The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-09-03
FAILED ONCE MORE
Fourth Race of International Cup
Contest Declared Off on Limitation
NEITHER BOAT REACHED The LINE
The Reliance, However Hnd q Long
Lead OIL the Shamrock, and Came
Near Winning Three Stra. .ghts.

The series of international cup races
was continued on Thursdsy, with the
usual result, except that officially it
was no race at all. The sea was calm
and the wind light, so that neither
boat was able to cross the line in the
time limit allowed by the rules. Tha
series so far stands two failures and
two straight victories for the defender.
The Thursday event Is given in detail
as follows:
New York, Special.-With Reliance
less than q mile from the finish and
Shamrock III, hull down on the hori-
zon, fully two miles astern of the gal
liant defender, the fourth race OF the
present series for the Americas cup
was declared off because of the expira-
ton Of the time limit Of five and one
half hours, as happened on Thurs
day last. 1t was no race officially. The
defeat administered to the challenger
was so ignominous that whatever lin
gering hope remained in the breasts Of
the friends of Sir Thomas boat van
ished into thin air. Reliance's victory
was in every way more decisive than
that Of last. Saturday. Outsailed, out
pointed and outfooted, it was a pro-
cession from start to finish.
| The Herreschoff wonder beat the
Shamrock hopelessly In the Is miles
Of windward work, rounding the outer
mark in u minutes and 80 seconds
ahead OF her, a gain in actual time Of
II minutes and 20 seconds, and down
the wind she steadily increased her
lead. The real race OF the day was
not against the Shamrock, but 1t was
seen in the exciting struggle Of Re-
lance in the last half-hour to reach
fthe finish line before the regatta COM
mittee fired the gun which should an
nounce the expiration of the time limit.
Had the wind freshened 20 minutes
earlier than 1t did, the cup series would
have ended with three straight wins
for the defender, and Flies famous
light weather boat would have sailed
back to Albion's shores one OF the
most disastrously worsted challengers
in the history of the cup contests.
Fully as discouraging as the sail
ing qualities displayed by the chal-
lenger was the atrocious manner in
which she was handled. The Yankee
skipper not only outmanoeuvred his
rival in the spectacular battle for posi-
tion at the start, as he has done every
time they have met but worse still for
the downhearted supporters OF Sham
rock, Captain Wringe repeated his
blunder of Tuesday. He crossed the
line In the wake of Reliance with a
handicap Of 81 Of the precious seconds
for which Fife had sacrificed so much
in said spread for time alowince. Both
boats, 1t is true, went over after the
handicap gun, but it Is only the stern
most craft which actually suffers.
1t was not a pleasant day on the
water and the observation feet which
put out to sea TO witness the race was
hardly more than half as large as on
the preceding days. The dark water Of
the ocean was as smooth as a floor
and light breeze of about four knots
blew out Of the southwest. The course
was laid Is miles dead into the wind
and return.
At the end Of the first hour Sham
rock was beaten and the interest
waned. After rounding the float for
the run home and setting big balloon
ers, the wind, which had strengthened
to six or seven knots on the beat, died
down and the towering clouds of
canvas was drifted lazily down an
ocean lane, a mile wide, between the
two divisions Of the excursion fleet.
Even in the light air it was aston
ishing how the defender slipped
through the placed seas. With the
gentle breeze distending the surface
of her pure white sails and her stern
crowded with tars to hold her head up,
she moved along as serenely and
peacefully as II in a dreamless sleep.
Yet the gap between her and the chal-
lenger steady widened until two miles
separated them. Half an hour from
home, when the spectators had aban-
doned any idea that the finish lire
could be reached in time, the wind
| suddenly freshened and Reliance came
bowling down at a merry clip. But the
wind had come too late and when still
a hundred yards from home the gun
on the tug Navigator doomed across
the water. The excursion boats held
on until she crossed the line to give
her a rousing welcome and then
scampered for New York. Sir Thomas,
who, heretofore, has always followed
his champion into the Hook, sent his
steam yacht, he Erin, ahead at full
speed as il to drown out the memory
6 the inglorious licking he got.