Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-06-06
CUP RACE IS
TO BE STIRRING EVENT
Great International Yacht Contests Be-
come Part Of Glowing Tradition
of Sandy Hook.

cious metal. may since the war have
given the cup a somewhat enhanced
value. but even SO its worth is not great.
Certainly the prestige of the mug u
out Of all proportion to the sum Of
money 1T would bring in a pawn shop,
say-or at the mint.
The First Challenger.
At all events. the New York Yacht
Club. after six years of passive owner
ship, decided to set the cup before the
world as challenge trophy. To be
precise, this was done on July 81, 1857,
when notice was sent to all foreign
clubs advising them that the New
York Yacht Club held the trophy un-
der trust and that competition was In
vited with the assurance that all chal-
lengers would meet with a liberal and
hearty welcome and strictest fair play.
The club took occasion to change the
i name of the cup from the Royal
Yacht Squadron cup to the Americas
cup. The original name attributed to
| the classic prize, the Queens cup
has no justification in history.
The first challenger was James Ash
bury, a man of wealth, son of Man
chester wheelwright, who evidently
went in for the trophy more as q
means of social prestige than any
thing, although he made a spirited
| campaign for the capture of the prize.
His challenger, Cambria. finished
tenth in a field Of fifteen starters. the
British schooner having to race for
the cup against fourteen rivals. The
schooner Magic won the race. In oc-
tober Of 1871 Mr.. Ashbury's challenger.
the schooner Livonia, was defeated by
the defender Columbia in series OF
five races In 1876 the Royal Canadian
Yacht Club challenged. naming pro-
jected schooner. the Countess OF Duff
ferin. The schooner Madeleine defend
ed the cup successfully.
Canadians Send Another.
In 1881 the Canadians sent another
boat to the states as challenger. the
sloop Atalanta. sailing under the
| burgee Of the Bay of Quinte Yacht
Club of Belleville, Ontario. A sioop
owned by an Englishman. not nat
uralized, was selected to defend the
cup. She was named the Mischtef
and had come from the boards OF
! that fine American designer. A. Cary
Smith. She was built at Wilmington.
Del. The races were held In No.
vember, 1881. and the Mischief won
easily. It is interesting to note that
the first yacht ever. built expressly
to defend the Americas cup was built
with q view to meeting the challen-
ger In the cup SERIES Of this year.
She was the sioop Pocah9ntas. de-
| signed and built by David Kirby Tor
the mar onicefs eof the club. viz;
John Il. waller, commodofs; James
b. smith, vice commodore. and Her
| man oelrichs. rear commodore. But
| in the trial races Mischief clearly
established; her. right to meet the
challenging sloop.
In following years the defender
| Puritan defeated the challenger Ge-
| nesta in 1885. In 1885 the Mayhower
beat the challenger Galatea. In 1887
the defender Volunteer defeated the
challenger Thistle. In 1893 the de-
fender vigilant-the first Of the glori-
| ous line Of Herreshoff sloops-de-
feated Lord Dunraven's Valkyrie II.
In 1895 the defending sloop Defender
heat Lord Dunraven's valkyrie III in
the first race Of the series. sailed IN
a light wind. In the second race
yalkyrie fouled Defender. The Amer
lean slop protested and then sailed
the race with q broken wing, losing
| by q fraction over a minute. Tne
Americas cup committee sustained
the protest lodged against the chal-
lenper by the manager of the Amer
lean sloop, and Lord Dunraven there
unon took his sloop home in hun
a eliminating incident in a series OF
Observation-Disclosures between challen-
| ger and the defending club.
Sir Thomas Upton Appeared.
| sir Thomas Upton with his Cha
,en1er shamrock I appeared on the
scene first in 1899. The sloop Colum-
bia. DISPOSED of her in straight races.
Nothing daunted. Sir Thomas came
hack with. Shamrock II in 1901. Hsr-
reshofr designed and built new
sloop to meet the second Shamrock.
che was named Constitution. Chteny.
as 1t appears. through poor sails. she
failed to establish her right to de.
fend the cup. the former defender
| Columbia, sailed by the willy Charles
Rarr. winning that honor. Columbia
won the series by a small margin,
being obliged to accept one victory on
/ which Shamrock
II had to allow. Sir Thomas returned
in 1903 with Shamrock III. and Reli-
ance was built to meet her. Ths
American sloop was easily the superb
or boat, and the series resulted In
clearly won victories for the Reliance.
Which brings US up to date. so far
as racing is concerned.
Again Challenges.
In 1914 Sir Thomas again challenged
for the cup and the challenge was ac-
copied. The races were to be held
in September of that year. but, as all
know, the European war broke out in
August. Shamrock " was already on
the ocean when England entered the
conflict. German submarines were
about, Of course, and her destruction
or capture was feared. Conveyed by
Sir Thomas Lipton's big steam yacht
Erin. the sloop went 1000 miles ou.
of the direct route to New York. ANAL
ly reaching Bermuda, whence even
tually the sloop sailed to this port
and was hauled out at the Erie basin.
where she remained under a hermeti-
cally sealed Enclosure until this spring