The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-05-22
RELIANCE WINS, Defeats Columbia by Four teen Minutes and Forty three Seconds Over
 25-MiIe Course.
LUCK FAYORS NEW BOAT.
EARNS HER VICTORY, HOWEVER,
 BY SUPERIOR SAILING.

BH SUPERIOR SAILING.
 Got Better winds While the OId Cup
 Champion Lay Almost BecaImed but
 Evenfn Zephyrs She sh ows Surprising
 DrIfting AbiIities-FInishes in n Eff.
 teen Knot Breeze and Going at Ten.
 Knot Clip Within Three and Half
 Points ofthe Wind.
 New York, May 2t.-By combina- tion of good luck and splendid sailing qualities the new cup yacht Reliance to-day inflicted such a defeat upon the former cup defender Columbia as she had never before suffered, leading her over the finish line of twenty-five mile course off Glen Cove by fourteen minutes and forty-three seconds, off, cial time.
 Not all the glory of that rosy victory was fairly earned by the new boat. If it had been, there would be no doubt that the Reliance would be the next cup defender. But, despite the Columbia's S ilI-luck, the Reliance convincingly showed herself to be the better boat. She had beaten the Columbia nearly eight minutes in a broad reach of eleven miles in fiuky zephyrs, beaten her one minute and fifteen seconds running free for three miles in a steady twelve-knot breeze, and beaten her four minutes and fifteen seconds in an eleven-mile acJ1 fn ind uyo oY-d 1In o.ha al in Q fifteen-knot southwestern. This time is unofficial and allows for the Reliance's f1fty-five seconds advantage at the start. ..t' .3|'
 When the Reliance crossed the finish line the Columbia was miles astern and hopelessly beaten. But the victory was not so great as the result might indi- cate. The Columbia's ill-luck in fiuky winds in the three hours necessary to cover the first eleven miles had con- fributed to her defeat. The first leg was not fair test of the merits of the two boats, but it sufficed to develop surprising drifting abilities in the Reli hnce, supposed until to-day to be heavy weather boat.
 The Columbia missed the favoring zephyrs that had helped the Reliance to beat her eight minutes in drift of three hours in the first eleven miles, and in the windward work had been lampered by an accident to her baby jibtopsail. Only once in the whole race did she gain on the new boat
 The race was an exasperating start and a flying finish. The course was triangular, eleven miles to the eastward along the Long Island shore to Eaton's Point, three miles north-northwest across the sound to Greens Ledge light and eleven miles southwest by west to the finish line off Glen Cove.
 It was flat calm at noon, when the race was to have been started. The regatta committee on R. A. c. Smiths big steam yacht Privateer waited for wind, but there was not more than two-knot breeze from the south-south- west when the starting gun was fired at 1:55 D. m. There was a handicap. or two minutes and both boats exceeded if the Reliance leading the Columbia aeross the line by fifty-fve seconds. She was not more than two hundred wards ahead. Both boats broke out bal loon iibtopsails as they crossed the line. The Reliance carried a staysail also, hut the Columbia wore no other head sails Soon afterward the Reliance took in her staysail. Both were then under mainsails, clubtopsails and bal loon iibtopsails. Except for Ratsey clubtopsail on the Columbia, all were Herreshoff sails. Fifteen minutes after crossing the line the Reliance began to draw slowly. away from the Columbia, and steadily increased her lead during two hours and half. Her sails seem- ed to catch every breath of air. Both boats changed their headsails to stay sails and reaching jibtopsails.
 They were merely drifting. After sailing about three miles Reliance set a balloon jib topsail and thereafter gained more rapidly When half of this leg had been sailed, and two hours after the start Reliance caught a light air and moved away quickly while Columbia still drifted and gradually dropped astern until Reliance was leading her by nearly three miles. The breeze freshened and the Reliance romped away for the first turn at an eight knot clip, but Columbia did not feel the in- creased wind until fifteen minutes later. Then she began to gain and in half an hours sailing had cut the Rellances lead to little more than a mile. The wind had headed them slightly and bal loon iibs had given place to smaller ones. Designer Nat Herreshoff took the wheel on Reliance as the boat ap- preached the first turn. She was then heeling to a freshening breeze that was beginning to kick up little white caps and there was a white feather of foam under her lee bow Columbia was coming foot by foot. Captains of the accompanying fleet of steam yachts were jingling bells for more speed, and for the first time in the day the race. though still procession, was beginning to be exciting.
 Reliance took the turn gaining like a. bird Once filled away on the three mile run across the sound she caught a stiff puff from the southwest and put her rail down into the smother, rolled out her polished bronze bilge and drove