New-York tribune., 1920-05-26
Upton Yacht
Launching Set
For Z O'clock
Nanitie Takes Spin ON Sound
With Nichols at Wheel;
Daily Workouts Planned
By Jack Lawrence

The cup candidate Vanitie, supposed
to have been towed from New Haven
to Bristol, R. l., where she was to have
been overhauled at the Herreshoff
plant, gave yachtsmen on Long Island
Sound big surprise yesterday after
noon when she came swooping out of
Glen Cove, l.. l., under full sail and
sped away eastward in the general d.
rection of Northport.
A fairly strong sailing breeze was
blowing and her great white wings
were we'll filed Rear Commodore
George Nichols, her amateur skipper,
was at the wheel and had the same
crew under his command that handled
the boat in her race against the Reso-
Lutte off New Haven last Saturday.
Tie race committee of the New York
Yacht Club had intended to have the
Nanltie follow the Resoulte to Bristol
after the accident to the latter's mast
in Saturdays race, but Commodore
Nichols felt that more satisfactory
tuning-up spins could be held in the
western end of the Sound, and on his
advice the cup yacht was sailed over
to Glen Cove. Her tender, the steam
yacht Xarifa, accompanied her to the
Long Island harbor and then steamed
to City Island, where she loaded some
additional supplies and rejoined the
Vanitie.
To Have Daily Spins
Commodore Nichols, with view to
giving his crew all the drilling pos
slble before the start Of the elimina-
ton contests with the Resolute of
Newport next week, will have the
Nanitie out on daily spins on the
Sound until Sunday. when the boat
will be towed to Bristol. There she
Will receive brief overhauling and
will reach the scene of the trials on
Tuesday. Nichols is anxious to have
a few warming-up spins over the ocean
course before he engages the Resolute
in combat.
Neither Commodore Nichols nor his
crew are in the least depressed over
the fact that the Resolute led them
over the fourteen mile course at New
Haven. The Nanitie's skipper admits
that the Herreshof sloop did some ex-
ceptionally fine work in going to wind
ward, but declares that even though
she should surpass the bronze con-
tender in this respect it should have
no decisive bearing on the question OF
which yacht is the more able to de-
fend the trophy.
That the Nanitie did not make a bet
ter showing in her first brush with the
Resolute is attributed by Mr.. Nichols
to low lying haze that obscured the
stakeboat from view and to the fact
that the compass on the Gardner de-
signe I'd candidate was not true. This
combination of circumstances led the
Vanitie off her course and far to lee
ward OF the mark.
The men on the bronze flyer do not
hesitate to declare that they expect
TO defeat the Herreshoff entry in de-
cisive fashion when they come together
off Newport.
Fresh Coat of Paint
Sir Thomas Liptons cup challenger,
Shamrock ", brilliant in a fresh coat
of glistening green paint, will slide off
the ways at City Island at o'clock
this evening. The launching hour was
fixed to take advantage of a food tide.
The work of putting the cup hunter
overheard will be supervised by her
designer and builder, Charles E. Mich
olson.
Beyond the clicking of large bat
terry of movie cameras, the waving of
the Upton house flag and the pennant
of the Royal lister Yacht Club from
her sawed off taffrail, the launching
will be devoid of ceremany. There
Will undoubtedly be a mighty cheer
from her English crew as she hits
the skide They have such confidence
in the challengers speed that they
consider the Americas cup already
won.
The carrying away of the Resolute's
"buiItup" mast in her first 1Ee race e o,. has
something to think about, as it de-
velops that the Upton boats giant spur
is also of the "builtup" variety, being
made of small blocks Of wood put
together with the same Swiss glue that
was used in the Herreshoff stick. Her
S6-foot boom is of the same design,
If the Resolute's mast could not
stand the strain and had to be replaced
with one of steel, it is considered not
improbable that the challenger's spar
may meet the same fate when the test
comes. The Shamrock's sail area viii
be greater than that of the Resolute
and the strain on her mast will be
consequently heavier. If her 135foot
spar should snap in one of her trials
it. might be necessary to postpone the
international contests until she could
be fitted with one of steel