Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-09-04
DID NOT FINISH!
Continued from page ~

winding her head sails, the Shamrocl,
iii promptly whirled about and headed
down the Jersey coast. The Reliance
held on for a minute and then followed
The maneuvres placed the Reliance to
windward but astern of the challenger.
They went off at a swift pace in a
freshening breeze. Captain Wringel at
tempted to outsail the defender by
giving his boat a good full and letting
her romp away at fast clip, while
Captain Barr pinched the Reliance
close to the wind and cleverly nursed
her toward the turning mark. The
Shamrock III at first footed faster, but
the Reliance more than made it good
by outponting her
For more than an hour they sailed on
that tack down past the shore of Sandy
Hook and the highlands of Navesink
to Sea Bright, and during all that time
the Reliance steadily worked up to
windward of the beaten challenger,
outpointing and outfooting her at the
same time and passing to Windward of
her.
When they tackled off Sea Bright,
heading seward, the American boat
had gained a quarter of a mile straight
to windward of the British craft. On
this new tack Captain Wringe again
gave his boat a good full and she cut
through the Reliance'S lead at an
alarming gait, but all to no purpose.
Punched into the wind or with a rap
full, the Shamrock was hopelessly out
classed, and when at 80 both boats
headed off to the mark six miles away,
the Reliance was good mile ahead and
gaining. The boats We're gaining in
speed with every mile and the Sham
rock III was a long mile astern when
the Reliance whirled about the mark,
and towering stretches of canvas
broke and bellied out from her spinna-
ker pole and over her lean bow. The
hOmeward stretch had begun.
The boats We're timed at the turn as
follows:
Reliance ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .3.4O.35
Shamrock III ......................3 .5l.43
The Reliance had gained II minutes
and 3 seconds in the thresh to wind
ward
AS the boats started the run home
ward, under spinnakers and balloon
topsails, a split about three feet long
appeared in the foot of Relance's spin
maker. but as it drew we'll Captain Barr
continued to carry it. For three-quar-
tiers of an hour the only variation was
a slow gain by the leading boat.
AT APO, with almost half of the course
vet to be sailed, thick bank of fog
came rolling in before a southeast wind
and enveloped the Shamrock in a blind
grey mist that shut her out of the Wis
ion of the fleet as though she had been
wiped from the surface of the sea. The
Reliance ran along for five minutes
longer with the sun glittering upon her
sails until the fog bank reached and
rolled over her and she, too, disappear
ed from sight. AS it caught her she
felt also heavier wind from the south
east, Smothered her Spinnaker and
leaning to the wind, fed at q swift
pace like a dim ghost through the grey
mist.
The two racers sailed in that danger
GUS fashion at top speed for an hour.
Meantime the Navigator, carrying the
regatta committee, hunted for the light
ship to establish the finish line. 1t was
$50, before she found it and the fleet
began to gather about her. All was a
blank wall of fog. Ten minutes they
waited. Then the Reliance, heeling
low before the wind. her sails bellying
hard and her lee rails dragging up the
spindrift burst through the veil of fog.
Hardly had the spectators recognized
the familiar features of the American
craft when, with her great balloon
iibtopsails huttering into the arms of
the nimble members of her crew out on
her bowsprit she sped across the line
down through the lane of yachts to
victory.
The whistles of every craft in the
fleet opened wide in recognition of her
achievement. The delighted yachts
men danced about the deck of J.
PiarpOnt Morgan's big black steam
Corsair, and hilariously congratulated
one another. The Reliance'S tug
searched the fleet for the racer and
towed her through it with yachting
ensigns flying from her mast and
spreaders while similar flags appeared
at various points on the spars and
rigging of the Corsair and the whistles
oI tne lleel aSalnn Saluteu the de-
fender.
Meantime the regatta committee tug
whistled shrilly it's guiding signals to
the missing Shamrock. The Reliance
had crossed the line at 5.3002, and it
was after o'clock when the fog lifted
a bit and dissolved the challenger hove
to north of the line. Captain Wringe
had missed it in the fog and passed by
to the eastward of it. Shamrock did
not attempt to cross the line, but after
Il feeble salute from the fleet was taken
in tow to the Hook, the fleet started for
home, and the series Of races in defense
of Americas cup for 1903 were ended
and American genius, brains and sea-
manship were once more triumphant.
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