| OCR Text |
Show fBWBW -- i -i - - - EH i . IJ . - l ' VKITIE ACROSS LINE o AMBROSE LIGHTSWIP NQt7 J-ZllSv liillliMWfflffrn NOTE TSo&UOVS a?aT COMMITTEE BOAT . I SI intricacies of Timing:. Technique of the Flying jn i Start and Many Other Points in Sailing , - Puzzle the Younger Generation By V. J. HENDERSON ' H 'JlB Vl- '-VKNTKE.V years have elaped slnoe -i ffrffiflH "-';- nipr-ir the America's Cup took, p5nr". Sjrffl ' '" time- n 1,w generation of snort Rtom .lovers lias grown up. most of whom n. W'MI . saw n yuclit race tnd have no idea nf wha fy&tfymjm such a contest is. Of course there has hrn SftB f considerable inoing of sailing: yachts during jpS"jaH s those seventeen yavs. but it ha atlrie.ed ilflj ;', no "encr il public intorcst. and nrohiblv no one but yachtsmen has read the stories of m3W y - - 10 cruisPi - tllp o' York Yacht Club or '$$2 ,.' tl,osc of tl'c lively contests for the Coeler JRrjB I.ons distance yacht 'raclngr. w'hioli uel m JjM 1 ' stl1" tne "pnrirr,l public, has fallen into iljy. -B favor, ami it is only the old time yachtsman y&&B whoa-? blood begins to course more rapidlv iiHl throutrh his veins when he hears of the po- nnlH siblljty of s; contest for the Cape Mav or blvfl - .Brenton Rpef trophy nhile the mere rumor "IwH of a fu,uro fUsnt ocross the western ocean tfljH Kives him a "lpenless nitrht.- But a battle for nJM he America's Cup. of which even the nam IkI ' s frccucntlv civen incorrectly, is an inter- HhBB national affair and creates u widosprf.ad JVP i - public interest. Thousands of people who never saw a yacht race will read about tbes". ,vMMa .1 ou- many of them, will find themselves in !') deeper water than the yachts. Time Allowance Puzzlci. L Jvfll " A -ace of Mvo yachts differs from that of ' 'iwU WO ll0rse3 ln one hnportnnt particular. rUlfll rhc first ono over tlie m,lsh linc f,ocs :,ot lillB necessarily win. In a broad sense it might jljljH be said that the one which makes the bear iimH t'me ovor tho c"rs? docs win. but the com- fflji JPl , putatlon of the "best time" includes ho in- 4 M cvitable time allowance, and that Jo the ihln y which puzzles so many 'sport lovers. !lffw ' TJmc allowance in yacht racing is a sys- rltal I tem oC iiandlcapping'. and the uSe of the yj&jm I handicap is made essential because tho con- testants are not of the same size in every f,H ',. particular. Size plays a very Important '&i(H parL 5n tll(i sneed of saiiinfT yachts. A liSffl schooner 100 feet Ions;, for example, even ' though clumsily built and none too cleverly IB handled, would be sure to beat one 2"i feet wgi . Ion;. If. therefore, two yachts of different wSyJI dimensions are to be pitted against one-m- EjgjI t other, the question arises how to penalize wPll tfle k'"501 onc 50 as to mac her practically Mjty'il . the ccpual of the smaller and thus throw the ralHl . ' 't result of the contest on the handling, ifitlijlj , When it comes to determining the handi-It'pwf handi-It'pwf ' - - ' - cap to be applied to yachts of almost the 'bttmi same size, every factor which enters into j'fffl thp production or speed must be taken into lfyjr consideration. The principal ones are length HaIJJ' '' ( measured on the water line), breadth and WMm s11 are. Tho rule used by the New Torlc ujkjM i Yacht Club for computing the measurement MB of a yacht on which her time allowance H' cither givpn or received) is to be calculated . is derived from a long and careful study of ; ihp relations of these factors. A mathe- til . matical formula has been deduced from HP " which the time allowance is determined, and I Vr th,s formu,a aeck3 to express in scientific terms the values of length, beam and sail area. It is not necessary for the general Hl sport lover to learn the rule. All that he , needs to know is its application. But it is H. i interesting to noto how the designers strive j to beat the rule. Their continual effort is H, , , to build vessels which shall have immense Hjj ,jl ' , sail spread on a small water line, or great j i ,, power wJth moderate sail area. In the for- jjij , nier case they are always obliged to consider H'' jb v. , Jl,st how Tar they can go lest they tax their H,' f own product so heavily for sail Bproad that Hl-'-Sl thc onem? vvItli a bigger and more powerful Hil'ui huIl wl" actually receive Instead of giving K-' M. allowance. Kk A i Flying Start Is Ideal. I The spectator at a yacht race, if not ac- m'ii I quainted with the intricacies of timing, HJ $ fJnd t!iat h Is often puzzled to decide H$ r? ' "'vhlch is the winner, even when he has Hn v' learned the application of time allowance. H i Two yachts cannot be started off as two Hl ( track athletes can from a mark. Neither Hl can tnev "e sent away at the drop of a Hl fl'F lie hor8ja, The reason is that they Hl . . have to be starred whiio they aro" sailing. Blj Tr- certain long distance races yachts can HPi ' be startc1 frotn their anchorages and op- portunity is thus given for an exhibition of . smart seamanship in gelling up "mud hoo'-." b-ak!t ..ur had sail? and getting iiridr wflv. R.ii im kind of lart i "-arflv nsd I n-jnUo room ( Dip ooerntjon of loo mariv "in-"pnj iot rHled to the rom-porot'vf rom-porot'vf ocd of :hp ya iht?r Thf flyhig start 1 h iitomnrv vop :d It make . rhe rond!'ro" n- narlv Ideal a poslhlp. The nM5nni opp'ato'' will .rp something . 15ka th'e. Thp. '-ommlttee boat will anchor fon-A"-ii"-o hi tho neigni-orhoori of a fixed jrip-ij- nri,rj- jn t)lo ..rt,.a n,'f Sandy Hook I ustta'.Jy ty,c Ambr.sp riiannpl licbt vessel. Th,lin tictrv"ii this ljl::ed m-rk and the commit tr? "boat c th starting line, and the fi:st i-nur nvc' which the yachts must sail . I.a? rfiu nnclT to it. Tb d'omiraMon of thp dlreotlon of this rou'-'sp i-Act g-itv natu'-e. I" oMier words, the i'O'ino it dnpiiloc t.v iir wind. If the race 1 to hp fifteen iilio? to windward wind-ward or lorW9-d id fpinrn, Hi committee having aee-tairied the rP riireetlnn of th" wln.l. lavo tho finif.'o pllhnr "into nipwlrH" -o.v " n the pni'ors sov or 'o tha the hrpx wil blow strair-ht mw.iv from the starting line toward th" turning point. -Tf the cour?p is It hp trinncnlar. thp starting line must hp at richt Vpg'c: jo the first leg of the tr-ang'e tr-ang'e In thi; cae it lircomes npcensar.v to nralr a nw finiph line which shall run a' rlsrht orle.c to the final course of the tlre The shifting of the committer boat to a new hearing Irom the ilxcd mark accomplishes this. These preliminaries havlng bren settled, the committee hoists some code signal flag3 to ' inform the contestants what the course Is. In the case of a triangle she sends up thr"e strings, which are read from forward toward the stern, each string representing a side of the triangle. Presently she fifes a gun or blows a whistle, according to the published rules of the day. and shows the preparatory signal. This means that after the Interval set forth in the rules, say five minutes, the starting signal will be given. The timers on the racing yachts keep accurate note of the passage of the interval. Manoeuvring for Position. The contestants have been cruisin.v around anywhere in the neighborhood with their principal sails set. They now begin to manojuvro for position In crossing the line. If the first course Ik to windward, each skipper skip-per hopes to Cross the line to windward of the other. If one of these big sloops can get between her opponent and the wind she mav block off from the enemy's mainsail so much of the breeze, that she herself can make a valuable gain. The spectator will note that sometimes the contestants cross the starting lino close together, and often far apart. In the latter case he may be sure that the skipper of the second yacht has found that y keeping well away from the leader was the s only way of avoiding an unfavorable position. Thi niceties of getting a good start arc so tl many that only long experience in watching L jte GREATEST ' again, and that may subject her to a bad handicap, lor the yachts ure allowed a certain cer-tain interval to cross the line and if either crosses rafter that, she is timed 'as .having ctossed at the end of the Interval M-'dr example, the preparatory signal Is given at 10:50. the starling at 10:5.. and the handi- ' ca:i at 10:57. If a yacht goes over before 10:55 and. has to. turn back, she tna not" ' fleeced in getting ovur again before 10:5S. i:ut she is credited with having spurted at 10:57 axid her time over the course Is ntkoned from that minute. i The sailing master therefore has to calculate, calcu-late, how Jong !t will take him to reach the i. from any place he may b. Ilia timer RESOLUTE ancT VA.HITIE UOCVCEYlNe- or Ttc START WITH BEAT -Zo WIHDWR.D COMMITTEE'S YACHT H tiKCK&ROUND acht races will reveal all of them to the ob-ervcr. ob-ervcr. But one thing the veriest tyro can see and hat Is the apparent loitering of the yachts intll tlie last minute and then the sudden outburst of additional sail and the swift rush to tho line. It requires Judgment to manage this thing Just right, for If a yacht t-t3 over the lino. before the starting signal sr.c must turn around and go back and cross calls aoff the quarter minutes till the last minute begins, and then he calls off ' seconds. Tho thing has not Infrequently been so well done that, the bowsprit of the yacht pokes Itself over tho line Just as the .starting signal Is given. But as long as a rr f :H rontc3lant gets over within the handicap JH limit her actual time ocr the course is 1 'jH Time Is taken at turning points, but ha jH no relation to the result. The newspaper stories of the races make note of such. times i jH Jor.Uie purpose of showing how much onw j H yacht beat the other on snnii; particular ' H pi" nit of .sailing! 5uppo.se the race to be H fifteen mile. to- windward and return. W' H should have this kind of a record for the ll first leg. Start, American. 11:00:58 fmean- 'IH ing that she went over the line at 53 seconds , H after 11 o'clock); English. 11:01:00. Outer mark. American. 1:00:30; English, l;0i:50. This would show that the American cham- "1 plon had occupied I hour. 50 minutes. 5 ' ll seconds, and the English 2 hours, no min- 'f ules: 41 seconds in making the beat', to . 'fl t windward, and thai, therefore, in this thrill-' -ingly close contest the American had gained just 41 seconds 'jf The timing at the finish tells' the result of the race and It is Just this which seem? 'H to confuse the inexpert observer of nautical jH contests. But there is really nothipg com-plicated com-plicated about the matter. The reader of this article should he able easily to under-stand under-stand that two points are lo be considered: first how long did it take each yacht to sail T over the course, and. second, how much time did onc of them have to allow the other? The time occupied in sailing over the ' -course is called elapsed time and is computed ,. i naturally by the interval between the limo J JH at the start and the time at' the finish. When ' that ia ascertained, the time allowance of th 11 yacli receiving it 13 deducted from her ., elapsed time and the result is her corrcctad lime. If the elapsed time of the allowing " . yacht is the smaller, she wins. If the cor- rected time of the yacht receiving allowance IH is the smaller, she wins. andt that is tho 11 whole matter. These details are set forth in "' IH a table, tint: JH Cor- , 11 Start. Finish. Elasped. rected. I II. M. 55. H. M. S. H. r. S. H.Mj s. f America..., 11 05 27 3 20 15 4 t 4S 4 14 4X I British 110(15 3 13.0 4 15 21 4 14 42 To illustrate the meaning of such a tabl " the Britfsh yacht ha3 been accorded an al- I ) lowance of 42 second?. She crossed th r. starting line 1 minute and 12 seconds ln th C , lead and finished 35 seconds ahead. But her ; ' " " elapsed time was SG seconds gi-eater than. that of the American yacht, which therefore V actually heat her over the course by that 5 margin. However, the American had to con- yedc 42 seconds, by which amount the racing S time of the Briton had to be diminished, so that sho won by G seconds. m |
