Victory at Cowes

Between England's mainland and the Isle of Wight stretches a yachtsman's nightmare. Cowes Road abounds in treacherous currents, hidden reefs and fickle winds. There, last week, three American and three British six-meter racing yachts caught the breeze in the race for the British-American Cup, a junior-sized edition of the America's Cup (won last in 1937 when the U.S.'s sloop Ranger handily beat England's Endeavour II in four straight races).

Old hands to the Road's tricky 14-mile course, the British quickly swung into a 3 to 1 lead, needed only one more victory to rule the waves. Then a minor disaster sent the Americans' fortunes even lower: the helmsman of Goose (from Oyster Bay, N.Y.) fell sick. U.S. Captain Herman Whiton had to reshuffle his whole lineup. But to everyone's surprise the U.S. took the next two races, evened the match. The deciding race was marked by the most seamanlike maneuver of the series. Running bow & bow with Britain's Johan, the American Llanoria suddenly luffed into the wind, forcing Johan to follow suit. The maneuver temporarily becalmed both boats in the lee of a passing ocean liner. Captain Whiton's Goose took the opening and slipped ahead to finish first. Shaking off Johan, Llanoria came in second, got the points needed to give the U.S. the race and its third cup in a row.

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