The first match was the 'Vril's.' She was the first over the line, and though the 'Freda' very soon after passed her to leeward, she soon regained her original position, and gradually so increased her lead that at the end of the first round she was 1 min. 30 secs. ahead of her rival. The two little flyers had donned for the occasion all plain lower sail with working topsails aloft. On the run out for the breakwater the second time spinnakers were set, when the 'Vril' was unfortunate enough to carry away the goose-neck of her spinnaker boom. This was followed by the boom slipping into the water and at once snapping in two. Her crew smartly cleared the wreck, the outer end of the boom was lashed to the weather rigging, and the spinnaker set once more. Those familiar with such matters will readily understand how well things must have been done on board the Scotch yacht, when it is said that 50 seconds were all that the 'Freda' made out of the mishap. Before reaching the Bolivar buoy, the 'Vril' had more than made up her lost ground; and though on the journey home the 'Freda' gained a little, she was decidedly beaten, as she came in nearly 6 minutes astern of the 'Vril,' the times being--'Vril,' 3 hrs. 40 mins. 40 secs., and 'Freda,' 3 hrs. 46 mins. 10 secs. [Illustration: 'Challenge,' 20 tons, 1876.] The second match on the following day was sailed in about as dirty weather as it was possible for the concentrated energy of the elements to provide, and the result was that 'Freda' turned the tables on 'Vril' and beat her by about the same amount of time. The start was made at 10.20 A.M., and this time the 'Freda' got away first. Both yachts were reefed down, the 'Freda' showing a single-reefed mainsail and foresail with the third jib, while the 'Vril' carried a whole foresail with a double-reefed mainsail and second jib. The 'Vril' also started with her topmast housed. Outside the breakwater the little boats had to face a bad wind-against-tide sea, and quite a third part of the trip was made under water. For the run to the Bolivar buoy the 'Freda' set her spinnaker with a Paddy's reef in it, which gave her a tremendous lead, because, though her extra length told, still the 'Vril' had no spinnaker boom on board, having left it ashore, and could therefore only boom out her balloon foresail. On the thrash to windward, however, the 'Vril' gained twelve seconds on her antagonist, so that the first round finished 'Freda,' 1 hr. 49 mins. 2 secs.; 'Vril,' 1 hr. 54 mins. For the second round, the 'Vril' sent her topmast on end and set a topsail, but her mainsail had been so badly treated before the races began that it was found impossible to make it stand properly, and the remarkable thing is that the little yacht worked as well as she did under the trying circumstances. The 'Freda' kept to the sail she started with. The sea smoothed down considerably during the second round, which made the sailing somewhat easier. With