Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1903-08-29
AMERICAS CUP RACES
Contests For the Blue Ribbon
of the Sea.
THIS Is THE THIRTEENTH RACE.

England In IS5I-AII Prev ious Eff
forts of British Nnchtsmen to Re-
capture 1t Unavailins.
The famous Americas cup, the blue
ribbon of the sea, which British yachts
men have been trying to recapture for
over half century. was originally won
by the Yankee keel schooner yacht
America from a fleet of English cut
ters and schooners in a race around
the Isle of Wight on Aug. %, 1851.
The trophy, which is valued at 100
guineas was presented by the P0yal
Yacht squadron of Cowes and the con-
test was open TO the yachts of all ma
tons. The cup is in the form Of
silver pitcher and stands - inches in
height, is SO inches in circumference
and weighs 1874 ounces, or over IL
pounds.
The famous cup is kept III the vaults
of Tiffany & Co. in New York and is
seldom seen except on state occasions
nowadays. 1t will be hard for Sir
Thomas and his friends to drink a
toast out of it, as either through con-
slant use at dinners in the early days
of its history or some mishap i'll later
years it has no bottom.
Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock III. is
the twelfth challenger for the cup, and
this years race will be the thirteenth
1t was not until 1857 that the owners
Of the yacht America, John c. Stevens.
Hamilton Wilkes, George L. Schuyler,
J. Beekman Findlay and Edwin a.
Stevens, presented it to the yacht clubs
of the world, through the New York
Yacht club, as a perpetual interna-
tional challenge trophy.
Although the cup was presented to
the club in 1857. it was thirteen years
later, or in August, 1870, before the
first race for the cup was sailed. when
the English schooner yacht Cambria,
owned by James Ashbury, representing
the Royal Thames Yacht club, raced
against a feet of the New York Yacht
club and finished tenth, the schooner
yacht Magic winning by 39m. lbs.
Mr.. Ashbury challenged again the
following year with the schooner Ii
vonia, and as Il result of negotiations
between the two clubs he was only
compelled to race one boat, the New
York Yacht club having the right to
name any boat 1t saw fit in the morn
ing of the race. As result of FIVE
races sailed in October, 1871, the Ii
vonia wen Csle race out of three from
the schooner Columbia through the car
rying away of the American yachts
steering gear, and was beaten by the
schooner Sappho in two races.
There were no more races for the
cup until 1876, when the Canadian
schooner Countess of Dufferin, repre-
senting the Royal Canadian Yacht
club of Toronto, raced against the
American schooner yacht Madeleine in
August of that year. The American
boat won two straight races. In 1881
the Canadians challenged again. this
time with a single sticker, but with no
better success, the challenging Alta
lanta being easily beaten by the Yam
kee sloop Mischief Four years later
the cutter Genesta, owned by Sir Rich
ard Sutton of England, came after the
cup in 1885, only to be beaten by the
Boston yacht Puritan in two straight
races.
The following year, 1886, William
HEM, an Irish yachtsman. challenged
with the cutter Galatea, and it was the
same old story, the Yankee yacht, May
flower, winning the two races, sailed
easily
In 1887 the Scotch came after the cup
with the Thistle, owned by James Bell
and syndicate of Clyde yachtsmen.
This was the first cup challenger de-
signed by William Fife, who is respon-
sible for the present challenger, and
she was supposed to stand a good
chance The American yacht, however,
won with ease.
Six years passed before there was an
other challenge, when Lord Dunraven
came over in 1893 with Valkyrie IL.
and was beaten by the Vigilant
He challenged again in 1895 with Val
kyrie Ill. and after being beaten by
the Defender in one race and losing the
second on foul he withdrew his boat
after crossing the line in the third race
He afterward made charges of foul
play against the owners of the Defend
er and, after sensational trial before
the New York Yacht club. was expelled
from the club. of which he was an hon
! orary member.
This episode put stop to racing for
a time. but in 1899 Sir Thomas Upton
challenged with Shamrock l., which
was beaten by the Columbia in three
straight races.
In 1901 Sir Thomas challenged again
with Shamrock H.. and after the most
exciting series of races ever sailed for
/ the cup the Columbia again won three
straight races by the narrowest posi-
| bic margin.
| In the eleven contests thus far for the
cup on this side twenty-eight races, or
heats, have been sailed. and only once
has the challenging yacht won race,
and that was when the schooner Co
lumbia was disabled in 1871 and was
beaten by the Livonia.
In 1885 the Puritan fouled the Ge-
nesta before the start of race, and
the race was awarded to the English
yacht. but Sir Richard Sutton declined
to take it, and the contest was resailed.
In 1895 THE Valkyrie II. beat the De-
fender fotty-seven seegndk buf the