The San Francisco call. [volume], October 04, 1899, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
VOLUME EXXXVI-^O. 126.
FIRST STRUGGLE FOR THE AMERICA'S CUP
RESULTS IN A DRIFTING CONTEST.
Just Enough Wind to Demonstrate That the Columbia Is Well Qualified to
Prevent the Trophy's Capture by the Shamrock.
THE COLUMBIA.
The eleventh cup defender is owned by J. Pier
pont Morgan, the banker and commodore of the
New York Yacht Club; "William Butler Duncan and
C. Oliver I=e;ir., members of that club. The last
named ceritleman 's the manager of the Colum
bia for the contest and assisted by Captain Charles
Barr will sail her in the several races.
The Columbia was designed by Nathaniel G.
HerreshcS of the Herreshcff Manufacturing Com
pany. Bristol, R. 1., and built by that firm, and
Official measurements posted October 2, 1599:
Dimensions —
Length of water line Ss €6
From alter end of main boom to forward point of measurement... 181 . 62
From foresail of foremast to forward point of measurement . 73 S5
Extreme of spinnaker boom " 7S '? 5
Main gai? [.',[" 64.95
Topmast (friloO) less one-Qfth 51 gn
Height of upper side of main boom to topsail halyard block IS4 75
Square feet of sail area as per rule m g.
Sailing' length as per rule ......'............. lll.iz:,
Columbia's total spread of canvas 14,000 square feet.
AT
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the I
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The contest was an end-on race — fif
' teen miles to leeward and a beat back
' against light winds. The Columbia,
starling forty-three seconds after the
Shamrock, rounded the mark two min
utt-s and one soct.nd ahead. The Sham
rock gained on the beat back, passed
■ the defender, and held the lead to the
tnd, althongh the Columbia was sain
. ing when the signal gun announced
that the time limit had expired.
• Probably the largest flotilla of excur
. Eion boats and yachts on record fol
■ lowed the racers. It is estimated that
:' nearly two hundred and fifty vessels,
.carrying upward of 50.000 persc-ns, wit
• raessed the contest at close range. But
.there was no interference with the
■race. Captain Robley D. Evans, with
.• five revenue cutters and five torpedo
boats, policed the course admirably.
- Kis. work was high'.y praised both by
visiting and local sportsmen. He or
dered that Washington be notified of
•.three excursion steamships and one
yacht which were not disp»>sed to k«_-ep
. cut of the way. and will recommend
• that the license of their masters and
pilot be suspended.
• .'The betting on the cup races shifted
•to-nieht. Instead of odds of 10 to S on
the. Columbia even money ruled in
■ rrearly.all of the wagers that were laid.
"VVide" Interest was shown both ashore
and afloat in the reports of the race
Eent by Signer Marconi to the Herald
■ar.d The Call. The system of wireless
; telegraphy worked admirably, the news
. of the contest at every important point
' being , received in the Herald office
■within sixty seconds from the time it
■wa= flashed from the steamship Ponce,
otl which Signor Marconi conducted his
op-rations. About twenty-five hun
dre-1 words were sent from the Ponce,
and important stock quotations and
.the decision in the Venezuelan dispute
were received by those board the
■ Ponce as she followed the yachts along
the c;-jrs~. Srgror Marconi was cheered
frequently by the spectators.
- I Thnra
i
By the Marconi system of wireless
telegraphy and the Herald-Call dis
patch boat came a message saying:
;VSay farewell, ■---. ».o the
flagon of the Queen." Not yet. but for
a time near the ciose of to-day's ex
citing race .it looked that way. looked
all Shamrock— looked as though the
Irish racer must inevitably beat her
American rival across the "finish line.
But before either could reach it the
time limit cut in and the race was off.
And everybody drew a long breath and
said: "'Who'd have thought it?" By
flukes and calms nd "Upton luck" the
emerald yacht came very nearly scor
ing- a victory over the Columbia. And
such a theory-upsetting, prediction
smashing victory that would have been.
For this race was run in "Columbia"
weather, with light winds and smooth
eea-s. which her adherents have wished
for and in which it was prophesied she
would show her heele to the Shamrock
from start to finish.
The race was an end-on tilt to an
outer m/y*;' anchored fifteen miles to
leeward of the starting line, and a beat
l — against light winds and a lumpy
The San Francisco Call.
I sea. The Shamrock had been described
as sluggish when going dead before a
light breeze, while 'on the other hand
; that had I -••-:. reckoned as the Colum
j bia's best point of sailing.
But the race of to-day showed that
' the Shamrock, so far from being slug
f gish when running before a light wind,
' is an exceedingly nimble craft, and the
! best the Columbia could do with her
- during that long run down the wind
! was to round the mark two minutes
: one second ahead of her opponent.
In the opinion of ma: this failure
< to lead the Shamrock by a greater mar
gin was due more t«"> bad judgment and
I bad handling on the part of the Co
: lumbia than to any other cause. Thes?
I critics wondered why Mr. Iselin or Cap
-1 tain Barr. whichever 11 might have
: been, thought it necessary to sheer so
I far over to leeward when a fair slant
of wind could be seen coming from the
eastward.
Th- E
I ■
that
■
■ • - t this
r •
• iln Barr
' - ■ ■ g his lufl
-
■ tion and as a
rer the J
the advantaere t
la.
In the beat back up the coast the ;
Shamrock seemed to be either better
handled than the Columbia or to have
much better luck. The wind was fluky
and from -:-.- inner In which the Co- j
lumbia consistently fcrmd all the soft ;
patches, it was argued, aid with appar
ent truth, that bad luck did not enter :
so much into the case as did bad man
agement. For luck, as a rule, does not :
run so much in streaks as did that wind
of jto-day. Time after time the Colum
bia was at a standstill, with headway
lost and sails idly flapping, while at the
same time the Shamrock was slipping:
along with sails rap full and pulling
hard. Nor could bad luck be blamed
for keeping the sails of the Columbia"
so pinched, so starved on that beat
back to the starting line that all the
life was taken out of the craft. And
this, too, against a lump}- head sea
which required wind power to drive a
yacht through.
But despite all the 111 luck and all the '
handicaps that were imposed upon her,
the Columbia showed her quality to the
satisfaction of all concerned. Experts
who witnessed the race declared em
phatically that she can outpoint and*
outfoot the Shamrock.
They pointed out that every time that
a chance was given the American yacht
— every time that a bit was loosened as
It were— she footed faster and pointed
higher than her opponent. She cer
tainly did have bad luck with wind,
notably at the close of the contest,
when she ran into a zone of idle
zephyrs which for fully five minutes
went shivering down one sail and up
another. And during this good time
the Shamrock, catching a breeze from
the northwest, went driving along at. a
clipping gait, widening her lead t-o
much that it looked as though it would
be impossible for the American yacht
to overtake her unless she made pur
suit in tow.
Then came the thrill. The Colum
' bia's a Iherentfl were astonish.cd by the
■ luck c:* their favorite, while the ad
rs of the Irish ya - rela- ,
<-d. To the first it looked as
though the battle had been lost, and
I It looked to the other as though v:o
-ry vas to be gained. And while they
rig about it a partial wind
down the Columbia's way and
: z slightly to laggard breezes the
gathering headway al
• as quickly as an arrow starts
from Its bow, darted through the blue
Uent with cup resp r.^.biiity.
The Shamrock's wind ?:..: held fair
and had apparently as much etrecgthj
SAX FRANCISCO. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1899.
FINISH OF DRIFTING MATCH, SHAMROCK LEADING.
as that which was impelling the Co
lumbia, but despite all efforts of the
Irish yacht, despite her greater show
of canvas and great club topsail which
she was wearing, despite her weaker
gauge, despite everything, theHerres
hoff racer gained swiftly on the leader,
rapidly lessening the distance that
stretched between them. Thousands
looked at the performance incredulous
ly amazed. It seemed when the Colum
bia was becalmed that the Shamrock
had the race won, providing that sht
had time in which to finish it. That,
then, was the only doubt. But all that
was changed as soon as the Columbia
was favored with the same sort of wind
that the Shamrock held.
The Columbia's people took no more
chances at pinching their craft. In
stead they kept the sails a good rap
full and as a result the Columbia
footed so fast that it appeared that she
1 would either overtake the leader or
make a very close finish of it. The
thousands who witnessed this splendid
performance of the American yacht
held their breath as they saw the cup
defender overcoming the Shamrock's
lead, and many there were who, having
given ur> the race as lost, then be
lieved that the Columbia would still
beat her rival if time allowed. But it
did not. A full two miles away from
the finish line a gun boomed from the
yacht Corsair announcing to the racers
and to all concerned that the limit of
five and a half hours had expired and
that the race wan R
Though unsatistactory a? ■■ '•- n
the race was eminently Batls
ier dii ■ -
- ting by the ea
ptain 1 ■ :•
cc navy, better known as "F - -
ing Bob." and the revenue service of
the Treasury Dc-partment tailing good
care of that. The course at all times
■wp.c clear as far as a sail might fare.
■ '■ - ar.d excursion fleet
the torpedo boats and revenue cu
fire-; . Ine across vrhlch no craf;
• - • • The three or four which
on the backward run did get into a
c up to windward of the yachts
THE CALL STILL AHEAD WITH WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.
Was the First Paper in the World to Use the New System
for Gathering News.
TWO MINUTES — That is all that elapsed between the happenings of events In yesterday's big yacht race
and the time people were reading about them on The Call's bulletin boards, three thousand miles away from
where Marconi was ticking off the messages by wireless telegraphy. Over one hundred and fifty of these spe
cial bulletins were sent, each one of them describing some big change in the yacht race, and not one of them
had to be repeated because of inaccurracy.
SUCH A FEAT WAS NEVER BEFORE ACCOMPLISHED IN SENDING MESSAGES. SCIENTISTS
AND EXPERT TELEGRAPHERS ARE DISCUSSING IT AS THE BIGGEST WONDER SINCE MORSE
STARTED HIS SYSTEM.
This whole wonderful feat Us the outcome of The Call's original experiments in that line, with a view to
heralding before all others the approach of the California Volunteers from Manila. So successful were these
experiments that the New York Herald proposed to The Call to utilize them in reporting the big international
yacht race. Mr. "Marconi, the Inventor of wireless telegraphy, was accordingly Invited to America by The Call-
Herald to supervise the handling of the wireless telegraph reports of the race. The experiment was regarded
of such high scientific value by our Government that it detailed naval officers to accompany The Call-Herald spe
cial boat and report on the work with a view to adopting the system into the navy.
The immense success of the dispatches yesterday under. all the adverse conditions and the excitement of
an international yacht race has shown conclusively that wireless telegraphy is going to revolutionize the old
system of sending telegraph dispatches.
Mr. Marconi, from the steamer Ponce, sent his wireless messages to the Highlands. Some of these trav
eled fifteen miles through the air and consumed one minute of time to prepare them for transmission. Another
minute was consumed in sending the messages from the Highlands across the continent 3000 miles to The Call
business office i : v - £j
Those who read these bulletins may not know it, but they were witnesses of one of the greatest feats ever
done in telegraphy, and a feat that marks a new epoch in the history of sending dispatches.
THE CALL WAS THE FIRST PAPER IN THE WORLD TO USE THE WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY TO
REPORT THE NEWS. :-■
were -■■••■■ chased away by a tor-'
pedo boat, and to prove that he is not
in the habit of issuing orders to no ef- •
feet, if any such proof were needed. '
Captain Evans has already asked that ;
the license of offending capuajris be.
suspended.
The arrangement made by Captain j
Evans for the shielding of the yachts
from interference seemed to be as per- j
feet as any that could be conceived. All j
boats were kept clear of the starting
line and when the two yachts. jockey
ing for position, broke out their spin
nakers to the starting signal and swept
across the line with booms aswing. the j
course before them lay clear to the sea
line. Back of it the excursion fleet was.
scattered over a vast area and appar
ently in inextricabie confusion. Here
and there the long lean hulls of the
torpedo flotilla were seen, and near by
were the yellow painted cutters of th*
revenue marine service. To the layman
It all seemed a mighty maze, and one
without a plan. But hardly had the :
yachts crossed the line before the great
fleet took definite shape. Torpedo boats
under Lieutenant Commander John C.
Fremont on his flagship, the Porter, the
boat he commanded during the war
with Spain, led the line to the west
ward, keeping all the excursion craft
on the starboard hand.
Led by the flagship the revenue cut- ''
ters took the other side of the line and
kept all seaward craft from approach- j
ing the contesting yachts. The racers, !
therefore, had a clear course before
them and an unobstructed wind be
hind, and with two fleets of excursion
craft on either side, but not near i
enough to in any way interfere with
either. On the beat back the same pre- !
caution was taken to see that neither
of the yachts was in any way ob
structed. But despite the distance from j
which they were kept from the course
none of the excursionists can complain
of not having had a fair sight of the I
contest. Stretched out in long lines
their view was as unobstructed as was :
the course of the racing yachts.
The weather was as fine as any ex- j
cursionist could ask, and those who
did not go afloat to-day missed a spirit
ed yachting picture under clouds which
looked as though they had been painted
for the day and purpose.
Flags snapped gaily to the lash of the
morning, wind ami everywhere was
brightness, light and animation. That
v.-as in the early forenoon, when the
wind held out a promise of being a fair j
Shamrock day, a day of "wet sheets I
and flowing seas," instead of light and
fiuky airs with which it closed.
The excursion fleet was a motley
group. Through the whole gamut of
marine construction it ran, from the j
stately ocean-going steamship and its j
exclusive patrons to the sloppy little j
tug with its catch-as-catch-can patron
age of whatever came its way. Scores J
of craft unfamiliar to these waters,]
alien vessels brought here for Dewey j
parade purposes and remaining over for J
whatever harvest might be reaped from j
the yacht races, were in line, as was
the local fleet, an intact and jealous i
squadron, whose owners and charter- |
ers looked askance at strange keels and j
held mightily that there were some j
yacht race rights and privileges which
outsiders ought to respect.
As to the crowds the vessels carried,
it is to be hoped that no one's feelings
will be hurt when it is said that the
spectators were themselves a spectacle.
They were there because of the yachts,
but had these racing machines been j
swallowed up by the sea or melted into j
vapor the excursion crowd would still
have been a sight well worth a second
look and well worth taking excursion
chances to see. - There was nothing j
little about it. nothing at least so far \
as numbers went. The yachting en
thusiast, with his uncles and his cous- j
ins and his aunts, was there and deeply
interested they all were in the outcome j
of that struggle for the cup.
And many other enthusiasts — those j
who cannot distinguish a fin keel from j
a spinnaker boom — were there besides, j
these mainly distinguishable by that ;
riot-provoking style of headgear which
those who follow yachting by reading
about it so much affect. All were ex
uberant, and if any missed enjoyment
THE SHAMROCK.
The eleventh cup challenger Is owned and man
aged by Sir Thomas Lipton of London and member
of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club of Belfast, Ire
land. The task of handling: her in the several races
is under the direction of Captain Archie Hogarth,
the famous English yaehtmaster, assisted by Cap
tain Robert Wringe, with Captain Ben Parker of
Emperor William's yacht Meteor as adviser.
The Shamrock was designed by William Fife Jr.
of Fairlie-on-the-Clyde and built by the celebrated
Thorr.eycrofts at ChiswiclC England. Launched
June 27; sailed for New York August 4, arriving
there August 19 last.
Official measurements posted October 2, 1599:
Dimensions —
Length of water line 57.69
From after end of main boom to forward point of measurement... 189.13
From foresail of foremast to forward point of measurement 73. 46
Extreme of spinnaker boom T5.45
Main gaff , 67.64
Topmast (58.04 less one-fifth 46.45
Height of upper side of main boom to topsail halyard block 126. 2S
Square feet of sail area as per rule 116.15
Sailing length as per rule „ 101.92
Total spread of canvas of Shamrock, something over 14,000 square
It was through no fault of the weather
and through no shortcoming in the
event itself, which, taken merely as a
yacht race, was. despite its Inconclusive
end, as full of thrilling interest as any
ever sailed in these waters.
TECHNICAL
STORY OF THE
FIRST CONTEST
NT.W YORK, Oct. 3.— The Shamrock.
;. the tug Lawrence, was the
f the yachts to leave Sandy j
She arrived at the whistling buoy
off th< y'; t'hannei at
h:45. The crew began at once to hoist
: ainsail. They put two battens in
the leach as it went up and at 10 o'clock
the ; n the starboard
tack under Jib and mainsail.
On board the Shamrock beside her
captains. Hogarth and Wringe, were
Vice re Sherman Crawford
and Hugh McGill Downey of the Royal
r Yacht Club; Sailmaker R.
Navigator Hf.. .r.d Henry F.
Lippett. the last named representing
New York Yacht Club.
The Columbia, meanwhile, under jib
and main.- th< ; rt tack, came
t f or the lightship at a ten
e passed se under thi
stern of the Shamrock at 10 o'clock and
stood on t' - ■ ard.
On board the Columbia, besides C.
Oliver Iselin an -An. were Cap
tain Herreshoff, William Butler Dun
can Jr.. Captain Woodbury Kane, Her
bert Leeds. Newbury Thome* and Hugh
Kelly, secretary of the Royal Ulster
Yacht Club, representing that club on
board the Columbia.
The wind at this time was northeast
by north, blowing about twelve n
an hour. B"th yachts set their club
tops s it 10:30, the Columbia's men
. :ng their saiis smarter than the
At 10:45 the committee boat. Waiter
Luck- - d charge of S. Nict
Kane, came to anchor a cable length
east of Sandy Hook lightship and im
mediately hoisted the compass signal,
signifying that the course would be
south southwest. Ten minutes later
the Shamrock's crew rigged their spin
naker boom out to port, all ready to
set that sail.
Promptly at 11 o'clock the prepara
tory signal — a blue peter — was set on
board the committee boat, and two red
balls hoisted on the triatic stay. At the
same time a tug started to lead off the
course of fifteen miles to leeward. Dur
ing the interval of fifteen minutes be
tween the preparatory and the 'start-
Ing signals tfie skip] era : I . '.. yachts
maneuvered to the northward of the
starting line. Both stuck close to the
= hip, and five minutes before the
starting signal the balloon jib topsail
was set up in steps on the Coloxn
stay. Th-? Shamrock sent up a N
topsail about the same time.
At one minute before the start the
--: was approaching the line
from the eastward and the Colombia
from the westward. When thirty sec
onds were left the Shamrock, which had
been coming for the line with boom to
port, gybed to starl . ; ..-• as the Co
lumbia, with boom to port, rounded the
west end of the line and began easing.
Captain Hogarth, however, had his boat
several lengths in the lead, and just as
the signal was given he gybed the
Shamrock again, crossing the line thir
ty-seven seconds after the signal.
The official I the start was:
Shamrock. 11:15:37; Columbia, 11::
The Shamrock had the better of the
start by forty-three seconds. As the
Columbia crossed the iine she broke out
her Xo. 2 jib topsail. At 11:17 the Co
port and she began at once to overhaul
the Shamrock- For some reason Cap
tain Hogarth did not see fit to set ihe
Shamrock's spinnaker until four min
utes after the Columbia had set hers,
but as soon as it was eet the emerald
hued boat began to hold her own with
the Columbia, the yachts being then
not more than three lengths apart. At
ll:oa ihe Colu - w sprit vvas just
overlapping the Shamrock's starboard
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
bow, the latter having the offshore
berth, but she was unable to hold that
tion lone. In eight minutes the
Shamrock, which ?
out fully five
lengths ahead of the Columbia and
' gaining minute.
Both yachts were head::. _
to the westwar I • :r?es. and
at 12 o'cl -■ imrock. which had
- quite an
eighth of a mile ahead of the' Bristol
■
At 12:15 the wind shifted to the
northwest. The Columbia, being in
( shore, caught it first. The crew took
lin the spinnaker shortly. Captain
i Barr gybed her to port, trimmed down
: staysail and balloon jib topsail sheets,
| and in just five minutes the Columbia
I had walked past the Shamrock and was
; the leading boat. Captain Hogarth
; gybed the Shamrock, after taking in
the spinnaker, at 12:16. Th- set her
: spinnaker to starboard at 12:30, but
only for five minutes. Captain Ho
\ garth, finding he was losing time, took
the sail in smartly and luffed the green
sloop across the Columbia's wake,
•: taking a position on the starboard
quarter.
The outer mark was obscured by a
haze, bo that it was hot visible from
the. yachts until 1 p. m. That did not
matter much to either Captain Ho
garth or Captain Barr?" for they were
indulging in a luffing ami close in on
the Jersey beach for more than half an
hour. Finally Captain Barr. having
the Columbia well ahead, eased sheets
and kept off for the mark at 1:05,
crossing the Shamrock's bow one
eighth of a mile ahead. At 1:17 he set
the spinnaker on the Columbia to star
board and came down for the outer
mark at perhaps not more than a six
knot gait.
At 1:23 in came the spinnaker a^ain
on : -'ia. the wind having
I hauled ba hward. and her
boom was gybed to starboard and her
on jib topsail trimmed. The
; Shamrock had gybed five minutes be
fore, but she was not gaining any up
to this time. Approaching the outer
mark the Columbia crew doused
balloon jil tops rtly, and as they
. ;ed the rr.ark. a float bearing a red
, ball with a white stripe, which had to
be left on the starboard hand, the big
main boom swung over to port, all
sheets were trimmed flat on the star
board tack, and the Columbia thus be
gan her fifteen miles of windward
The time taken at the outer mark ia
! each yacht luffed around it was: Co
lumbia, 1:37:57: Shai »*5B-
So it will be seen by the official fig
ures that in the run of fifteen miles
from the start to the outer mark the
I Columbia outsailed the Shamrock two
minutes forty-four seconds. Her elaps
ed time to this point was 2:21:37;
Shamrock. 2:24:21.
Captain Barr kept the Columbia on
the inshore tack for two minutes forty
five seconds after rounding the mark
when he let her come about to the port
tack, setting the baby jib topsail as
she filled away. In twenty seconds he
swung her about again. The Sham
rock, meanwhile, stood off on the star
board tick two minutes and twelve sec
onds, '.Then Skipper Hogarth put her
about and began his windward work
in earnest with the Bristol boat. The
wind was now northeast-north, and on
the port tack both yachts were head
ing with sheets trimmed down flat
within four
had now increased to about ten n
It was not steady, however,
fiukiness became apparent at 1:55, when
It began heading off the Columbia. Hie
Shamrock tacked to starboard a;
spinning around on her heel in fifteen
seconds, from full to full, but I
astonishment of the thousand?
ssed 1 :a"s next tack,
fifteen seconds later, she swung around
in the almost incredibly short space
of ten seconds, timed by a stop watch.
Captain Hogarth, apparently feeling
confident that by a - :acks
he could get to the windward of the
Columbia, put the Shamrock ab-.ut four
; times in three minutes and forty sec
onds. Captain Barr followed suit and
:.:mble crew trimmed sheets just as
fast n the Shamrock and
when they both settled down to steady
work again at 2:14:50. the Columbia
was still well in the lead and gaining.
Captain Hogarth thought it best at 3:3
to split tacks with his antagonist. M
he put the Shamrock on the port tack,
thinking the Coiumbia would no
but she did. and when the latter
yacht tacked at 2:21:35 she was nearly