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AMERICA'S CUP 1958: FIRST RACE

1—START was virtually free from lengthy maneuvering. Boats headed for line on starboard tack; Columbia (red line), ahead and windward, arrived at line too early and had to bear off (1) and run down line. When starting gun went off at 12:30, both boats crossed line at same time, Columbia three lengths ahead and one length to leeward. Wind (arrow) was north by east.

2—FIRST TACK (2) was made by Sceptre at 12:36. She attempted to split tacks by going onto port tack; but Columbia covered. At 12:41 the wind shifted to northwest by north, hitting Columbia first, letting her point higher than Sceptre, thus increasing her lead as Sceptre sagged farther and farther away to leeward.

3—LONG BEAT to windward, on which Columbia continually outpointed Sceptre in fluky going, ended (3) at 1:42 when Sceptre went about onto starboard tack. Columbia covered 40 seconds later. At. 1:46, Sceptre tacked again, Columbia again covering, this time after 85 seconds. At 1:50, Columbia tacked for the mark.

4—ROUNDING the mark (4), Columbia passed tug at 1:54:56, and 28 seconds later had her bluetopped spinnaker drawing on the starboard jibe. Sceptre, still unable to lay the mark, had to tack twice more, finally rounding the mark at 2:02:18. She got her large, green-chevroned Herbul√¥t spinnaker up to catch a northeasterly which struck in just before she rounded the mark.

5—RIDING down on northeasterly, her chute drawing, Sceptre cut two-thirds from Columbia's lead (5). At. 2:28, Columbia got wind shift and went onto port jibe. At 3 wind shifted west of north, and Columbia jibed. Sceptre jibed two minutes later. At 3:10 Sceptre struck her collapsing Herbul√¥t and put up a flatter spinnaker. At 3:20 she set red, white and blue spinnaker.

6—APPROACHING leeward mark, the wind was holding from the west, so at 3:35 Sceptre switched to a genoa (6). Columbia immediately followed suit, picking up some of the distance she had lost on the spinnaker run. Columbia rounded the mark at 3:47:30 and was able to lay the outer mark on a close reach, port tack. Sceptre rounded at 3:49:54. From here on, the race was a parade.

7—THIRD LEG started as boats headed back (7) toward outer mark, Sceptre two and a half minutes behind, but Columbia moving away.

8—SECOND TIME around the outer mark (8), Columbia had built her lead to 8 minutes and 14 seconds, almost a mile, with only six miles left to go. The final run to the finish was another reach, starboard tack, with the wind now steady from cue west during the entire leg.

9—"COLUMBIA" WON (9) the race at 5:43:56, crossing the finish line 7 minutes and 44 seconds ahead of the British challenger Sceptre.

Race course lay from America's Cup Buoy nine miles out from Brenton Reef Lightship. Boats tacked toward marker tug six miles away, off Bailey's Beach in Newport. Bearing of marker from starting buoy: 005. After rounding marker, boats went back to America's Cup Buoy to finish first round, then sailed around again to complete total 24-mile windward-leeward race.

An analysis by ARTHUR KNAPP JR., skipper of "weatherly", with race diagram by Allen Beechel

TWO DIAGRAMS

ALLEN BEECHEL

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

12:30 N x E

12:41 NW x W

3:29 W

3:00 NW

2:28 NE

2:00 NE

W

MAP

NEWPORT

BAILEY'S BEACH

SKONNET

BRENTON REEF LIGHTSHIP

005

N