THE AMERICA'S CUP RACE By W. J. Henderson A contest of nautical skill, in which the United States faces the strongest maritime nation on the earth, is certain to awaken the interest of every American. An understanding of the delicate points of yacht-racing is not necessary for the starting of that swift thrill which flies through patriotic veins at the sight of two beautiful craft, one carrying the proud flag of England and the other the Stars and Stripes, thrashing twenty miles to windward in a leaping sea, with the nautical championship of the world waiting for the winner at the finish. An American would have to be dead to every feeling of National pride if he did not breathe a little more quickly at seeing the fleet representative of his country forging to the front, or if he did not tremble with anxiety if he saw her dropping to the rear. Such Americans are happily very scarce, and consequently interest in the occasional races for the America's Cup, which has come to be the emblem of the yachting championship of the world, is as wide as the continent. When the news came, in the course of the winter, that Sir Thomas Lipton had sent a formal challenge for the famous old trophy which the schooner-yacht America. won in England in 1851, and which our plucky British brethren have ever since that time been trying to win back, every good American began to overhaul his nautical knowledge and to scrape together his recollections of the sea tales of Fenimore Cooper. The history of the Cup must be retold briefly for the benefit of those who do not keep themselves always acquainted with the doings of the nautical American. WATCHING THE CUP RACE Copyright, 1894, by C. E. Bolles, Brooklyn, N. Y. The America's Cup was won in a general regatta, in English waters, held as one of the festivities accompanying the International Exposition of 1851. In 1857 the owners of the America presented it to the New York Yacht Club to hold as a perpetual international trophy. On August 8, 1870, Mr. James Ashbury's schooner Cambria sailed one race for the Cup against the fleet of the New York Yacht Club. The race was won by the smart little schooner Magic, the Cambria finishing tenth. Mr. Ashbury went back to England and built a new schooner, the Livonia, with which he came to sail for the Cup in the following year. The local club selected four vessels to meet the challenger, the Committee at that time having the right to name any one of the four on the morning of the race. These four were the Columbia, Sappho, Palmer, and Dauntless. The first two races were with the Columbia, each yacht winning one, the Columbia failing in heavy weather. The Sappho was then put in, and won the next two races, thus saving the Cup. In 1876 the Canadian schooner Countess of Dufferin was the challenger. She was beaten in two consecutive races (the contest being now decided by the winning of two out of three) by the Madeleine. In 1881 began the racing of sloops for the Cup. The challenger was again a Canadian, the Atalanta, which was beaten twice consecutively by the Mischief. In 1885 Sir Richard Sutton's cutter Genesta crossed the Atlantic from England and met the newly designed sloop Puritan, a product of the skill of Edward Burgess, one of the most famous of American yachtdesigners, and was beaten in two consecutive races. One of these races was sailed in a swooping squall, and was, on the whole, the most exciting of all the races for the Cup. The following year Lieutenant Henn's Galatea represented England, and the Mayflower the United States. The challenger was again defeated in two consecutive races, both of which were very tame contests. In 1887 came the Scotch cutter Thistle, which was beaten in the usual manner by the third product of Mr. Burgess, the famous Volunteer. In 1893 the first of the Earl of Dunraven's cutters, named Valkyrie, came over, and she was met by the sloop Vigilant, designed by "Nat" Herreshoff, and beaten in the now established way. Lord Dunraven went home and built another Valkyrie, which was lost in a storm. In 1895 he came over with Valkyrie III., lenge in the fall of 1898, and it was promptly accepted. The vessel owned by this gentleman will come to America in the approaching summer, and will be met by a yacht now building at Bristol, R. I., expressly for the series of races which will constitute the tenth contest for the recovery of the Cup. The average American, who is not webfooted like the dweller on the seaboard, will naturally ask what sort of vessels are to compete in these races. Are the Columbia and the Shamrock big or little, long or short, and do they differ from the yachts which fought for the Cup, say, fifteen years ago? And this brings us to the question, Have these contests for the America's Cup had any practical results beyond the gratification of a love for sport? They certainly have. They have not only kept alive the knowledge of smart seamanship, but they have taught us invaluable lessons in the art of designing. Nothing is more interesting in connection with this subject than to note how, starting with models radically different in almost every feature, the yacht-builders of the two countries have come to practically the same principles of design. Fortunately, it is possible to point out how this growth has taken place without entering too deeply into technicalities. CAPTAIN CHARLES BARR Who wili sail the Columbia. Copyright, 1895, by C. E. Bolles, Brooklyn, N. Y. and was met by the Defender, the second of Mr. Herreshoff's designs, and beaten in three consecutive races. Lord Dunraven took his defeat much to heart, and accused the gentlemen who handled the Defender of foul play. The charges were investigated by a committee of men of National reputation, and found "not proven." Thereupon the New York Yacht Club expelled Lord Dunraven, and there was so much bad feeling between the yachtsmen on the opposite sides of the ocean that it seemed as if international racing would come to an end. Nevertheless, Sir Thomas Lipton, one of the greatest merchants in England, who had already expressed a desire to enter into international yacht-racing, sent a chal The typical American racing yacht of twenty-five years ago was of the skimming-dish variety; that is to say, she was wide and shallow. The English yacht of the same period was what has been called a board set on edge. She was very deep, and so narrow that it was said in jest that a person stepping aboard of her hastily was in danger of falling overboard on the other side. A broad and shallow yacht depends largely on what the designers call her "initial stability" to keep her right side up. When she is forced far over to one side by the pressure of THE AMERICA'S CUP Copyright, 1895, by C. E. Bolles, Brooklyn, N. Y. the wind on her sails, the resistance of her broad bottom tends to prevent her from capsizing. Her ability to stand up is increased by the use of inside ballast, consisting of iron or lead placed along her bottom just inside of the planking. The deep and narrow vessel has a natural tendency to turn over, and this becomes greater with the pressure of the wind. This tendency is overcome by the use of what is called outside ballast, which is lead molded into her keel. The depth of the vessel makes it possible to place this ballast very low, and so it affords a strong resistance. The wide and shallow yacht is naturally fast in light breezes, or even in fresh ones when there is not also a heavy sea. But the moment she encounters a bit of rough water she is checked by it, for her momentum is not great enough to overcome the impact of the waves. The narrow, deep yacht cuts through the seas, and her weight, increased as it is by her lead keel, gives her sufficient momentum. In the waters off Sandy Hook, where the international races are held, the breezes and the sea are usually moderate. In such weather the old skimming-dish did fairly well, and while the Englishmen continued to build their yachts with a small amount of sail, our old vessels were good enough to keep the Cup at home. But gradually the fact worked its way into the minds of our designers that they were taking large chances with the shallow vessels. So they began to make them wider and deeper. At the same time it appeared to the English that their narrow cutters heeled over too easily, and were consequently always sailing on their sides and not on the lines on which they had been designed to sail. Hence they began to make their yachts wider and not so deep. In the course of time it was seen that the typical models of the two nations were approaching each other. The Genesta was 81 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 13 feet in draught, while the Puritan, her antagonist, was 81 feet 11⁄2 inches long, 22 feet 7 inches wide, and 8 feet 8 inches in draught. The Thistle was 86.46 feet long, 20.03 wide, and 13.8 feet in draught, while her opponent, the Volunteer, was 85.88 feet long, 23.02 wide, and 10 feet in draught. This approach in dimensions has continued, and it is believed that the two competitors of the present year will, not only in size, but in many other particulars, be as like as two peas. This is one of the peculiarly interesting features of this year's struggle for the historic Cup. Of course those who are interested in the two yachts are eager to keep the details of their models secret, but the argus eyes of the newspapers are on the watch to spy out any facts, and some things have become known. The length, breadth, and some minor particulars of the challenger are required to be given with the challenge, and these at once indicated to the experts that the new British yacht would approach the present type of American racer more closely than any of her predecessors. As for the Columbia, as the defender of this year has been patriotically named, her dimensions are pretty well known. She will be 89 feet 6 inches long, about 24 feet wide, and |