Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-09-04
THE AMERICA AND THE CUP.
Something About the Famous Old
Yacht and Races She Has Run.

Something About the Famous Ole
Yacht and Races She Has Run.
While the modern racing machines
the. fastest sailing vessels that skill
and money can produce, are racing fol-
the Americas cup, 1t is well to give a
thought to the famous old yacht that
now lies moored at Chelsea bridge
When the America won the cup in 1851
no one could have supposed that ma
ton of sailors could not win 1t back In
half century. The story of her great
achievement has often been told.
When the Royal yacht club of England
offered 100-guinea cup to be COM
peted for by all nations, the America
was sent over by the New York yacht
club. and in the race from Cowes
around the Isle of Wight, on August
22. 1851, 81 years ago she met fifteen
competitors, including eight cutters
and seven schooners There was no
, time when the America did not lead the
fleet The cutter Aurora was the
nearest boat on the home stretch. She
was about eight miles behind. Two ac-
cidents to the America delayed her
somewhat, but the race was never in
British yachtsmen to get back the cup
have been as follows:
1S70-Magic (schooner) beat Cambria
(schooner), 39m. Us.
1S71-October 16, Columbia (schooner)
beat Livonia (schooner), 27m. As.
October is, Columbia beat Lii
vonia, ION. 33s. october 10, Lii
vonia beat Columbia (disabled),
beat Livonia, 3Om. els. October
%, Sappho beat Livonia, 25m.
27s.
1S76-August II, Madeleine (schooner)
beat Countess of Dufferin
(schooner), ION. sos. August H.
Madeleine beat Countess of Duff
ferin 27m. las.
1SS1-November g. Mischief (sloop)
beat ATLANTA (sloop), ISM. 30s.
November 10, Mischief beat At
Atlanta, 3Sm. 54s.
1SS5-September IA, Puritan (sloop)
beat Genesta (cutter), Ism. l9s.
September 16, Puritan beat Ge-
nesta, I'm. ass.
1Ss6-September 3, Mayfower (sloop)
beat Galatea (cutter). I'm. Is.
September II, Mayfiower beat
Galatea. 29m. 9s.
1sS7-September 81, Volunteer (sloop)
beat Thistle (cutter) 10 m 24s.
September 80, Volunteer beat
Thistle, lin. 49s.
1S93-Vigilant tsloop) beat Valkyrie
II (cutter), 5m. ass. october 8.
Vigilant beat Valkyrie ii, 10m
35s. October 10, Vigilant beat
Valkyrie II. 4Os
lS95-September Z, Defender tsloop) |
beat Valkyrie III (cutter), SIN. |
49s. September 10, Defender won |
from Valkyrie III in foul. Sep |
TENDER IL, Valkyrie withdrew |
and Defender had a walkover.
1Ss9-October 16, Columbia (sloop) |
beat Shamrock l (cutter), ION.
SIS. October II, Shamrock l dis
abled and Columbia had walk
over. October 20, Columbia beat
Shamrock /. en-. GAS.
IS, Columbia beat
Shamrock ii (cutter). I'm. 20s.
October 8, Columbia beat Sham
rock ii, 3m. ass. october 4, Co
lumbia beat Shamrock ii by Ais.
Ton time allowance.)
The Dunraven and Upton yachts
nave given the defenders close races,
he margins having been greatly re-
iuced in the last four series of races.
In 1895 and in 1901 the British yachts
finished ahead OF the American boats,
,ut Valkyrie III fouled the Defender
md lost the race by It, and Shamrock
i lost the race on time allowance.
And the cup for which they are
,truggling-Capt. A. T. Kennedy de-
'cribes it in the Washington Star:
The Americas cup an old furnished
lagoon of silver not unmixed with pew
err. if experts are to be believed, is
neither useful nor ornamental In the
irst place, ii has no bottom, being a
follow cylinder incapable of holding
iquid This is a disqualifying feature, :
Is every seaman must admit. The win
Ter of the Americas cup cannot take a
rink out of it. So far as its beauty is
why. il has none. In fact
is an inartistic honor. But there
lever was an old metal pot in the
worlds history that has excited such Y
ager competition or caused the ex- \
,enditure of so many millions as this a
arnished fiagon. incidentally, ii is re- G
ponsible for fabric fragile and
ranky. such as never entered into the q
most fanciful imaginations of yachts Y
nen of 90 years ago The racing ma I
hine of today is a trifle light as air, :
er rig is gossamer and spidery. Her +
ull is a shell so far as thickness is q
oncerned, but it is nevertheless strong il
nough to support a solid bulb of lead h
5eighing in the neighborhood of 100 6
ons. No metal is too expensive to find h
IS place in the building of the cup II
hallengers and cup defenders. If gold s
,ere of use there is no doubt that be- t
ore this we should have had golden n
oat to compete with us for the old Z"
arnished jug. "-Springfield Republic k
an. h
G. O. Taylor whiskies, good As the best. :, =