The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-26
DEFENDER IS FIRST BY <. 4 VERY NARROW MARGIN
British Skipper HungIes the Start and Gives Ills Boat a Handicap From Which She Never Recovers.
 The Cup Is Safe.

New York, August zo.-ln sioriouS whole sail breeze. over a triangular course, ten miles to leg, the fieet-foot- ed cup defender Reliance again today showed her heels to Sir Thomas Lipton's challenger, taking the second race of the cup series of 1903 by the narrow margin of one minute and nineteen seconds.
 It was pretty and as hard fought contest as ever has been sailed off Sandy Hook and had the wind not fiattened during the last ten minutes the record for the course. three hours twelve min utes and fifteen seconds, bade by Colum- bia. two years ago in her memorable race against Shamrock II, would have been broken. As 1t was. Reliance sailed the thirty miles within two minutes and thir- ty-nine seconds of the record. which speaks wonders for her speed in the wind that was blowing.
 ReIiance's Great Victory.
 Reliance's victory narrow as 1t was. would have been even smaller had not Captain wringe. the skipper of the British ship, bungled the start, sending his craft over the line nineteen seconds after the last gun and handicapping her to that extent. At every point of sailing the defenders superiority was demon- strated She gained one minute and fifty one seconds in windward work, forty sec Dnds on the run to the second mark and forty-fve seconds on the close reach for home. Based upon the magnificent show ing she had made in the two races al- ready sailed, 1t Is the belief of many of the experts that the cup is safe and that 1t will take something better than Fires lot In
 Great Excursion Fleet.
 An assemblage of excursion vessels, ale most as large as that of last Saturday, poured down through the narrows and out into the Atlantic today to witness the vanishing of the challenger. The excur- sion fleet, like a floating city built upon the floor of the ocean, lined up rail to rail in great semi-circle to witness the start The course, a beat due south into the wind for ten miles, then broad reach or run, as the case might be, off toward the Cholera banks, and thence home again to the old red hulled lightA ship. had been set
 The spectators watched the jockeying for the start with eager interest. To the initiated it was hair-raising to see what close company the giant single stickers kept It seemed momentarily as if the spars and hulls would clash, but they
 
 gibbing and putting about with wonderful ease and grace. At last when they bound ed across the line, close hauled. for the thresh to windward, 1t was seen that the American skipper by his extremely clever work, had again outgeneraled his rival, and secured the weather gauge.
 Shamroek's Captain Is Slow.
 Not only was the challengers captain defeated in his effort to secure the wind ward berth but he actually failed to cross in time to save a handicap an all most unpardonable sin in a cup contest. Barr never relinquished his advantage af- ter the start holding the challenger un- der his lee all the way to the first mark.
 As the racers got farther out the weight of the wind steadily increased and the waves began to spill froth from their green crests. Both boats, with every stitch of canvass set. smashed into the seas holding down in the puffs under the press of thousands of yards of light canvass until their lee rails were away. Their crews piled up on the weather side. were repeatedly deluged with showers of spray Slowly but surely the thousands aboard the observation fleet saw that the Reliance was gaining, opening a wider and wider stretch of water between her and the challenger. Each were bowling along at terrific pace, when they turned beyond the mark. The Reliance sailed the leg of ten miles in 5s minutes and 20 seconds. The last leg was also covered at roaring speed, the Reliance still in- creasing her lead The guide boat sent ahead to show the course was too slow and the Reliance passed her before the line was reached. All the ocean-g ping tugs and many of the steam yachts were left astern.
 A Riot of Whistles.
 Just before the finish of the leg the wind died down, but Reliance went across in ample time to win. having covered the ten miles in 57 minutes and 70 seconds. There followed the usual riot of whistles, bells, shouts of patriots and booming of cannon. Shamrock was about a mile astern and crossed four minutes and forty second later to a repetition of the uproar which had welcomed Reliancc's victory.
 Then the great observation fleet headed back to New York at top speed, but be- fore half the fleet had reached tie upper bay a squall out of the northwest struck the fleet. bringing grief to many excur- sionists and carrying away yacht and steamer awnings. Had the squall found the racers and the attendant fleet out on the ocean race course the day might have chronicled a great marine disaster.
 It was a hard day for the overworked newspaper reporters. There are three recognized methods for reporting yacht race, the wireless telegraph system, the fleet of small boats carrying the news from the course to the shore. and a line of shore observers along the Jersey and Lond island coast.
 Collapse of Wireless TeIegraphy.
 This was a day on which all three sys- tems proved failure. The experience of two years ago demonstrated the comrar- alive uncertainty of all wireless telegra- nhv. but no one was prepared for the utter collapse of the system which oc- cured today. There were four competing systems, three of which were most ac- tive. The atmosphere above the triangular course was beaten into hopeless con fusion so that the Marconi system. with all its careful preparations. was available