New-York tribune., 1903-07-23
ACCIDENTS FOR YACHTS.
NINETIES IN TROUBLE.
Constitution Breaks TopmaSt-Re-
lance and Columbia Aground.
TBT TELEGRAPH TO THE rR1BUsE.l


dtions have robbed the cruising fleet OF the
NewYork Yacht Club of one days racing In
stead OF having five squadron runs the yachts
men had to be contented with four. Tuesdays
run being declared off because the yachts were
caught in fog and were unable TO finish
III luck seemed to follow them to-day. for
while fifteen yachts started from Vineyard
Haven for this port the Reliance and the Co
lumbia aground. Both got off with small
damage. The Constitution lost her topmast off
Gay Head while sailing a close race against the
Reliance. The latter continued on her course
and won in the class covering the thirty-seven
miles in 3 hours 81 minutes and ~ seconds.
This makes the result of the four runs tie
in the 80 foot class. the Reliance having won
two races and the Constitution two 1t is prob
able that special race will be sailed to decide
which yacht Is to be awarded the cups offered
by Vice-Commodore Walters. The schooner
cup offered by the same officer for to-day's run
has probably been won by the Emerald. There
was close race to-day between the EImina and
the Katrina, in Glass c. the former winning on
elapsed time by twenty-five seconds. The Ka-
trina will win, however. on time allowance. The
Emina defeated the Quissetta by minutes 43
seconds. actual time, and the sloop Asplrant de-
feated the Effort by minutes % seconds. The
big yawl Vigiant and the 60-footer Weetamoe
raced in the same class. The yawl won by
allowance may change the result.
The committee boat Riviera remained at the
finish line of West Chop until $50 p. m. on
Tuesday night. It was still foggy and none Of
! the yachts had put In an appearance. About
8 o'clock the Columbia the Reliance and the
Constitution came in and anchored. The sloops
Asprant, Effort and Challenge and the yawl
! Vigilant arrived in the night The soops Isol-
da, Senta, Eelin and Queen Nab went into Tar
| paulin Cove and lay there until daylight, when
| they started back for Newport
THE PALMER RUNS AGROUND.
Rockets. blue lights and whistles, signals of
| distress, at midnight attracted the attention Of
| the wrecking steamer Maylu. OFF In the Vine
yard Sound. hard and fast on the east end OF the
| Middle Ground shoal, found the auxiliary
| schooner yacht Palmer chartered by James A.
| Garland. of the New-York Yacht Club. After
pulling for three hours the Maylu got the
| schooner off into deep water, and she proceeded
| into Vineyard Haven harbor under her own
power. She did not leak and her captain says
| she is not seriously injured
The start to-day a pretty sight, and
| scores of the summer residents Of Cottage City
| went out in every available catboat launch and
steamer to see it. Assembled the north side
of the line off West Chop, were at least thirty
steam yachts flying the New-York Yacht Club
peunant
When the starting signal for the small
sloops was given at $3.50 the Aspirant and
the Effort were the only to respond
Both had spinnakers set to port and bal
| loon jibtopsails to starboard for the wind was
| from east-southeast. and of not than six
| knots strength At the second gun for sIoops
| H. F. Lppitt's Weetamoe and the yawl Vigi-
| liant crossed the line
THE ELMINA LEADS SCHOONERs.
r. F. Brewster's Elmina led the schooner di-
vision at 1905. She was followed by the
| Qusetta. the Valmore and the Katrina in that
order. At 1910 Morton F. Plants schooner In
gomar, the Ariel and the Emerald got away all
with spinnakers set to port
Then came the nneties They had their
| biggest cIubtopsais set, balloon jibtopsails in
| stops the stays, and spinnakers hoisted
ready to sheet out to port. At two minutes be-
fore the gun Barr shaped the course of the Re
lance for the south. windward, end OF the
line. Captain Rhodes had placed the COnstitu-
| ton on the others lee quarter, and thirty sec
| onds before the gun, when the main booms
were swung broad off to starboard, the bal
! looners were broken out on both.
| The CoIumbia's was also set at this time.
| She was away over TO the north. coming for the
| line at right angles. There was no attempt to
| head her for it until she had crossed the wakes
of the other two. Mr.. Morgans evident intention
| being to blanket them.
| The official time of their start
Yacht. H,MsI Ha,NI.s;l Yacht HIS Hoy5
| CONSTITUTION -. 1o:al:46I
| The Columbia was handicapped a few sec
| onds, but she began at once TO overhaul the
| Constitution, being close on her weather quar-
ter when they passed West Chop.
sPINNAKERs NOT SET.
Anticipating a lufing match. none Of the big
sloops had set their spinnakers, although the
booms were dropped to port. Barr having the
lead held the Reliance we'll inshore after
| passing West Chop to prevent the Constitution
from luff1ng, and the latter was doing the same
to stop the Columbia from gaining weather
| berth All three shippers must have miscalcu-
lated the strength of the westgoing tide, which
runs by the point like millrace. 1t was set
1 ting them straight for the east end of the Mid
| die Ground-a shoaI of hard sand
| A black can buoy marks this danger spot.
Captain Barr. with vessel under him drawing
nearly. if not quite twenty feet Of water and
| travelling at a speed of ten knots over the
| ground realized the danger and kept the Re
/ lance off first, but he was too late At IO-0
| with a bump the big sloops nm keel fetched up
| on the edge Of the shOaL Gyblng the great
| main boom TO port, she headed to the north
| ward and heeed over until three plates OF
| bronze below the water line showed out
Those watching had scarcely realized that the
| Reliance would ground when the Constitution
! seemed to do too, and all thouSLlt She' LOO
/ had grounded, but Mr.. Belmont SAID later that
! she did not. Almost at the same moment tue
! Columbia went hard and fast aground not half
! a length inside the buoy. The other two We're
outside the buoy in what ought 10 be the chah-
I mel but the Columbia ran head on INTO the
shoal ana with such force that it was an hour
before she was got on