The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-27
SPORTS
DEFENDER IS SWIFT
Reliance Shows Up Well in Her
Trial spins-Her Long
0verhang.
August Belmont Thinks Constitu.
tion May Beat Both Columbia
and New Yacht.

tion May Beat Both Columbia
and New Yacht.
! The three trial spins of Reliance, the
new cup defender Saturday and yester-
day, gavo general satisfaction to her own.
ers and to yachtsmen who witnessed the
/ trips. Comparison with the Columbia
4 showed that Reliance's main sail is longer
on the leach and higher lin the peak. The
now yachts bow is longer and more 1slen-
! der; and %her stern :ionger,s wider and thin
I ner. s. - (: - I
The long overhang Of Reliance: proved
or material assistance on reach. !. 1t dips
as the stern lifts; and. gives "a sailing
i length much in excess of that impaired by
| the. ordinary bow. On the other hand the
long: bow kicks up .eonsi iderabfe foam,
DuI yachtsmen.. cannot yet steil whether
this fuss will be sufficient to hold back
the yacht in rough weather.. Saturday the,
splashing at the: bow did not appear to
1 retard. the yacht 49,. ...s:: J. II
/ Fear had been expressed that the yacht
| would be -tCo stiff. but she heels readily
and easily to her sailing lines. The fiat
hoored hull however, keeps,her from heel
Ing farther, and it is evident that HERES
hon was not mistaken in predicting that
this fiat floor Would impart great power
1Ihe yacht Is quick in stays coming about
usually In twenty seven seconds. The
sails set well for the first trip.
Accurate comparisons of the speed Of
the Reliance. and Columbia cannot be
made until the first trial races are sailed.
Many New York yachtsmen believe that
constitution has a. good chance Of being
selected as the cup defender. Among
these 1s August Belmont who will sail
the Constitution in. the trial races. Bel
mont says the 1901 yacht is not designed
be simply a trial horse for Reliance
but that she will be sailed to win and he
expects her to beat3 both Columbia and
Reliance. Mr.. Belmont thinks that Con-
stltutlon did not get q fair trial two years
ago., and that with tuning up. she will
prove, much faster boat than Columbia,
The. latter contention is reasonable for
there was very little'st choose between
the two boats in 1901, and cup racers are
usually expected to show at least five or
SIX minutes faster the second or third
season. Columbia; on the other hand will
hardly be better than. she was when she.
met Shamrock II. Il ~! - s:,..-:s = :,
-. T. ..s~. =. s--+a. ~..-G12<. ~
Azbetter opinion may be ventured in re-
gard to the speed Of the new challenger.
. Wh1ch British yachtsmen estimate is about
ten minutes faster over a thiryt.niie
course than Shamrock H. was in 1901.
10 win therefore, the defender must sail
at least: ten minutes faster than Colum-
, bia did In the last races. The London
f,a aneld* thus, sums up the performances Of
with the exception of Saturday. Apri,
r. when the yachts sailed their first race
IN. n.Hel1ghtful weather, the conditions ar
weymouth -up to the 18th inst. have been
unsuitable. for testing the merits Of the
enamhoeks: 1t is scarcely necessary to
especially constructed to compete at Sandy
; HOOK In Augusts. and September where
moderate sand Hight airs pprevafl, are really
; most .unseawogthy craft lin the hard April
: squalls of the English channel. Shamrock
, ILL.,, with her load Water line Of 40 feet
l carries, we presume, about II 500 SQUARE
IeetS. OF convas. Her. main boom IS ap-
r prox1niately 105 feet, her total length from
? the tip'of. her bowsprit to the outer end of
= the boom about 1856 feet, and the height of
ner steel pole mast from the deck to the
caPor highest points about 145 feet With
q yacht Of these enormous dimensions un :
der his control, a sailing" master naturally
does. not wish to take many risks or get
caught In hard and wintry flame of wind,
and in getting her: under way on breezy
DAY at<th time of year discretion Is the
7 better part of valor.5t Notwithstanding the
strong winds, however. Sir Thomas Upton
has. had a lot of work out Of his yachts.
: and the process of tuning up Shamrock
III: still proceeds satisfactorily ..
: Aoi'A oil cApeICS pOH1C OF view 1t IS
of great interest to observe how Shamrock
Ill. goes" by the wind. Readers Of the
Field will remember that at, the time OF
the last Americas cup race, c.. p Clay
ton, before the matches were sailed,
? pointed out that Columbia had a shorter
fin than Shamrock IL, but the latter had
more sail. and he pertinently remarked
That the crux% of the question was, would
the. extra sail area rof Shamrock H. be
sunfc1ent to overcome the extra. wetted
surface of her f1I1.:- His opinion, which in
a great measure proved correct one. was
: that In close hauled sailing the answer
! would be negative; but off the wind
affirmative. One OF the features of Sham
rock III. is that she has a very short fin,
q and coupled with this! she possesses very
e large and high saiEplan. If, therefore, she
: can, carry her sails she should be a slip
!. perry customer and with a comparatively
small wetted surface and no very: scow-
like tendencies her lines. her best point
= of sailing should be to windward.;
In endeavoring- to form an estimate ou
= value OF Shamrock HI. 8 performances, we
: have, for the time being, assumed that
: her trial horse, Shamrock T., is in the same
4 ! trim as when she raced against Shamrock
< L. IN 1901 -Ifathe old yacht has deterior.
: ated. from any-5cause, it Is obvious thai
our comments upon the speed of the new
: cutter must 3 be- modified accordingly
e Upon this point we are not in a: position
at presentsto express; any .opinion, but, az
n In watching her sailing there, has been 1lt
: evidence: to the contrary, it is only fail
n to- regard Shamrock l. as she was wher
We saw: her at Weymouth in 1901, and
setting on one side tfeeso- called; trials ir
: the Clyde, consider her as good il no,
S better than the second tWatson) Sham
:. rock ~ s3,55 ,
5. I. It is announced that the famous ole
. cup winner America, the boat that wor
Z. the great Queens cup and brought it t.
this side Of the pond, to be renamed the
Americas cup, is to be broken. up this
k year. She is now out of commission ant
II housed over at a. pier in the Mystic river
d Boston. KS s.:s:
d The America is now the property o.
It Congressman Butler Ames, the million.
n air. grandson OF General Benjamin B
y Butler. He has used her for cruising II
,. seasons past as has also Paul Butler, sor
: of the old general.
& The only surviving member of the crew
which sailed her in that, famous race ii
now living In Boston. He was 16 years
It old at that time: 5kz s,