Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-07-07
YEATHERLY BOWS TO COLUMBIA
Americas Cup Trials Far From Over
By LEONARD NJ. FOWLE
Contributing Writer

Contributing Writer
NEWPORT, r. /, July t.
AS Henry MERGERS Weatherly
and the Boston Yacht Club
syndicate's Nefertitl head out
to sea today, prepared to battle
for the lead in the current OBJ
Servation series of Americas
Cup trials, an old yachting
axiom is underscored-nothing
can be taken for granted in the
sport of yacht racing.
Thursday night, after Meier
It'll had walloped Columbia and
Weatherly had sailed Fastener
almost hull down, there was
plenty of talk on the Newport
waterfront to the effect that
the show might as well be over.
1t was suggested that Chand-
Ter Hovey might even withdraw
the winleSS Fastener from the
competition. that Cornelius
(Glit) Shields, jr, was too in
experienced for the job of sail
ing the 1858 defender in the
present crack company, and
that Nefertiti was turning out
to be a light-air craft rather
than the powerful all-weather
boat which Hood supposedly
had designed.
First Strong Wind Test
The stock of Emil (Bus) Mos
bacher, jr., was so high that one
wag even suggested that the
Selection Committee could do
worse than chose him as the
Americas Cup skipper right
now and then they'd have a
round robin change of boat
series among the shippers with
Mosbacher picking his choice
of the best boat when it was all
over.
Yesterdays contest gave the
Thames street quarterbacks and
their counterpartS in the swank
Ocean drive mansions, too, O
slightly rude awakening. Here's
what happened:
l. The wind Unexpectedly
piped up to 1922 knot strength
through the entire race to pro-
vide the first strong wind test
Of the series.
2. Columbia, always a good
boat in winds above 16 knots,
came into her own with Shields
sailing a perfect race for a
minute-and-37-second win over
Weatherly as the 28-year- old !
skipper avoided past tactical
errors.
8. fastener, far from proving
a dead duck, bounced back to
provide stiff opposition for Ne
fertiti in the closest of the 10
races so far sailed in these
observation trials.
4. Weatherly, on which every
thing had worked with watch
like precision in four previous
victories, fell all apart with her
skipper and crew having one
Of those days when nothing
goes right.
Trials Far From Settled
There are various explana-
tons, all adding up to the fact
that the 1862 Americas Cup
trials are far from settled. No
boat is yet a shoo-in, nor is
any of the four craft out of the
running.
The Columbia always has
been a good boat in a breeze
of wind as she proved when
she took Vim in the late races
of the 1858 trials. This vic
tory over Weatherly should
help Shields confidence, for
the New York Y. c. will be
looking for an all-weather de-
fender in September.
Part of Weatherly's trouble |
yesterday well may have been
due to getting caught with full
sails designed for light winds |
when the breeze quite suddenly |
increased well above predicted
strength. Although MoSbacher
took all the blame for the blue
sloop'S poorer performance,
there's reason to believe there
was a gear failure on &C.
caSion, which didn't help.
fastener, which wore the
wrong mainsail for Thursdays
race, certainly looked like a
different boat yesterday as she
hung onto Nefertiti through
the tough circumstances Of
being closely covered for 26
miles. She lost, but only by
SO seconds. Today she sails
against Columbia.