The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-04


Then she got out her spinnaker. and
tp,re again the British sailors showed much
amartness, the big piece Of canvas
bs ins out and drawing one minute forty mine
seconds after the yacht turned the mark
The Reliance had taken seven tacks to
fetch the weather mark. while the sham
rock had worked the fifteen miles to wind
ward in four taoks
TIMES TAKEN AT THE MARX
The times over the first leg Of the course
and the gains are shown in the following
Elapsed
start run: T,mr:
s ss ms ...... e ; :;s sssss
On the fifteen mile turn TO windward
the Reliance had gained eleven minutes
ar d three seconds, but in actual sailir & II ON
the starting line, where the ST amrock was
handicapped three seconds, the Reliance
had beaten the Shamrock boat for boat
eleven minutes.
The seas were catching the yachts on the
! starboard quarter and causing both TO
| lift was set up as soon as her spinnaMr
WAS drawing In order to keep the boom
out OF the water She rolled much more
than the Shamrock and the lift was get
up more than 1t was on the challen giEG
| yacht.
|
| trimmed TO better advantage than those
| on the Shamrock, and the spinnaker, when
was guyed we'll forward, was spilling the
wind nicely into the balloon. but az she
rolled in the seas she was Stating the wind
out OF her sails frequently.
The Shamrock was sailing on much
more even keel and her sails were kept
! drawing better, but, in spite Of this. the
! Reliance was drawing away from the
| British yacht
They were travelling through the water
at fair speed, and there was little doubt
that the race would be finished within the
| time limit II the wind would only last.
east and CIT of Shamrock's club topsail
| from view.
The wind had shifted again and wac
| coming from the southeast, so that the
| spinnaker could not be used. ST amrocks
was taken inboard and lowered at 40.
and Reliance's was taken in two minutes
later. The wind was coming over the
starboard quarter. and the yachts al once
improved their speed
YACHTS DISAPPEAR IN THE FOO.
After that little was known of what hap
pened on either boat until they reached ii 9
finishing line. The fog thickened. 1t
fell down on the water suddenly and
screened the Shamrock from view entirely
She could not Ike seen from vessels thatwere
st eaming along less than half q mile away.
Then the wind blew the fog on and the Re-
lance was lost to sight.
The vessels that were following the
racers and forming the two lines bet ween
which they we're sailing footed their
whistles, and every one Of them hustled
along to reach the Sandy Hook lightship
| The Navigator, with the committee on
board. was the first at the finish, and she
anchored, making a short lire, 40 that the
| lightship could be seen unless the fog shut
| in very thick.
| blowing five-second blasts at intervals
| Of twelve seconds. Every two minutes
the Navigator sounded five short blasts on
| its steam whistle, From every direction
could he heard steamers whistling and
| footing to warn others where they were,
and not a sign Of tie racing yachts could
be seen. Everyone was peering in the
to come, and all sorts Of fantastic forms
were figured out in the thick fog.
There had not been fog 70 thick as
that of yesterday in Cup race since the
Maynower defended the Cup against the
GaIatea. in 1887. The Yachts were then
trying to sail windwsrd and leeward
course from Sandy Hook lightship, but
the fog shut in so thick that the race had
70 be given up. Several vessels nearly
ran ashore on the Hook that day and one
big excursion steamer did ground on the
point Of the Hook.
There was fog four years ago, too, when
Shamrock I. and Columbia were racing.
but the fog came usually then before the
races started, and no attempt was made
to get over the course.
THE DEFENDER COMES TO LIFE.
1t was nearly half-past o'clock, and the
fog was az thick as IL was at any other time in
the afternoon. when the tapping and bang
ing of sails attracted the attention Of all
to a point westward of the course. Then,
like ghost, the Reliance could be made out
stealing out Of the mist.
Capt. Barr had navigated his boat home
we'll, but he had fetched up a little to lee
ward and when he hauled more on the
wind to fetch the line, the big balloon began
to flap and bang, and il was that which
attracted the attention Of the yachtsmen.
The yacht WAS tearing along at great
rate, but she had 10 haul up 30 sharply that
the balloon WIS lowered quickly. She
was timed az she shot across the line at
5:SOO2.
Every vessel in the feet. including the
tugs Of the r. gatta Committee, footed
its whistle. and vesse II that were hidden
in the fog could be heard ssluting the sue
cessful defender Of the Americas Cup.
The Reliance sped on toward the north
and was soon lost in the tcg, Then she was
uffed up and her club topsail was lowered,
and she waited for her tug, the Guiding
Star, to find her. The Guiding Star passed
a tow line to the Yacht and the sailors
lowered away the mainsail and jib
THE VICTOR.
A big American yacht ensign was hoisted
up TO the truck two others were set on the
spreaders port and starboard and another
ensign foated from the jackstah over the
taffrail
Then she went on TO the Hook saluted
by every vessel she passed, and escorted
by the Corsair, North Star and other steam
yachts, which also were decorated with
American flags.
II was expected that the Shamrock would
be from twelve to fourteen minutes behind
the Reliance, and the whistles were kept
footing in order to show those on the chal-
longing yacht where the finishing line was
Everybody was looking to the southw
and wondering what had become OF the
challen ger. and not few feared that some
accident might have l,efallen her, II WAS
lust 9 o'clock, or half an hour after the
Reliance had finished, when she WAS seen
mort beast OF the finishing line heading
back on the port tack and about half a
mile away
She had passed the lightshp well to the
east ward So far away that those on board
had not heard the footing whist les, and by
lust how much she was beaten in the race
will never be known.
Her tug, the Crulsr, had gone to the
east ward TO find her A line WAS soon
pass.,i TO her, sails were lowered and she
wa, towed into the Horseshoe.
The fog then played y tantalizing trick.