The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-28
STORY OF SHAMRoCK'S
ESCAPE FROM DEFEAT

ESCAfE r NUM- LEE EA
| NEW YORK, Aug. 27-Not only the
Shamrock Ill, but Capt. Wringe, whom
Sir Thomas Upton had pronounced the
best racing skipper in Great Britain at
| getting his boat over the starting line,
| was defeated today.
! The preliminary jockeying and start
was the prettiest exhibition Of skill
and seamanship in the series. 1t was
contest for the widward position. Only
| once did Capt. Barr lose it, and then he
| promptly regained 1t. For fifteen min
utes preceding the start he held the
| British boat tucked neatly under the
| lee wing of the defender, despite Capt.
| Wringe's best efforts to clear his boat,
and when it was over and the boats
slipped across the line. Barr had
! splendid victory to his credit.
| The wind, which was from the south
east and blowing at four knots, was
! just dimpling the smooth sea when
the committee tug flew the course sig
nal, Indicating a fifteen-n1ile beat to
! windward and run home. When the
| preparatory gun sounded at TO- As, the
racers were sailing parallel to the
starting line and to windward of 1t,
| with Reliance to windward, where
Barr wanted her.
| AT the end of the line Shamrock III.
luffed and tried to force Barr about,
|
| Wringe had to give It up and fill away
again. They recrossed to the opposite
| end of the line, outside Of the line,
| Shamrock dropping back and lufing
| to windward of Reliance on the way.
That was the only time Barr was
| caught to leeward. Luffing hard, he
sailed circle around the challenger,
! blanketed her as the starting gun
| sounded, bore off around the stern
| lightship and luffed across the line with
| a handicap of forty-one seconds. Sham
rock followed, handicapped by one
minute and forty-two seconds, one
| minute and one second of which was
dead loss. The official starting time for
| both boats was 1902, but their actual
start, as timed by the regatta commit
tee. was as follows:
SHAMROCK ........... -. ..... ~ 'Vo:fS
Capt. Wringe had lost the best part
of his time allowance. Reliance was
| leading by about 800 yards. Once
across the line they held the port tack
| a few minutes and then went out,
headed eastward. Reliance was good
| bit up to windward and hanging on
| to her windward position, while Sham
rock III. tried to make up for it by
footing the faster. At the next tack,
twenty-five minutes after the start,
| Shamrock had lost ground, and as
they lay about the same course, was
quarter of a mile astern of the Amer
lean craft. The boats We're heeling
gently, slipping along at remarkable
pace, considering how light the air
was, and foot by foot Reliance was
working away from her rival.
Barring accidents or ffukes, the race
had been won at 1920, when the red
lightship was not more than five miles
alec and Reliance three-quarters of
mile dead to windward and persist
emily outpointing Sir Thomas Lipton's
forlorn hope.
Ten minutes later, when about six
miles of the course had been covered,
Reliance tackled, but, as Shamrock III.
kept on, promptly went about again.
Then Shamrock III. went about and
Reliance followed. Barr was unwilling
to split tacks, as he had Shamrock
beaten and only needed to hold her
where she was.
At 1902, when the turning mark was
rising above the horizon, five miles
away, Reliance appeared to be good
mile ahead of Shamrock Ill, and gain
ing. Both boats began to make short
bitches for the mark, Shamrock fol-
lowing suit whenever Reliance went
about. Three legs brought Reliance
within a few hundred yards OF the
turn at las, where she laid straight
course for the mark. AS she went
about it Shamrock Ill was yet a mile
distant and coming on at a slow pace
in a very soft wind. The time at the
turn was:
Reliance %: ~
Shamrock S'of ~
1t was evident that the yachts were
covering about five miles an hour.
They had been approximately three
hours in beating fifteen miles, and un-
less the wind should freshen there was
small prospect of their covering the
fifteen miles home in the hour and
half remaining.
4 Once heading homeward balloon jib
topsails were broken out and spinnak-
ers set to port on both. They daWdled
along in eXasperating fashion while an
hour slipped away. Not a change took
place on either yacht, nor did there
seem to be any relative difference in
! their positions. Reliance was losing
her race against time, and at p. m.
had little hope of getting across the line
at 4:32, when the time limit of five
and a half hours would expire. She
was six miles from the finish when
her sails felt slant of wind from the
southwest, her spinnaker was smoth-
cred and she laid reach homeward.
Hope revived only to be dashed. Five
minutes afterward, when the wind
again backed to southeast, her spin
maker was again set.
The wind freshened at bit as she
neared the line. She was still a quar-
ter>of mile distant from the line when
the Navigator gave notice that the race
was off. Reliance kept on and crossed
at 4:38:45, six minutes and forty-h
seconds behind the time limit.
Meantime Shamrock Ill had caught
| freshening southwest breeze, taken
in her spinnaker and was reaching for
the line at a better clip than at any
time during the race, but when the fin
| ish gun was fired she began to take in
sail, and before she reached the light
ship she was carrying nothing but
n