The sun., 1903-04-18
MAST FALLS; Upton INJURED.
soUALL CAUSES SERIOUS ACCI-
DENT TO SHAMROCK III.

"a. Tpomas Knocked Head First Down the
Hstchway and Badly Bruised-One
of the crew Drowned and Several Hurt
VIII Take Month 70 Repair wreck.
sp,adi Cab,e Dsspafeh 10 TEE SUN.
WEYMOUTH. April I7.-Shamrook ILL.,,
si, Thomas Lipton's new challenger for the
AMERICAS Cup. was dismasted In a north
..tery squall here at ioa5 o'clock this
,oorning, Just as she was starting out for =
trial spin with Shamrock l.
The Yachts mast was snapped Oh about
.,,bt feet from the deck, and her spars,
desing and canvas went by the board.
One of her crew. q steward Of the name Of
Collier, was drowned
Sir Thomas Upton was standing near
the eangway and Collier was handing him
. bnocular as the mast fell. Collier was
event overheard; Sir Thomas was knocked
down the hatchway and considerably
bruised
Vice Commodore Sharman-C Crawford, Of
the ROYAL Ulster Yacht Club. and Sailmaker
Ratsey. who were also aboard. escaped in
jury -,
Several OF the crew were moro or less
serio,lsly njured. II Is now believed, how
ever, that none OF the wounds is severe
DIR. Neale OF Sir Thomas Lpton's steam
Yacht Erin was on hand Immediately after
the accident and dressed the wounds OF the
injured
Dr. Neae reported that three persons
besides Sir Thomas Upton were injured.
One of these has deep. Jagged scalp wound.
Another, the masthead man. who fell on
deck. sustained an injury to one Of his
knees The third man was injured about
the body
Dr. Neale told THE Sun correspondent
that Sir Thomas Upton had an exceedingly
narrow escape from being seriously injured
His hands are lacerated and the upper part
Of his body is badly bruised. In his fall
from the deck through the hatohway one
Of the crew tumbled on top of Sir Thomas
Collier, the steward who was drowned,
was a brot ther-in-law Of Capt. Wringe. the
skipper Of Shamrock III. He did not sink
Immediately on striking the water but
swan around for awhile, and was on the
point OF being rescued when he went
down and was drowned He was appa-
rently overcome by the low temperature Of
the water.
The hags aboard the Erin and those
ashore were placed at half-mast.
challenger when the accident happened
were interviewed as to the details Of the
mishap. They said in effect that . ter
rife squall broke with a suddenness that
literally swept every one on board OF his
balance. The collapse Of the yachts rig
ging and the mast was almost instanta-
ncous. II was all over within an amazingly
short period OF time.
1t has been discovered that the weather
rigging screw Of the main shrouds gave
way.
The wreckage was not torn or separated.
1t all hung over the port side. Without
delay a barge was ordered to lift the mast
head and tow the entangled heap into the
harbor a. soon as practicable
The challenger's mast was cut away
close to the deck and diver placed lifting
gear In position to raise the mast.
Capt. Tufnell of the British warship Bos-
cowen sent q boat to take the challengers
sailors ashore.
The challenger was towed into Portland
Roads this evening and the wreckage into
the harbor here
Designer Fife win arrive here tomorrow
and will at once hold a consultation with
Sir Thomas Upton.
Sailmaker Ratsey says there Is no doubt
as to the soundness Of the challenger
spars. She will have to stand more wind
than she had to-day. and she IL quite able
to. The one weakness was the yielding
OF the screw.
The port whero the challenger will be
repaired has not vet been determined
1t is almost certain that the hull will be
taken to the Clyde. 1t is calculated that IL
will take month to refit the yacht 1t Ia
extremely doubtful whether the gear will
be fit for further service. and new canvas
must be made. as this was the only set
prepared for the challenger. 1t is most
probable that fresh spars and rigging will
b. required.
The new boat had been cast on from
her moorings and the Shamrock I. was
following in her wnke. The skippers Of
both boats had confidence In the weather
and both had up their No. 2 backyard top
sails. and in tacking out OF the harbor the
challenger had her headsails and mainsail
up, the Shamrock l. waiting to break out
her stsysail until she reached the open.
A marked improvement was shown In the
setting Of the challenger's mainsail. which
lay smoothly along the foot and had lost
the baggy slackness up the leach.
At about lo.35 both yachts were shot into
the wind to take the last Of the party aboard.
Then they continued on short tacks toward
the Erin with the view Of making an opening
Of the trial. Everybody was convinced
that the conditions were perfect for spin.
The breeze, while heavy. was not 80 free or
variable as that Of yesterday.
As in the case Of the accident to the
Shamrock II. two years ago. the spectators
somehow were filed with a sense Of i'm
pending disaster. The new yacht went
over and over until she looked as II she
were capsizing. Then when the boat was
almost on her beam ends the mast snapped
about eight feet from the deck.
Everything collapsed and dropped slowly.
and then more quickly. on the deck. The
spars canvas and rigging toppled over tho
side, hiding the fifty men aboard.
Hundreds OF people from the town oame
hurrying to the shore It was impossible
from the hilltop to view the course Of
events on the yacht
Launches from the Erin and q steam
boat and several rowboats with one or two
sailors hurried to the spot. The Sham
rock l. came around quickly and lowered
In the vicinity It soon became evident
from the movements Of these craft that one
or more Of the crew Of the challenger had