Aug. 27, 1904.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
179 
C. boats, Sprite and La Rita, which, delayed at the 
start — by the fault of the officials, their respective skip- 
pers and crews claim — made up lost time in amazing 
fashion. 
Without wishing to detract in any way from Sainte 
Claire's handsome win, it is only fair to point out that 
Sprite, starting nearly 3 m. late, caught and beat six 
of the seven boats ahead of her the first time over the 
course, finishing the weather leg second, and within 2m.i 
38s. of Sainte Claire. Had they crossed the line to- 
gether, they might have finished the first round to- 
gether—their respective elapsed times were practically 
• the same — and there is no telling how the race would 
have been fought out. 
La Rita's time over the course must have been quite 
a bit the fastest of them all. It is no exaggeration to 
say the holder of the cup was 10m., and possibly 12m. 
late at the start, yet caught and finished well ahead of 
three of the fleet, was steadily wearing down Yo San, 
was only 3m. behind Sprite, and was not beaten more 
than 8m. by the winner, Sainte Claire. Under the cir- 
stances it is no wonder protests were lodged by the 
respective owners of La Rita and Sprite. 
The official orders to the skippers included the an- 
nouncement that three guns would be fired from the 
judges' boat; the first gun in the harbor at 2 o'clock, 
to warn those boats not already cleared and at sea 
that they should get out to the starting boat, moored 
a long mile off the harbor entrance; the second, or 
preparatory gun was set for 2:20 o'clock, and as the 
judges' boat was to mark one end of the starting 
line it should have been in position at the firing of 
this preparatory gun. The starting gun was to go at 
2:30. 
Sprite, which eventually was left at the start, was the 
first of the nine competing yachts to clear , the harbor, 
leaving its mooring about 1:45 and reaching out to 
the stake boat. One by one the fleet followed, except 
La Rita, which boat had been detained by the Regatta 
Committee. At 2:20, eight of the rivals were maneuver- 
ing around the press boat, which was lying-to near the 
stake boat and under orders to show the way over the 
course. The judges' boat, which had been changed 
without any official notice to the competing skippers, 
had not yet left the harbor, where, it. is claimed, the 
preparatory gun was fired at 2:20. Doubtless it was, 
but with a reefing breeze blowing down the lake the 
gun was neither heard nor seen by the yachtsmen over 
a mile away. Pretty soon Sprite came alongside the 
press boat — which had been the judges' boat the pre- 
vious race — and megaphoned to know if any change 
in the starting time had been made. They were referred 
to the new judges' boat, the steam yacht Winyah, 
which was emerging from the harbor just then. Put- 
ting down his helm, Capt. Cuthbert came about and 
headed for the dilatory official craft. 
It should be stated that the skippers' orders included 
the official instruction to leave to port all stake boats, 
also that the starting line would be marked by the stake 
boat off the harbor entrance at one end and by the 
judges' boat at the other. As the stake boat lay over 
a mile E. of the harbor, and as the course lay N., it 
is a self-evident proposition that the judges' boat had 
to be farther out than and E. of the stake boat to 
enable the racing skippers to carry out their instruc- 
tions. - 
At 2:30 the judges' boat was more than half a mile 
away from where it should have been, and there was no 
starting line at all — just a stake boat rocking on the 
bosom of Lake Michigan. 
Bang! The little gun on the steam yacht had popped, 
and the second race for the Lipton cup was supposed 
to be on. That is, such was the supposition when 
Sainte Claire was seen to break out a spinnaker very 
smartly and head N., closely followed by Mendota, 
with the others strung out. There was a general im- 
pression that it was the 10 minute preparatory gun, until 
watches were consulted and compared. Then the con- 
clusion that it really was the starting gun was reached. 
Sprite was somewhere near the judges' boat when 
the gun was fired. La Rita still was in the harbor. ; 
With spinnaker and balloon jib drawing perfectly 
Sainte Claire was making the most of the advantage 
gained at the start that technically was not a start. 
Mendota winging along on the leader's starboard 
quarter. In their wake followed Ventura, Spray and 
Yo San, in the order named. Pilot and Hoosier were 
not yet so far astern as they would be before the race 
ended. 
Under balloon sails the fleet swept on. A stretch 
of blue-green water, and then came Sprite — with a man 
aloft. The spinnaker halliard was afoul of the port 
stay, and for a couple of minutes Sprite had to run as 
best she could under mainsail and jib, being the only 
boat to carry full mainsail. 
When half the leg of 3 miles had been run, Mendota 
was on even terms with Sainte Claire; and when they 
reached the turning point, after a fine race all the way, 
they were almost stem to stern. Mendota gybed 
around with a slight lead, which was increased by 
Stainte Claire's spinnaker sheet being lost overboard 
just as the big silk balloon should have been doused. 
In spite of this mishap, there was but 5s. between them 
when they filled away on the first tack of the beat 
back.:.": ■ - ' ■" 
Half a minute more, and three other boats had 
rounded the mark. Yo San was the first of these. On 
the run down, Yo San had crept up on Spray, and -the' 
two had cut off Ventura's wind. After effectually 
blanketing her, they ran on and soon were disputing 
fqr third place, and before the stake boat was reached 
Yo San, cleverly handled, smothered her rival and 
worked past into third place by the merest margin. 
Ventura was just astern. A minute .later came Pilot 
and Hoosier. Then Sprite, 2}£m. behind Sainte Claire. 
The times at this turn were: 
Mendota .2 54 50 -Ventura .2 55 30 
Sainte Claire 2 54 55 Pilot 2 66 22 
Yo San 2 55 15 Hoosier 2 56 32 
Spray... 2 55 20 Sprite '. 2 57 10 
La Rita was too far behind to time. 
Headed for home, Mendota at once went about on 
the starboard tack, _ crossing Sainte Claire's bpws and 
shaking out the mainsail reef that had been carried on 
the free run. Just what was the idea of the Milwaukee 
skipper could not be divined. It looked as if a dull 
mainsail might have been carried by more of them to 
advantage on the run down, taking a* chance on having 
to put in a tuck for the weather leg, for the breeze was 
not too strong for any but a tender craft. Mendota 
had stood up so well in the stiff breeze and squalls of 
Saturday, that many yachtsmen felt confident the Mil- 
waukeean could carry full sail to-day. With Sainte 
Claire it was different, and Capt. Sidney Russel wisely 
left in the reef and was content with a small headsail. 
From the way the Detroiter pointed and footed, it was 
evident the skipper knew his ship. Besides that; he 
held on the port tack until well in shore, where he 
gained the advantage of many favorable slants and 
puffs. Spray was not pointing so high, but footed fast 
and also stood well inshore for a long leg. Yo San 
followed the leader, Mendota, out to sea, these two 
splitting tacks with. the fleet. Probably they lost some- 
thing by this. 
'. At 3:04 Mendota was about, but Yo San held on the 
starboard tack until 3:11. When they met their rivals 
again, Mendota had lost the lead, crossing well astern 
of Sainte Claire and coming about only a few lengths 
ahead of Spray. 
Sprite, standing up well and pointing high under full 
canvas, had worked well up to weather of Ventura, 
Pilot and Hoosier, and meeting Yo San on cross 
tacks, seemed to have a shade the best of her when she 
came about. 
Sainte Claire's skipper was content to make fairly 
short tacks when assured of a nice lead, and his rivals 
never got within hail of him again. Spray stood out 
into the lake, and apparently lost thereby.* Yo San 
and Mendota split tacks, and when they neared the end 
of the weather leg, it was apparent the former had 
gained materially. Two hundred yards from the stake 
boat they got into a luffing match and both overstood 
the mark slightly, which enabled Sprite, beautifully 
handled by Capt. Cuthbert, to slip in between them and 
the mark and beat them around it. 
It was an unusually pretty fight between these three, 
and Spray was right after them. The times of the 
leaders were: 
Sainte Claire ....3 20 17 Yo San .....3 23 00 
Sprite 3 22 55 Spray 3 23 12 
Mendota 3 22 58 
By the time the rear guard had finished the beat to 
weather, it was seen that La Rita had made up a 
tremendous lot and was sailing a remarkable race. 
Spinnakers and balloon jibs were broken out very 
smartly by the Corinthian crew of each yacht as it 
gybed around the stake boat, and then a hot struggle 
began between Sprite, Yo San, Spray and Mendota for 
second place. This undoubtedly aided Sainte Claire to 
increase her long lead, and she turned the outer mark 
almost 4m. ahead of Yo San, which off the wind had 
beaten her three nearest rivals. Spray also came out 
of the "scrapping" well, Mendota getting the worst 
of it. Yo San had shaken out her reef before the end 
of the weather leg and this time ran faster than before. 
Sprite hung to Mendota like a leach, and having an 
overlap on the inside when the outer mark was reached, 
forced the Milwaukee boat to give room. They were 
beam to beam as they doused their light canvas and 
gybed around, but Cuthbert's strategy placed Sprite to 
weather when they were on the wind, and it was not 
long before he forced Mendota to come about under 
his lee in order to get clear. The times at the end of 
the third leg were: 
Sainte Claire 4 04 32 Pilot 4 12 46 
Yo San 4 08 15 La Rita 4 13 30 
Spray 4 08 40 Ventura 4 15 04 
Sprite 4 08 55 Hoosier Beaten off. 
Mendota 4 08 55 
Most of them carried full mainsail by this time, but 
Sainte Claire, satisfied to leave well enough alone, still 
had a tuck in her canvas. 
The breeze dropped a little on the final beat home, 
and though the Detroit clipper finished with a good 
lead, some of the others gained. Before they were half 
way home Sprite looked good for second place again, 
pointing uncommonly well and footing nicely. But at 
the end of the leg fortune did not favor the Cuthbert 
boat. The lightening breeze was not to her liking. 
Then, after working well to weather of the fleet — ■ 
except, of course, Sainte Claire — for a final tack to 
make the line, the breeze shifted enough to allow Spray 
and Mendota to fetch the stake boat without standing 
on farther; while Sprite, now farther away than these 
two, came down on the line with sheets started. 
La Rita finished well up with the fleet. The times at 
the finish: 
Sainte Claire 4 56 01 La Rita 5 04 OS 
Spray 4 58 33 Pilot 5 05 02 
Mendota 5 00 20 Ventura 5 11 13 
Sprite . .5 01 03 Hoosier Beaten off. 
Yo San.... f 5 02 30 
It was a great victory for the Country Club, of 
Detroit, "whose two boats finished first and second. 
Mendota, the Milwaukee Commodore's good boat that 
was second to Sprite in Saturday's squally race, was 
-consistently third to-day in a lighter breeze. 
The percentage system used in these Lipton cup 
races allowed too points for a win; 88.9 for a second; 
77.8 for a third; 66.7 for a fourth, and so on. Conse- 
quently, Saturday's and to-day's races left three yachts 
tied in the lead with 166.7 points each. They are Sainte 
Claire (fourth and first), Sprite (first and fourth), and 
Mendota (second and third). Yo San stands next, 
with 133.4 points for finishing third arid fourth. 
Immediately after the race Dr. C. P. Pinckard. owner 
of Sprite, and George R. Peare, owner of La Rita, 
filed written protest on account of the irregularity of 
.the start. After declaring both Saturday's and to-day's 
races void, the officials reconsidered and reversed this 
decision. 
Third Race, Tuesday, Aug. 16. 
Sainte Claire won Tuesday's race, and the Lipton cup 
goes to the Detroit Country Club for a year. The race 
was sailed and won under conditions much the same 
as Monday's, though the course was dissimilar. But 
it-was Sainte Claire's Weather, wind and sea, and that 
was what counted most in the result, coupled with 
clever seamanship. 
The breeze was a little lighter than yesterday, and 
every boat carried full sail. But there was just as 
much roll on the water because the wind came from 
the S.E. to-day and had more sweep on the western 
side of . Lake Michigan. 
The course was a square, 3 miles to each leg. It was 
logged in the forenoon, when the wind was in the N.E., 
and the first leg was laid out to weather. But by after- 
noon the breeze had .hauled to E.S.E., so the first leg 
was a fair reach, the second a beat, the third almost a 
broad reach, and the fourth a run home. All marks 
were left to starboard. 
For once there was no trouble over the start, or with 
the stake boats. A lesson; had been learned from the 
bungling efforts of the two previous races, and in order 
to give every skipper plenty of time the. Start- was post- 
poned twenty minutes. When the gun fired at 2:50 
every boat, except La Rita, was jockeying on or near 
the. line, which to-day was correctly marked by judges' 
boat and stake boat. La Rita had no one to blame 
to-day. 
At the crack of the gun the skippers of Yo San and 
Sprite swept around in the lee of the stake boat, gave 
their craft a rap-full, and shot over the line abeam, 
leaving the mark to starboard. On their weather 
quarter came Sainte Claire, which had hung in the wind 
on the mark. A cable's length behind the three leaders 
came Mendota and Ventura, with Spray on their 
weather quarter, and Pilot and Hoosier to leeward and 
close up. La Rita was 2m. late. All carried full main- 
sails and reaching jibs. 
Sainte Claire quickly passed to weather of Sprite, 
shutting off her wind. The latter needed more breeze 
to reach with the Detroiter and Yo San. In fact, they 
all out-reached the Cuthbert yacht on this leg, through- 
out which the race for the lead was between Yo San 
and Sainte Claire all the way. A hot race it was. 
Spray also passed to weather of Ventura, stealing the 
wind and going on with Mendota. This was another 
desperately close struggle. La Rita steered a more 
direct course than the other tail-enders, besides footing 
faster. 
Sainte Claire held a little higher on the wind than 
Yo San for 2 miles, but at that was reaching fast 
enough to draw level with the Columbia Y. C. boat. 
Then Capt. Sydney Russel eased off his sheets a bit 
and ran down on Yo San's weather bow. The latter 
was forced to drop astern, and then shot up on her 
rival's weather quarter, evidently with the intention of 
returning the trick. . But Sainte Claire had the speed 
to keep out of harm's way, and the stake boat soon 
was reached. The times were: 
Sainte Claire 3 17 25 Hoosier 3 19 20 
Yo San 3 17 40 La Rita 3 19 34 
Mendota 3 18 01 Sprite 3 19 50 
Spray 3 18 17 Pilot 3 19 54 
Ventura 3 18 58 
Leaving the stake boat to starboard, Sainte Claire's 
skipper trimmed sheets and held on, making a short 
starboard tack to insure being to weather of Yo San. 
The latter, as soon as the mark was passed, went about 
under the Detroiter's stern and started on a long port 
tack. All the others followed Yo San, except Sprite, 
which stood on after Sainte Claire. But the latter went 
about at the end of 3m., while Sprite made a long star- 
board leg. 
Soon the skippers went to splitting tacks, and when 
half the leg had been sailed the fleet was in two di- 
visions, led respectively by Sainte Claire and Spray 
Mendota was second to Sainte Claire in their, half of 
the fleet. Yo San's mainsail seemed to be drawing 
badly, and Commodore Price's boat fared badly on this 
beat to weather. 
Half a mile from the second stake boat the. leaders 
of the two divisions met on cross tacks, Sainte Claire 
crossing about 250 yards ahead and fetching the mark 
with a lead of nearly 2m. Spray came about' on the 
starboard tack in the leader's wake and was just about 
as far ahead of Mendota. A similar stretch of water 
separated the Milwaukee boat and Ventura. La Rita 
had worked up to fifth, and Yo San had dropped away 
back to last but one. 
Sainte Claire's fine windward work again practically 
settled the race as it had done on the first weather 
leg of the previous day. The times of the leaders at 
the second mark were: 
Sainte Claire 4 07 34 Mendota 4 12 00 
Spray 4 09 25 Ventura .......4 13 55 
Hoosier, the last boat, rounded at 4:23:36. 
Sainte Claire had made the beat with a small jib, 
Capt. Russel using fine judgment in selecting his head- 
sails. For the third leg he set his reaching jib, and it 
seemed to be all that was necessary, though a slight 
shift in the wind made the latter half of the third leg 
a balloon jib reach. Spray's skipper tried to catch the 
leader by carrying, his balloon as soon as he had 
finished the weather leg. Rounding the secoiid mark 
the big sail was all ready but was lost overboard, but 
quickly was recovered. It did not fill well until the 
breeze veered a little more abaft the beam, when Spray 
gained fast" and rounded the third stake boat im. 20s. 
behind Sainte Claire. 
Every stitch of sail was set for the run home before 
the breeze, which was dropping, as it usually does on 
Lake Michigan toward sundown. There was no change 
in the order of leaders, and the race was, over, ; barring 
accidents. 
Among the rear division, Pilot, whose best sailing 
was done on the wind, dropped back to last.. Spray 
gained 15s. on the leader on the run home, but Sainte 
Claire won with a minute to spare, and again 'the De- 
troit yachts finished first and second, with Mendota. 
flying the Milwaukee Commodore's burgee, again. third. 
The Lipton cup races for 1904 were over, and Sainte 
Claire received a tremendously noisy salute of guns and 
steam whistles with the 'usuaraccompahiment of cheer- 
ing and waving of handkerchiefs. The finishing times 
were : 
Sainte Claire " 5 03 40 Sprite 5 14 24 
Spray 5 04 44 Yo San 5 17 04 
Mendota 5 07 00 Hoosier ; 5 20 44 
Ventura. 5 10 17 Pilot ...... 5 22 13 
La Rita 5 12 29 
