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A merica's visit to mark Prince Albert's G reat International Exposition at the C rys tal Palace in London's H yde Park, which might be described as the first world's fair. T he couple had observed the race from the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, and on the next day they cam e aboard the America to inspect the vessel at anchor off C owes. Eviden tl y all parties enjoyed the visit, the Americans being particularl y struck by Victoria's cheerful informality and her interest in arrangements below decks. T his extended even to the stowage of ballas t, which presumably called for C ommodore Stevens to have carpets rolled back and cabin floorboards hauled up fo r H er Majesry's inspection of the bilges. The visiting pair, arguably the mos t powerful couple in the world, and notoriously fast idious, were impressed by the cleanliness and good order of things aboard the fas t-traveling schooner. When a few days later the America los t part of the shoe of her keel through grounding off Spithead, she was hauled at the naval dockya rd in Portsmouth, where the damaged timber was repaired free of charge-with rather labored Victorian courtesy, as recounted by Stevens: 'The admiral, in expressing the pleasure it gave him to do us a service, endeavored to prevail upon us to believe th e obligation to be altogether on his side." The repair was accomplished in one afternoo n, during which crowds viewed the schoon er's fin e bow, flowing sheer and powerful quarters our of water, enabling some among them to satisfy themselves th at she did not have an underwater propeller to speed her along in light airs. T his myth had become current along the waterfront, particularly perhaps among the less educated, but it is also said that the noble M arquis of Anglesey, 83-year-old veteran of the Battle of W aterloo which had ended Napoleon's career, had to be saved from falling overboard through leaning out too far over the A merica's transom , trying to see the mythical propeller. The dockyard repairs had to be swiftly accomplished, fo r the next day, T hursday, 28 August, the America at las t had the individual match race John Stevens had looked forward to. The railroad magnate Robert Stephenson, Member of Parliament, who h ad sold the Stevens brothers the famous locomotive john Bull, and who had visited the family in their mansion in Hoboken, New Jersey, during his travels on railroad business in America, offered to pit his new schooner Titania against the America, wagering fl 00 on the outcome. T he brand-new Titania was about America's size, just four feet shorter and markedly more slender, following the narrow-gutted English fashion . She was designed in accordance with John Scott Russell's "wave line" theory, which was widely credited with producing speedy hulls. His theory did indeed have some ideas in common with the des ign theories of]ohn Griffiths, who played a leading role in the design of the American clipper ships th at we re in this very yea r 185 1 breaking records in all the world's oceans. And , remarkably, 22
Titania was built of ironprobably th e first sizable yacht so constructed in an era when the vas t majori ry of ships and boats, includin g mos t of th e steamers that were beginning to drive sa iling ships from th e Atlanti c run , were of traditional wooden co nstruction . T he day of the match race arrived, blowing fresh from the NNW , more than meetN A. B ro\.J E:.R ing Stevens's requirement for (1<1 20 ) a "six- kn ot breeze" to hold a race. A stea mer preceded the rwo schooners on a southeas terly course for 20 miles fro m the Nab to mark the turni ng point in the 40-mile course. T he two schoo ners came tearing after her on the dow nwind run, America rounding the mark in just ove r two h ours, ahead of her ri val by 4 minutes and 12 seconds, despite having carried away the jaws of the main gaff. Skipper Brown and his crew ev identl y managed to remedy the damage without lowering sail, no mean fea t in a big schooner runnin g hard. O ne pictures a qui ck ro pe fr apping with th e main gaff stabbing wildly against the rolling, leaping mas t. Whatever was done, it held fo r the balance of the race, when the two schooners beat to windward, back to ward the Nab lightship at the east end of the Isle of Wight, again st risin g wind and sea. Once again America showed her walkaway qualities. As the wind rose, blowing hard against the ebb tide that had begun to set in to produce the short C hann el chop, America stood up to her full working ri g, "slipping gracefully" th ro ugh the vicious green seas, as th e reporter saw it, whil e Titania "dipped her nose into it," with both topmas ts struck, sailing under her lowers, and toward theend apparently with close- reefed mainsail (" half mainsail down"). The America finished 52 minu tes ahead over this 2 1-mile course. Of th at massive lead (there's no other word fo r it), four minutes had been accumulated on the downwind run , when America had trouble with her main gaff jaws, but over three quarters of an hour had been gained on the slogging windwa rd beat. Bell 's Life co ncluded that even skep tics now admitted "the America's superiori ry over anything in these waters." John Sco tt Russell, originato r of the "wave theory" of design, who happened also to be H on. Secretary of the Great International Exhibition, generously wro te that "America reaped a crop of glory; England reaped a crop of wisdom"-of such value was the lesson the America taught. T he Bell 's Life reporter added that if English hull design were improved, something would still h ave to be done about the baggy English sails. Some have recently suggested that the whole margin of America's superioriry was in her sails. But no one who watched her win her races suggested that, and the reporters' acco unts of both the famous light-air race for the Hundred G uinea C up and the blowy contest with Titania specifically comment on A merica's superb behavior in the water, especially working to windward in a chop . T he design of that sweet-lined, powerful hull was the work of the yo ung builder George Steers, who had sailed across with th e SEA HISTORY 98 , AUTUMN 2001