Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-21

! Oct. IL, 1899. American ION o.
Oct. II 1899 w American ...-. .Walkover
Oct. 20, 1899. ...... American I'm. s4s.
Sept. IS, 1901. 800. American ..--..- I'M EOS.
Oct. 3, 1901. ...... American 3m sos
| Oct. !, 1901. .....- American AS
| Aug o.. 1903. .. American I'M S.
Ang 1897 A hnssh boat lost in fog fog
| \ question which is likely 10 be asked
| for Sir Thomas Lipton,, and answered
in the affirmative. will bef9r per III ms
| and against head winds. Sir Thomas is
not anxious to do any towing, Tor II
will tend to strain the boat, put IT
would give him much more tune TO
! get her tuned up in America If he
should happen to be delayed by adverse
wind or calm. He had hoped that the
Shamrock would be launched by the
unforeseen circumstances she was not
put overheard until late in May
The Shamrock " is 10 feet long
over all. chopped off at the stern much
mendous sail spread. She will be raced
on the other side until early in July
and then put in shape for w her st ta1P
about the 10th Of July. 1t will prob
ably take her a month to cross
The Shamrock has centerboard. Her
an experiment, but he explains it on
the basis of the fact that if Shamrock
drew more than 1873 feet she would pc
penalized under the rules, whereas
he determined to have one.
Some interesting features relating to
the international race of 1881 may not
be fully remembered by those who wit
messed the contest with Shamrock ~ this
summer. The most exciting period came
just following race between the Mis-
chief as a defender and the Atalanta
the challenger. The ATLANTA was de-
feated badly. This was in 1881. Now
came the controversy as to the rela tive
qualities of the centerboard anu the
keel in racing yachts. Two cutters fit
ted with deep lead keels, the Madge
and the Maggie, had come over from
Scotland and were winning races wher-
ever they went, over the yachts OF sim
liar size in this country and doing 1t
These cutters We're very narrow and
deep, being weighted on the extreme
bottom of the keel with tons Of lead.
They were full cutter rig, and wide
board sloops. They carried the staysafl.
which the sloops did not. These cutters
also introduced the method OF attach
ing the mainsail to the foot of the
foot to the boom. the extreme lower
end of the leach of the sail was drawn
out to the end of the boom with
tackle arrangement and IN TINS way
space was left between the foot OF the
sail and the boom through which the
wind slipped off the sail when beating
to windward. with the exception of the
Genesta and Galatea. later English
challengers have not used this method.
however.
The Madge and Maggie had the long
overhanging stern and flush deck. Wild
did the discussion become among sail
ing men, naval architects, and even the
average man on the street, as to the
qualities of the keel and the center
board The discussion finally waxed so
warm that it resulted in some libel
suits. Several cutters were then built
on this side, and one. the Bedouin,
seventy-footer, showed her superiority
over the fastest American models.
While this controversy was at us 1ts
height the challenge came from Sir
Genesta. For the defense the Puritan
and Priscilla were built. The Priscilla
was a centerboard craft, on the wide
and shallow lines of the old-fashioned
American sloops. The Puritan. built by
Burgess who believed In the center
board, and also the lead keel was more
or less of a compromise. The Puritan
had a. heavy lead keel and q huge cen
flush deck and overhanging stern, and
in the trial races she beat the Priscilla
decisively, as she did later the Genesta.
1t Is claimed that the idea OF the cen
board by Capt. Schank of the British
navy some time about ITO. In It'll this
same Capt. Schank built real center
board boat at Boston for Earl Percy.
later Duke of Northumberland. This
lifting keel or centerboard was q long
rectangular plank which extended Tor
three-fourths of the length of the keel.
It took eighteen years for Capt. Schank
to induce the admiralty to build a center
board boat and this boat was cutter of
twenty feet beam, sixty feet long. with
a draft of six feet six inches. This one
had three centerboards. one in midship
and one at each end. Later the Amer
lean centerboards, which were developed
from this invention, were triangular be-
low the water. This idea was the inven-
ton of another British naval officer. Capt.
Shuldam,, who made this while he was
a prisoner Of war in 1909 at Verdun on
the River Mouse in France. It was really
not until 1910 or 1850, however. that the
Americans began their building of the
shallow draft centerboard slip. and 1t
was in 1853 that a small American CEN
terboard boat, called the Truant, visited
England and met with such success as
to impress all who were interested in
boat building.
After considerable correspondence, last
ing from 1889 to 1892 Lord Dunraven
challenged with his cutter, Valkyrie and
syndicate built the Vigilant, Gen. Paine
the Jubilee. the Rogers Morgan syndicate
built the Colonia, the Adams Palmer syn
dictate built the Pilgrim. The Vigilant,
mise again between the lead keel and
the centerboard. having both The Co
lonia was real cutter. The Colonia won
the first race, but the Vigilant won the
second. The third. in a heavy wind and sea,
was also won by the Vigilant, the Pill
grim and Jubilee being both displaced in
the beginning of the trial contest.
The first race with the English boat was
the 9Th Of October. 1892, and was not fin
ished within the time limit The Valkyrie
was in the lead, however. when the race
was called off. October the ViglIant won
and October 8 the second race was sailed,
the Vigilant again winning The third
race was won by the Vigilant, the Valky-
rie splitting her spinnaker.
In 1894 Lord Dunraven again challenged
with Valkyrie III. a boat which made a
fine record for herself before leaving for
this side. The Herreshoffs designed the
Defender, keel boat without a center
board. The first race, sailed September Z.
1898. was won by the Defender. The sec
ond race, while maneuvering for the
start, an excursion steamer got in the
way of the yachts and the result was that
the Valkyrfes boom raked the starboard
shrouds of the Defender springing her
topmast and carrying away her, topmast
mainstay. The owner. Mr.. Iselin, entered
protest, but continued in the race. the
| Defender being unable to carry her lib
| topsail. Even in this condition the De-
fender was defeated by only At seconds.
The Valkyrie was subsequently disquali-
| q