The year 1893 brought another challenge for the cup in the person of Lord Dunraven, sailing the yacht _Valkyrie_, but he was met by a new, well-proved Herreshoff fin-keel, the _Vigilant_ (built of a new alloy—Tobin bronze), and handsomely defeated. The following season the _Vigilant_ went to England, and found herself equally overmatched by the _Britannia_, owned by the Prince of Wales, while _Valkyrie II_ was wrecked. In 1895 Lord Dunraven sent a second challenge, backed by a new _Valkyrie (III)_; and this produced a fresh American contestant, again designed and built by the Herreshoffs, named _Defender_. The races came off amid intense public excitement, outside of Sandy Hook, but were most unsatisfactory; “in the first, _Defender_ won; in the second, _Valkyrie_ was disqualified as the result of a foul, and Lord Dunraven declined to sail a third.” [Illustration: COMPARISON OF OLD AND NEW TYPES. 1. “America,” 1851, water-line 90 feet.—2. “Cambria,” 1868, water-line 100 feet.—3. “Magic,” 1857-69, water-line 79 feet.—4. “Sappho,” 1867, water-line 120 feet.—5. “Mischief,” 1879, water-line 61 feet.—6. “Puritan,” 1885, water-line 81 feet.—7. “Genesta,” 1884, water-line 81 feet.—8. “Thistle,” 1887, water-line 86 feet.—9. “Volunteer,” 1887, water-line 85 feet.—10. “Gloriana,” 1891, water-line 45 feet.—11. “Wasp,” 1892, water-line 46 feet.—12. “El Chico,” 1892, water-line 25 feet.] Such has been the history of this long series of races for the America Cup, and such the development of its defenders; but while they and their work have stimulated interest in yachting all over the world, they have really not influenced it greatly, because all of the later boats competing were not practical yachts, in which one might cruise and live afloat, and enjoy life with his friends, but “machines” in which every quality tending to comfort and safety was sacrificed to the requirements of speed. In fact, the owners of these “big boats” kept small, handy, comfortable yachts for their own enjoyment, and the racers were as a rule sailed by a skipper and crew of professional racing sailors. There are said to be over two hundred yacht-clubs in the United States, enrolling about four thousand yachts, an eighth of which are steam or electric boats, scattered wherever any water suitable for the sport exists. With the lakes and rivers we have nothing to do, except to say that the yachtsmen of Montreal and Quebec are really salt-water sailors, for they cruise in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and elsewhere at sea as well as their fellow-sportsmen of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. At the other extreme the Havana Yacht-Club has American members who take their boats to the West Indies every winter. Bermuda is another favorite resort, and the scene of lively races with a local, narrow sort of craft, called a “flyer,” which will beat almost anything if only it can be kept right side up.