YANKEE NOW SEEN AS CUP DEFENDER
Much Best in Showing Way to Weetamoe-Rainbow Fails Utterly.
BY LEONARD M. FOWLE, JR.
MATTAPOISETT, Mass., August 14-Yankee has won a significant triumph. It is too early to tell definitely, but many yachtsmen were saying after the race than the contest on Buzzard's Bay yesterday may well been the crucial test of the 1934 campaign for America's Cup defense.
Vanitie sailed a great uphill battle to lead Weetamoe across the finish line by about a minute and a half over a 31-mile leeward and windward race in a 12-knot northerly breeze. Charles Francis Adams sailed a masterly race to windward to gain the lead only 3 or 4 miles from the finish.
Dick Boardman, in Weetamoe, led the sloops for over half the course and surrendered the honors to Yankee only after a most creditable battle. The Prince sloop turned in her best performance of the season and emphasized the fact that she is a real contender to the defense honors.

Superior at Weather Work.
YANKEE proved Superior to her rivals at weather work and turned in her best showing of year running before the wind. Rainbow was a big disappointment in every way, ceasing to be a factor fairly early In the race.
The course called for a spinnaker run of 7 1/2 mile, from Neds Point to the Negro Ledge lighted buoy and a beat of equal distance to the starting point, the course to be sailed twice.
Rainbow, with Weetamoe, placed to weather of Vanitie, just astern, took the honors at the gun. Yankee crossed the line quite a bit astern of her rivals and carrying her boom to starboard.
At the first turn, where they were timed
- Vanity 12:00:49,
- Rainbow 12:00:58,
- Weetamoe 12:01:09,
- Yankee 12:01:34.
Yankee was tacked immediately, and Weetamoe and Rainbow came over to the port board shortly after.

Supremacy Soon Apparent.
AT ONCE it was apparent that Yankee was outpointing her rivals, but, because she was carrying her new Burroughs mainsail, it was necessary to ease her a bit all the way to windward.
As they stood out into the bay, it could be seen that Weetamoe was outpointing and outfooting Rainbow, and, at 12:26, Harold S. Vanderbilt found his craft was sliding down from her weather berth to a position perilously near in Weetamoe's wake, so he tacked inshore. Weetamoe and then Yankees were brought around to the same tack within two minutes.
The Prince racer, now in the lead, maintained her advantage right up to the weather mark by covering Rainbow. A couple of miles from the buoy Yankee got free of her rivals and stood off shore into the bay, where she found a better breeze. This put her in second place at the mark, some 20 seconds astern of Weetamoe and ahead of Rainbow by about twice that margin. Vanitie turned more than two minutes after Rainbow.

Shows Speed in Wind.
YANKEE was now in the running for top honors and gave a surprising shows of speed before the wind. On this third leg, after losing most of her margin right at the mark, the Boston sloop drew steadily away from Rainbow down the wind. The boats were timed around the second mark:
- Weetamoe, 1:59:09;
- Yankee, 2:00:04;
- Rainbow, 2:01:17;
- Vanity, 2:01:31.
Dick Boardman placed Weetamoe on Yankee weather quarter some 300 yards to windward. It appeared like a save position.
Yet, Yankee now was able to have the foot of her new sail pulled out. The canvas had stretched enough to allow her to be driven harder. What Adams did with the boat in the next five miles was wonderful. Moving through the water with ease, she outpointing and outfooting Weetamoe until she forces the latter to concede the advantage by tacking. Then it was all over.
(Copyright. 1934. by North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.)