New Britain herald., 1930-09-18
SHAMROCK MUST | WIN FOUR RACES
Enterprise Has One More Yic-
 tory to Score to Win Cup

very irksome knot in the British liop's tail had been drawn a bit tighter today as Shamrock V, Sir Thomas Lipton's challenger for the Americas cup and Enterprise, Harold s. Vanderbilt's defender, went out to the starting line for the fourth race.
 The three races already sailed in the cup series have all gone to the defender, and if Enterprise should win today the cup likely will re- main in America forever, unless the terms of competition are changed.
 The defender scored a clean cut victory Saturday and Monday. Yes- terday Shamrock V was forced out of the third race, soon after it started, when her main halyard parted and Enterprise continued on over the course, fulfilling terms of competition and scoring her third straight victory.
 In order to attain the virtual impossible and lift the cup Sham- rock would have to take four straight races, and no one believes Harold Vanderbilt and Enterprise are likely to lose that many sailing contests against the green sloop. | Sir Thomas, the eighty year old Irish sportsman, is making his fifth attempt in about thirty years to untangle <the knot tied in the lions tail back in 1851. It was in that year that the schooner yacht Amer. lea whipped fleet of Britain's fastest yachts in a race around the Isle of Wight and brought to this country trophy that has since borne her name and represented in. ternational yachting supremacy. Il is the fourteenth attempt made by British and Canadian yachtsmen te lift the famous trophy.
 There were some among the spectators of yesterdays race who thought it would be declared nc contest when Shamrock was dis abled. But they were little acquaint ed with yachting custom or the rules governing yacht races. A yach' race is just as much a test of the strength and stability of a boat a. the crew sailing her. Obviously Vanderbilt had no reason for drop ping out of the ra <9 because Sham rock was unable to continue tho contest.
 This point can be more frml. asserted when it is considered tha one of the adverse criticisms voiced against the terms of competition has been that Shamrock, a cruising boat, is forced to meet a boat whicl has been, rightly or wrongly, de scribed as racing machine.
 Yesterday it was the cruising boat that cracked under q Is mil' breeze and not the racing machine Beaufort's scale, the time honoret measure of winds, lists a 15 mill breeze as moderate"
 There were spectators wh thought Vanderbilt should hay withdrawn yesterday when Sham rock was disabled, but he was no privileged to do so. The defens of the America's cup has been en trusted to him and however favor able sentiment may be for he aget sportsman who sent Shamrocl across the sea, it was Vanderbilt duty to protect the trophy.
 Nor was it as though Shamrocl had been robbed of victory throusl the accident of her rigging. She hat gone over the starting line in commanding position between tn | wind and Enterprise, but she hat not held that advantage. When tn wire halyard parted and let dowl her mainsail, she already had yield ed the windward position to the de fender and Enterprise was steadll gaining.
 Shamrocks crew gave a fine ex hibition of seamanship while sh remained in the race, but it wa never more closely demonstrate that Enterprise is the better boa Her crew had already formed tha opinion before the race started, bu they were making a last desperat hard fought battle to cheer the ol Irish baronet.
 Sir Thomas spent million dol lars on his last invasion and no on attached to the Shamrock believe another Britisher can be found t l fit out expedition unless rule are adoped providing competition on more equal ground than tn present, which is likely to en this afternoon with Enterprise agai leading Shamrock V to the finisl line.