The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-08-21
TIME 0UTSTRIPS
BOTH THE RACERS
The Reliance Leading the Shamrock When
the Limit Expired and the Race
Was Called Off.

angle, as free from interference as if they
had been sailing in mid-ocean
Under the rules the first race fifteen
miles TO leeward or windWard and return,
is now postponed until Saturday.
The Reliance reached the starting line
at, 10 a. m. and dropped her tow line
Shamrock III arrived ten minutes later.
No sooner had Shamrock III filled away
than the Reliance bore down upon her
from a windward position and hauled on
the wind alongside of her in a position
TO blanket the challenger Captain
Wringe, promptly wore ship, and bore
away from the Reliance, refusing to take
part in the brush.
When the committee tug fired the pre-
paratory signal at 10:45 the two racers
were crossing the line for little brush
out to the windward of it. but as the
warning signal was fired at 55 they
whirled about and ran back toward the
line. Shamrock III whirled on her heel
just to leeward of the line, and recrossed
it. The Reliance promptly followed.
The Shamrock III led the American boat
across by about fifty yards, but the Re
lianse held the windward position.
The official starting time was:
Shamrock III 11:01:14.
Reliance II :01:47.
Both boats sailed seaward an hour and
twenty minutes. The wind dropped to
about four knots soon after the start
Within twenty-five minutes after start
ing the Reliance had overhauled Shamrock
III and was abeam of her and two hun
dred yards to windward.
The Reliance had not only footed faster
but pointed higher than the challenger
and was showing that, under conditions
supposed to be the most unfavorable, she
was a better boat.
Half an hour after the start, when the
beats were about four miles from the
starting line, a rain shower swept across
the course and obscured the yachts from
all observers except thsoe very close.
The shower brought a shift OF wind to
the westward which enabled the racers
to lay a course direct to the mark. This
robbed the Reliance of most of the ad-
vantage of her windward position and put
the boats on almost even terms They
held that relative position until they had
sailed eight miles, when the wind backed
! to south by west, again making it a dead
beat to the mark, and restoring to the
Reliance her former advantage in being
to the windward of Shamrock III.
| When they made their first first tack at
1920, Shamrock III was to the leeward
and astern a few hundred yards. The
shower had passed. Then for the first
time the British challenger gave the ad-
mirers of the defender bad scare. With
| cut apparent reason, she began to foot
faster than the Reliance, passed to leeward
of her and drew away ahead, but still to
leeward 1t looked for a moment as
though she was going to show her heels
to the craft which was carrying the
| hopes of all Americans, but when she
came about and the two boats met, the
admirers of the Reliance discovered that
while the challenger had been outfootnG
| her. the American craft had been out
pointing the challenger and had even lr-
creased her lead. The boats were nine
miles from the starting line and the Re
| lance had a lead of quarter of mile.
In dropping wind the British boat twice
repeated the performance OF Shipping past
! the Reliance to leeward, but she was losing
ground in the windward thresh by reason
of the Reliance sailing closer to the wind.
| When four miles from the turning mark,
at 1:25 p. M. they started on long leg
out to sea- AS they came about 1t was
apparent that the Reliance was mile
ahead The wind dropped to little bet
ter than a fiat calm, and the racers were
moving very slowly. In a vain effort to
WOO the tickle airs, the yachts changed
their head sails, but the race had de-
generated into drifting match. Fluky
streaks of gentle air drifted across the
course One of these fukes when the Re-
lance was more than two miles from the