Evening star., 1936-06-11
STORMY WATERS
MAY Be GAINED
Gore, Friend of Britain, in
U. S., May Bring About
Cup Challenge.
BY LAWRENCE PERRY.

BY LAWRENCE PERRY.
N YEW YORK, June 11.-What ir
M diplomatic parlance are callec
VI pourparlers now are ir
progress in this city between
Sir Ralph st. George Gore and in
f1uential authorities of the New York
Yacht Club. They relate to a -chal-
lenge for the Americas Cup next
year.
Sir Ralph will be recalled by
yachtsmen as the representative OF
the challenging club of 1884, the
Royal Yacht Squadron. aboard the
American defender Rainbow. He is
not only a prominent member Of this
famous yachting organization, but a
close friend of T. o, M. Sopwith, who
owned and sailed the challenger
Endeavour in the last cup series and
is now building Endeavour II, pre-
sumably as a challenger for the
famous old trophy
1t may well be that among matters
to be ironed out by the tactful and
personally appealing knight in his
talks with the American custodians
of the cup will be misunderstanding
between Mr.. Sopwith and the New
York Yacht Club.
Shows His Bitterness.
IN THE course of the series two
years ago the challenger de-
Veloped bitter feeling which he did
not fail to communicate to the de-
Tending party. This in turn gave rise
to a mood approaching irritation in
that quarter. Obviously, If such a
state of mind still exists, another cup
series involving Mr. Sopwith as chal-
lenger would be characterized by at
least an undercurrent of feeling not
conducive to the best interests of
international sport. In fact, it is
not conceivable that a series for the
Americas cup-Sopwith challenging
would be held in such case.
Points at issue concerning struc-
tural details of cup yachts which
gave rise to bad feeling on the part
Of the challenger in 1894 have been
adjusted. At the time these details
of construction related chiefly to a
misunderstanding on the part of
Charles Nicholson, Endeavours de-
Signer, as to latitude allowed under
the rules in the matter of structural
weight and equipment.
Or, if Mr.. Nicholson did not misun-
derstand, at least there was discrep-
ancy between British and American
building stipulations which gave the
American boat an advantage too slight
to make any real difference in the
relative ability of the two sloops to
sail swiftly, but. on the other hand,
sufficiently tangible to cause dissat-
isfaction among the challenging party.
Technical Side Settled.
RUT all this, as said, has been ad-
justed by technicians on either
side of the Atlantic. Yachtsmen of
both countries now know definitely to
the last detail what can be done and
what cannot. So that is out of the
way.
Other matters, more personal, still
remain to be cleared up-or did exist
before Sir Ralph Gore arrived in this
country. If, as result of his visit,
these private issues have been ame-
liorated or the way opened to happv
settlement. he will have done a fine
piece of work.
1t may be that he has inquired
whether or not Mike Vanderbilt will
again figure as skipper of a possible
defender. There have been announce
from him, however-that
he is out of cup racing. Chances
would seem to be that he Is not. If
Mr.. Sopwith's sentiments concerning
his attitude toward Mr.. Vanderbilt as
a rival helmsman, as personally ex-
pressed to this writer, have not
changed, he had much rather pit his
skill against some other less rigorous
and indomitable foeman. But it is
hardly likely either that Sir Ralph
would broaeh such a sentiment or
that it would have any effect, other
than extreme annoyance. if he did.