Little Hope Seen For The Sceptre In America’s Cup

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28701, 26 September 1958, Page 9

Little Hope Seen For The Sceptre In America’s Cup

NEWPORT (Rhode Island), September 25. The British yacht, the Sceptre, today will face probably her last chance to prove herself when she meets the American defender, the Columbia, in the third of the best-of-seven series of races for the America’s Cup.

The Spectre is two down in the series. She has been outsailed by the Columbia in the lighter winds, both to windward and on the close and broad reaches.

But. asked if the Sceptre’s crew felt defeated. Colin Ratsey, the assistant helmsman, said after yesterday’s races: “We don’t concede anything yet.” Few experts predict even one success for the Sceptre. They feel that she has been so far behind in the earlier races that she cannot possibly be much better than the Columbia in any weather.

Today’s race is over a wind-ward-leeward course, twice round, totalling 24 miles. Yesterday, the Columbia, a few feet ahead at the start, turned the first mark of the triangular course three minutes five seconds ahead. She increased this lead to eight minutes 55 seconds by the second marker and eventually finished 11 minutes 42 seconds in front.

Olin Stephens, the assistant helmsman and tactician for the Columbia, said: “The first days of racing here have shown the superiority of the Columbia in the weather we have had.”

The weather forecast for today’s race is 10 to 15 miles-an-hour winds, cloudy, with visibility five to 10 miles. Heavier swells were expected tomorrow and Saturday.

Yachting correspondents in the New York “Herald-Tribune” and the “New York Times” suggested today that the sooner the races were over the better. The New York “Herald-Tri-bune” writer said: “They might as well have carried the Sceptre out on a shield today after the merciless beating. “It is terribly easy to tease the poor Sceptre, beaten now by two miles and a half in two races, and just about everybody in Newport has an unkind word for her. They call her the Sceptic, the Septic, the Sepulchre, and somebody suggested that the best thing that could happen to her now would be to plant flowers in her deep cockpit.” he said. The “New York Times” correspondent said: “Nothing seems important now except to get done with this mismatch. That can be accomplished by Friday if the prevailing moods of the weather and the rival camps permit the schedule to be followed.”