1912 Olympic Games Official Report Part 2

prizes, after which, 5 minutes later, came the race between Sans Atoutand Lucky Girl for the 2:nd and 3:rd prizes in the 8-metre class.After a similar interval, Mac Miche and Nurdug II startedfor the gold medal for the 6-metre yachts, the Sass and Kerstin,both Swedish boats, sailing off a tie for the 3:rd prize in the sameclass.Of the big boats, the Finlander, Nina, crossed the line 3 lengths infront of the Russian, Gallia II, and kept its lead, passing the flagshipan easy winner, 2 minutes in front.The Sans Atout and the Lucky Girl started a good way from eachother, the Swedish boat more in shore and the Finnish boat fartherout, a position which seemed to be rather an advantageous one. Onthe close-hauled leg, however, the Sans Atout went ahead and roundedthe flag for the wind-aft run, 25 seconds ahead of the Finlander.Then ensued a sharp struggle between the two boats. The Sans Atoutgot its balloon set very handily and prettily to port, while the LuckyGirl set her spinnaker to starboard and managed to get it to stand.Then the Swede also tried its luck with the spinnaker, but had notluffed sufficiently while running with the balloon, the consequence ofwhich was that the spinnaker lay very clumsily, so that the boat wasnearly blanketed by the Finlander. Mr Heyman extricated himselfvery cleverly, however, and succeeded in rounding the Erlandsgrundmark two lengths in front of his rival. The Sans Atout kept aheadfrom this point to the flag-ship, the distance being run with scarcelyhalf wind, and even managed to increase its lead to 57 seconds.Mac Miche (France), and Nurdug II (Denmark), which had to re-saila tie for the gold medal in the 6-metre class, had a sharp strugglefor the windward position just before the gun was fired. About20 seconds before the signal was heard, the Frenchman luffed, however,and ran down the line, across which he swung when the gun was fired.He seemed to have got some advantage from his position, too, as heescaped coming under the lee of the high land to port.During the sail to the Erlandsgrund shoal, however, the boats cameclose together, and a sharp and interesting luffing match began. Theyhad little more than half wind but kept on luffing incessantly, andsoon lay almost perfectly still, right in the eye of the wind, a longway inside the flag-mark at the shoal. The Nurdug II was leading,with the Frenchman pushing on from behind. At last the boats hadcome so. far up, that they could not only run free down to the mark,but even set their spinnakers. At the shoal there happened to beboth the flag and an ordinary broom-mark, and, owing to the hurryof the exciting match, and the long luff away from the course, theDane went the wrong side of the sea-mark, and so was out of therunning.It continued the race, however, but, in the weather that prevailed,the Frenchman was the better boat, and on the tacking-course leftNurdug II well behind. At the flag marking the end of this leg,Mac Miche was two minutes ahead, a lead that it increased by anotherminute during the wind-free run.781