New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-01
Lack Of Power in the
Blue Shell Tells
Story of Defeat.
- reIeeraph q III. Trlbune. ]

New London. Conn, June 3o.-Though
Tho varsity race was 70 be rowed a .
o'clock and the water seemed smooth as
glass ar that hour. the crowds in the OBJ
| serv9tfon trains had 70 wait half an hour
FOR the start because the water at the nm
isb was said 70 be rough The postponement
was not popular and there seemed little
reason for ~. but the onloOkers were quick
! IL recouciled 70 the delay when the Harvard
/ crew swung away and across the river from
/ Red Top TO the start OF 20 O'Clock
/ Harvard. having the shorter row, got over
| first TO the patch Of water under the west
bank. where the stakeboats were moored,
but Yale was there in plenty of time.
The Blue crew turned the point and came
/ smoking down from Gales Ferry in fine
style. looking all over tho good eight recent
observers had called IT, There was little
trouble at the stakeboats, and at . 80
o'clock 10 the second Billy Meiklehsm sent
them away on the four-mile grind
: There was a furious splashing as the
oars caught the water from both shells,
/ and Harvard made 4 wretched start,
start that would have made all sorts or
| trouble in a race against q SITTER opponent.
| Yale got the jump and was in the lead as
| they Sot away, while the Harvard shell
sverved badly But that was momentary.
/ II took Just nine seconds for Harvard 70
steady down and push the nose Of the Grim
son shell little 10 the fore and in those
seconds the race was won and lost.
Neither crew held the nigh beat Of the
start for long. Yale dropped from IS TO
81 and Harvard from the same start 70 &"
strokes TO the minute. Then came the
wonder Of the race, the thing that made
the oldtimers gasp and swear they had
never seen the ike before. without ap-
parent effort rowing as easily and steadily
as II engaged IN a time triel, tho Harvard
crew kept right on drawing ahead. The
stroke never varied Yale holding It's beat
2 trife faster than that Of Harvard, but
ever the margin widened. until suddenly
those IN the trains stared I'm smazenert
as water showed between Harvard stern
and YaIe's stem IN less than two hundred
Yards a. rowing
Here was something 70 study Harvard
was going fast but hardly az TOP speed.
/ and certainly not ar pace destined 70
break records Yale was slipping back,
I further back every second. as it seemed.
Was Yale rowing badly? Tho question had
~ pe answered in the negative Yale was
I doing the work Of q finished crew. pro
/ nelling its shell with smoothness and pre-
cision. but without the requisite speed. Tho
/ YalA men. Il is true looked bad. IN certain
/ respects when compared with the leaping
/ eight in front Of them They didn't get
/ their hands away as quickly as the Har-
/ ward oarslhen; there was more bending OF
backs than showed in power applied %
/ oars. less driving power in the legs.
/ The Yale crew was not rowing badly by
/ any means. but the Harvard crow was
4 rowine singularly well. and the check be
/ tween strokes was the slightest the shell
running along in q manner beautiful 10
see. More pronounced was check be-
! tween strokes in the Yale shell but there
| always has been I'm Fights coached by
1 John Kennedy. and the check was not
/ due 10 any break in the boat. Each man
seemed TO be doing his part, TO be pulling
| 2 fine and manly car IN the face Of fearful
odds Later on. at certain moments Cap
/ tain Frost. at bow for Yale, seemed TO be
! I'm distress. and there were times when
! his oar added little 70 the power that vas
/ driving the shell. But he never lost the
boat. was rowing all the time TO the rend-
| ing finish. and held his car when II was
all over
So the possible explanation ~ bad row
ing or bad Workmanship or bad form did
not explain why Yale was losing ground.
Tho Yale crew knew how 10 row. but 10
could not row fast enough. There Il IS IN
2 nutshell Harvard probably could have
roved a much faster race had there been
3. faster crew 70 beat II would have taken
good crew. a mighty good crew, 10 beat
Harvard to-day. And Yale didn't have
that sort Of crew.
That much by wa Of explaining the dull
story that is 70 come. For dull, in way,
II must be- There was 10y for Harvard.
There was the reverse for Yale. But for
the spectators only partisan feeling could
Supply lie pleature that comes 10 81 VINO
see a close race.
Harvard. holding the low boat, drew away
and still further away as the half mile
boa. was neared and shot between the naGs
seven seconds ahead o. vale, two lengths
and 4 trlfe 10 spare. At the mile the race
had fully developed into it's final stage OF
. PROCESSION. Harvard still rowing that
eternal thirty two that had become the
heat once open water showed, had Increased
tho lead N four lengths and half ana
roorc than three lengths OF open water