliance, and it drew
Just enough to keep her in the lead.
This leg of the course was eleven miles
in length. In actual sailing, taking her time
from when she crossed the line, the Colum
bia beat the Reliance by two seconds and
the Constitution by five minutes and twenty
eight seconds.
They Rybed at this mark and reached
three miles to the next. On this leg the
Reliance. as she did on Thursday, gave a
remarkable exhibition OF fast reaching.
With only light breeze to help her she
sailed the three miles in sixteen minutes.
beating the Constitution by seventeen min
utes and twenty-five seconds and the Co
| lumbia by seventeen minutes and twenty
five seconds. The last leg of the course
was spoiled by the yachts being becalmed
soon after they had started. The Re-
lance, however, kept moving, as she always
does. and when it breezed up to about
seven knots she was travelling as fast
through the water as many of the steam
yachts
There wns quite large feet Of yachts
out to follow the racers. The Regatta Com
mittee S. Nicholson Ksne, Newbury d.
I.wt on and Edward II. Wales were on
boerd r. A. C. Smiths yacht Privatesr.
| The mem bers of the New York Yacht Club
watched the contest from the steamer Sirius.
end among the yachts present were Clement
T! A. Griscoms AlVina, Col, A. VCn Rensselaer, g
NJ; y, Commodore F, G. Bourne's Delaware,
GeorgeJ, Gould's Emer, Id, Iseac Stern'sVir-
gini,. Adj i'm Iselin ,Jr e Serf, F.A. Schermer-
horns Fre, lands, j; A. G.rlandsM M MViklnS.
Colonia. j. Rogers Maxw.l,s Gilt. Mrs.
Jenningss Tuscarora, Cord MEYERS Mas
Seymour l.. Heusted's CRUSADER. W. +.
1selin's Emerald, F. W. Alker's Florence,
Lloyd Phenixs Intrepid, Steven Pea
bodys Remona, H. W. Putnam, Jr.s,
Ariadne, and the Taurus, Viva, Endion,
Express, Vanish, Isolde, Eolin, Lavrock,
Inga,' Helye,ia H.. B lie haz,n, kismet'
Ar1emis, B lien ere, Roamer, II, s,er, NADIA.
| Coranto Duch, IS and big fleet OF smaller
| craft
The Reliance dropped her moorings about
| 1890 O clock in the morning and stood for
the starting line. She had up the ssrne
| ., a., ,ho LnJ an and IN bfa rA