Unnamed Defender

Yachtsman Harold Stirling Vanderbilt dashed up from his Florida winter home to Manhattan one day last week, turned around the next and dashed back. Before he left, however, he cleared away the fog of rumor surrounding the defense of the America's Cup against the challenge of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Mr. Vanderbilt, who commanded the Cup-winning Enterprise three years ago, has formed a syndicate to build a new defense yacht, as yet unnamed. The syndicate includes J. Pierpont Morgan, Gerard Barnes Lambert, Edward H. Harkness, George Fisher Baker, Frederick William Vanderbilt and Harold's brother William Kissam Vanderbilt. The syndicate undertook to raise $400,000, which is $200,000 less than Enterprise cost. Proposed $40,000 shares were split down to $4,000 units, but, even so, subscriptions were slow. To avoid further delay members of the syndicate underwrote the whole sum, gave the word to the Herreshoff Yard in Bristol, R. I. to go ahead.

Herreshoff workers had been waiting for weeks. On its own initiative the company had laid down the new boat's lines in the mold loft, ordered lumber and lead. On the syndicate's say-so the first frames for the hull were bent last week.

Like Enterprise, the new yacht was designed by William Starling Burgess. She will be slightly larger than Enterprise, will also have a duralumin mast. In accordance with new racing rules she will have complete living accommodations for her crew, which heretofore have berthed and eaten aboard a tender.

With "Skipper" Vanderbilt in the afterguard will be Designer Burgess, C. Sherman Hoyt, who sailed with him on Enterprise, and John Parkinson of the Weetamoe afterguard. His professional skipper and mate will be those of 1930, Capt. George H. Monsell and Harry Klifve.

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