Oct. 28, 1899,] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
3^8 
CHART OF NEW YORK HARBOR AND ADJACENT WATERS. 
has been at a disadvantage only in three things; in build- 
ing for the ocean passage, in lack of trials against other 
yachts, and in the illness and consequent absence of the 
designer at the important point — the racing. 
Tlie first of these amounts to very little, especially as it 
is more than probable that the defender was also_ built 
with a view to an ocean passage and some racing in the 
Mediterranean next year. It has long since ceased to 
be a qtiestion of matching a &ea-going yacht with a har- 
bor racing- machine, as in the early defense of the Cup, 
and with both yachts of the same type and of all metal 
construction, as in recent years, there is little difficulty in 
obtaining the necessary strength for the Atlantic passage 
by a secondar}- system of bracing, removable for racing. 
The second point, the lack of thorough trials, has un- 
questionabli' been a serious detriment to the challenger, 
as shown in the m.arked improvement of both Columbia 
and Defender in the course of the season; it is, however, 
a disadvantage inherent to the case and not imposed by 
the defending club. It is now said by tlie Shamrock party 
that Sir Thomas Lipton attempted to purchase Valkj'rie 
III. for the purpose of trying his new yacht against her, 
but that Lord Dunraven refused to sell her fpr such a use, 
although she is rotting at her moorings in the Clyde. 
With no competitor of her own class and little time prior 
CO her departure for America, Shamrock came to this 
iiide an untried boat. Such solitary sails as she has had 
here, while serAnng a good purpose in familiarizing her 
crew with their surroundings, have amounted to little as 
a means of discoy.'eriojg dteEects. The loss on this .score as 
compared with the many races between Columbia and 
Defender has been made still inore serious through the 
illness and absence of Mr. Fife at the very time when his 
u'ld was most essential. His connection with Shamrock 
practically ceased with lier docking, as he has since been 
confined to his room and for a part of the time so ill he 
could be consulted only on important points. It is diffi- 
cult to say how much his absence has cost the boat, but 
hi these great craft the question of engineering comes 
tir.'jt, and the designer is the one person qualified to deal 
with the vital details of strain on the gear and the strength 
of the various wood and metal spars. However extensive 
the experience of the professional skipper, it is not to be 
expected that he will possess the same knowledge as the 
designer in the matter of the variotts new metals which 
enter into the construction of these modern racing ma- 
chines. One serious trouble with Shamrock has been the 
breaking or buckling of her spars, both gafif and boom 
failing to hold her mainsail at times. How much of this 
might have been prevented by the personal presence of 
her designer muct always remain an open question; but 
it is certain tliat on the other hand the presence of her 
desiij-ner on board of Columbia has been of material help 
in this detail. 
Apart from these drawbacks, due to accident rather 
than design, and regretted by botli sides alike, there 
have been no ifs nor buts about the series of races; they 
have in spite of the weather been sailed to a point where 
it is plain that the fastest boat has won. and won fairly on. 
her merits,. We have heard often of late from both sides. 
the wish "May the best boat win"; but this is in itself as 
absurd as it is ungrammatical; there can be no question 
of relative excellence between two yachts which are 
equally bad and useless. Of equallj' extravagant cost, 
equally Impossible draft, and eqttally useless type, the 
only possible point of superiority is in the speed under the 
conditions of the Cup races; and this simply means that 
the faster yacht is of necessity the "best." 
There have been times without number in the Cup and 
other international races when the question of type added 
greatly to the interest of yachtsmen In the result, and when 
it was a matter of serious importance whether a yacht 
which was manifestly of a superior type as concerns sea- 
worthiness, accommodation and other old-fashioned and 
now obsolete essentials, would also prove the fastest in 
racing; but at the present time the leading yachts of both 
nations are so similar in type and so generally unfitted for 
anything but match racing that the only issue is that of 
speed. 
In the case of Shamrock and Columbia there is a prac- 
tical identity of both type and dimensions that eliminates 
all issues but that of speed under the Cup conditions ; and 
in this Coltimbia has been proven incontestably superior 
both in light and heavy weather. In many previous races 
the mere holding of the Cup has left grave doubts, the re- 
sult being decided in light weather and over unfair courses 
which were greatly to the advantage of the defending 
yachts; and there has been a feeling even on the part of 
some Americans that under more equal conditions the 
result might have teen different In the present case 
