STEAM YACHTING IN AMERICA
The rapid development of the steam engine as a motive power, and its widely distributed application, soon attracted the attention of the lovers of nautical sports, and before the year 1860 the all-conquering engine began to be used for the propulsion of pleasure craft. The invasion of fields of sport by the engine did not then recommend, nor has it since recommended, itself to the hearts of true yachtsmen; all that is so attractive in yachting seems to vanish as soon as the element of uncertainty is eliminated: all the poetry of motion, all the sense of freedom from disagreeable surroundings, as well as all interest in winds and water—all are sunk when the sail is changed for the engine as a propelling force.
The steam yacht should be considered chiefly in the light of a very agreeable mode of locomotion, and as such it is unquestionably a very desirable adjunct to our resources, filling as it does a place that would be wholly impossible for sailing craft, when the uncertain character of winds and water is considered.
The first idea of steam yachting in America was realised in the famous cruise of the 'North Star,' a side-wheel steamship of 2,00425/95 tons, built for Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1852. She was the most handsomely appointed vessel of her day, and sailed temporarily under the flag of the New York Yacht Club, which fixed her identity as a yacht, although she was built for merchant service.
The 'North Star,' brigantine rig, was built by Jeremiah Simonson, of Green Point, Long Island. Length over all, 270 ft., 38 ft. beam, 28 ft. 6 in. depth, 16 ft. draught. She was fitted with two vertical beam engines, cylinders 60 in. diameter by 10 ft. stroke; two boilers, 10 ft. diameter by 24 ft. long; paddle-wheels, 34 ft. in diameter. She was broken up at Cold Spring, Long Island, in 1870. The Aspinwalls were the first promoters of real steam yachting, and as early as 1854 the 'Firefly' was launched by Smith & Dimon, of New York, for Messrs. W. H. Aspinwall and J. L. Aspinwall. Her length was 97 ft. 8 in. over all, 19 ft. beam, 5 ft. 2 in. hold, 3 ft. 9 in. draught, engines built by the Morgan Iron Works, oscillating cylinders 20 by 36 in., locomotive boiler, paddle-wheels 8 ft. 8 in. diameter, size of paddles 17 by 45 in. She was sold to the United States Government for duty on the Coast Survey Service—8993/95 tons. 'Clarita,' built for Leonard W. Jerome by Lawrence Faulkes Williams, 1864; length over all, 125 ft.; 121 ft. 9 in. water-line, 22 ft. beam, 9 ft. depth, draught 11 ft. 6 in., 23130/95 tons. Engine by Novelty Iron Works, 2 cylinders 22 by 22 in., diameter of screw 9 ft. 6 in. Sold to Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and is now doing towing duty on the Kennebec River, Maine.
The 'Ocean Wave' was built for Mr. R. T. Loper by Reany & Naeafy, of Philadelphia, in 1865, iron. She was 87 ft. over all, 19 ft. beam, 7 ft. depth, 2 cylinders each 12 by 18 in., 38 nominal horse-power. The Police Department of Philadelphia bought her.
'Day-Dream,' composite construction, built by the Continental Iron Works, Green Point, Long Island, for W. H. Aspinwall, 1871. Length over all, 115 ft.; length on water-line, 109 ft.; beam, 19 ft.; depth of hold, 5 ft.; draught of water, 7 ft. Her engine was built by the Delamater Works of New York, vertical condensing, 2 cylinders each 14 by 14 in., one boiler 8 ft. long, diameter of screw 7 ft. 6 in., with 10 ft. pitch. She was sold to the United States Government for postal service in the Gulf of Mexico, and is now at New Orleans.
The 'Day-Dream' was really the first successful steam yacht, and set the type of pleasure craft for many years; in fact, it is but a few years ago that the style called 'deck-house' yachts went out of use, and they are at present almost entirely superseded by the deeper-hulled, flush-deck yachts.
During the early Seventies the steam launch, or open yacht, rapidly multiplied in numbers and seemed to fill a demand for afternoon sailing in the sheltered waters of our seaports, and as preparatory to something better they did good service.
The open steam-launch as then used was from 25 to 45 ft. long, and 6 to 8 ft. wide, usually with vertical engines, and used a pipe condenser and boiler of upright form, generally of tubular construction. After the open launch came the small yacht, having a small cabin enclosed mostly by glass with a standing room aft. This very popular form is still much used, and answers a widely sought demand for day sailing or short cruising; the boats are usually about 45 to 70 ft. long, and from 8 to 10 ft. wide. This style of small yacht had no deck room that was available for real use, but the standing room with an awning over it with adjacent cabin made a very serviceable craft, in which cruising could be done from May until October on our coast with perfect safety.
In those days 8 miles an hour was thought fast enough for anybody, but in a few years, when the engine and boiler were both more perfected, more speed was demanded, so that the type in question attained to 12 or 13 miles an hour, which in some cases has been pushed to 15, whilst the speed of the open launch which at first was but 8 to 10 miles an hour, reached, under the stimulus of popular desire and better motive power, to 16 and even 20 miles an hour in quiet smooth water.
About 1885 the flush-deck yacht became more popular, and most deservedly so, as the style is superior in all essential points to the old deck-house form. It is true that the cabin of the older form is pleasanter, being lighter and more airy, but the strength of construction gained by the flush deck, its broad expanse of deck everywhere available for sitting and promenading, all these points of advantage give the present form decidedly the first place in the estimation of all lovers of steam yachting. Since 1880, steam yachting has increased with prodigious rapidity, and, particularly since the introduction of naphtha as a factor in motive power, our waters fairly swarm with craft propelled by a machine.
In about the year 1884 a club was formed for steam-yacht owners only, called the American Yacht Club, and for several years it offered prizes to be run for in Long Island Sound; but steam-yacht racing did not become popular, principally because of the danger of forcing machinery to its utmost limit of safety, and also the difficulty of classifying yachts of different size and power of engine. For the most part the devotees of steam yachting are drawn from the general public without special regard of the situation of their home, as a yacht can be kept on the seaboard or on the lakes, whilst the owner may live far from the sight and sound of the sea; the restless spirit of our countrymen prompts them to embark into every scheme of pleasure-making, as well as business enterprise.
Naturally, however, by far the greater number of steam-yacht owners have their homes on or very near some navigable water, upon which they pursue their favourite sport as a pastime only, or in connection with the daily engagements of business life.
Many men of large means and wide business interests who may be seen daily on Wall Street or in other centres of trade in New York have homes on the head waters of Long Island Sound, or on the lower stretches of the Hudson, whence they daily run to the city of New York in a steam yacht, which, after landing its luxurious owner, waits until his day is done in the city, and bears him again to a home of comfort and quiet retreat.
Yachts used chiefly for such purposes are always fast; when the speed falls below 20 miles an hour, their owners fret and fume, and wonder why she is not doing as well as she might.
Steam yachts having abnormally high speed are occasionally seen in a large yachting fleet. There are always a few men, who, from a love of seeing their names in print and their movements and those of their yacht recorded in the newspapers of the day, find that by tearing up the waters of our bays and harbours with yachts which show a speed of 25 miles an hour, their fondest hope is realised; for every eye follows them, and every reporter wastes his pencil in recording the performances of the speedy craft. It is their delight on regatta days to dart about amongst the fleet of yachts and craft of the lookers-on, and astonish everybody by some new flight of speed or some skilful evolution. I am happy to record, however, that the number of these flyers is small, and becoming less: such speeds are attained only by great danger to life and limb of those in charge of the machine, and an entire loss of comfort from the violent vibration of the vessel; for she must be built as light and carry as powerful machinery as possible, to give the results desired by these morbid lovers of notoriety, who are no more yachtsmen than is the man who takes a balloon trip so as to be seen by the crowd.
It must be admitted that comfort and pleasure can be, and doubtless are, found on many steam yachts; for instance, a yacht of 125 ft. water-line, by 19 ft. beam, with a well-kept flush-deck, a comfortable deck-house forward, a large awning spread over all, the deck set out with Persian rugs, tables, and comfortable rattan chairs, and a number of congenial friends present, who are not tired of life and each other—I think no one will deny that pleasure in the highest degree could be realised with such surroundings.
Our prevailing pleasant weather during the yachting season, and the uniformly sheltered character of our waters, have had their effect on the form and construction of steam yachts as well as those by sail. Nearly 95 per cent. of all steam yachts in America are built expressly for bay, harbour, and river work, and when it is necessary to make any extended trip, as for instance to the coast of Maine, they usually creep close along shore, moving cautiously from port to port.
We can, however, boast of a few deep-sea craft, as fine and seaworthy as any pleasure vessels in the world, such as those owned by the late Jay Gould, Mr. W. W. Astor, the Vanderbilts, and few others. The general dimensions of many steam yachts are ruled by the probability of their taking the passage through the Erie Canal, the locks of which are 100 ft. long and 17 ft. wide, and admit a vessel drawing 6 ft. of water.
There is a marked advantage in taking the Erie Canal to reach the great lakes; with a vessel of proper size the passage of the canal is safe and easy, whilst the trip around by the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence is very long and surrounded by difficulties, although the voyage will richly repay one for taking it, as it affords greater variety in sea and landscape than any other possible in America. Steam yachting on the great lakes is also increasing rapidly, and in the harbours of the large cities, as Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Chicago, many steam pleasure craft may be seen, usually of a length of 100 ft. or less, so as to make their way to the salt water by the canal.
As in the case of sailing yachts, 95 per cent. of steam craft are to be found north of the capes of the Delaware, but their numbers are increasing south of that point more rapidly than their sailing sisters. The Gulf and tributary waters as yet show very few pleasure craft of either sort, and the Pacific coast, on account of the high cost of fuel, is not the scene of steam yachting to any considerable extent.
In the Bay of San Francisco, however, are a large number of naphtha launches that find very favourable water in that shallow sea. There is far less variety of form and rig among steam yachts than in any other pleasure craft. The accepted form at present is a flush-deck vessel with pole masts, triple-expansion engine, and some modification of the old Belville boiler, a form that has many varieties, none of which are satisfactory in more than a few points. They are generally safe from explosion, but very short-lived, and difficult to manage.
The compound engine was introduced into yachting craft about the year 1875, and its success was as marked as in all other branches of marine construction.
The triple-expansion engine was first used in 1884 with increased success over its ancestor, the compound, and in 1888 the quadruple engine was put into a few yachts; but it may be questioned if it possesses any advantages over the triple for the general uses of yachting.
The use of high-expansion engines not only results in a marked economy of fuel, but, through a wide distribution of power and strain, far greater durability is attained, as well as greater freedom from vibration, which often imparts discomfort to the passengers, and injury to the hull of the yacht.
With regard to the designing and construction of steam yachts, it seems to be the aim of every designer and builder to try his hand at this branch of naval architecture, and, as might naturally be expected, the resultant vessel is too often an example of semi-successful work of the novice, clumsy in form, construction, and machinery, rude in design and ill fitted to its duty. Nearly all the deep-sea pleasure craft are built on the Delaware, and as a rule are staunch, seaworthy vessels with good speed, and generally satisfactory performance in all situations. The Herreshoff Co., of Rhode Island, have passed No. 180 in steam vessels, the larger number of which are small launches, a good proportion small cabin yachts, and the rest of the every-day class of along-shore craft which satisfy the desires of nearly all who find pleasure on our coast in steam yachts. The Herreshoff Co. turns out the fastest vessels of their class, and for general qualities are the best examples of careful designing and construction as applied to both hull and machinery. They have the advantage of building every member of a yacht, hull, engines, and boiler, so the result is more harmonious, and in the main is more conducive to speed and that condition, called 'well balanced,' which is so desirable in all steam vessels.
During the last five years naphtha engines, as applied to launches, have been greatly improved, so that their use has become immensely popular. They vary in size from 20 to 45 ft. in length, with speed from 6 to 10 miles an hour; in a measure they have displaced small steam launches as tenders for yachts, and in many places where no great degree of skill is required to run them; in fact, the ease of running and little time required to start a launch are the chief reasons of their popularity, in spite of the fact that they are noisy and malodorous.
The use of the steam yacht will, without doubt, continue to increase more rapidly than the sailing craft, but there is not the least probability that the latter will be superseded. In so large a community of sea-loving people there will always be a few whose good taste and love of true sport will guide them toward the sail as a means of motion, and the forces of nature as motive power; but happy is he on whom fortune smiles to the extent of enabling him to keep both a steam and sailing yacht, for times do come when to reach an objective point is highly desirable, and at other times nothing can give so much pleasure as the quiet and peaceful sensation that is found only in a sailing craft. There is room then for every yacht, both steam and sail; each contributes to the pleasure of its owner, and each deserves our best efforts to develop and make perfect that which contributes so largely to our resources of enjoyment and healthful pastime.
CHAPTER VII
YACHTING IN NEW ZEALAND
By the Earl of Onslow, G.C.M.G., &c.
As has already been said, there exists every facility in our Australasian Colonies both for cruising and racing. These colonial waters are indeed the only ones in the world where yachting can be enjoyed among our fellow-countrymen on summer seas and in a temperate climate during that portion of the year when yachts are laid up in the mud in England and yachtsmen shiver in the bitter winds, the fogs and frosts of Northern Europe.
The travelling yachtsman may either take out his yacht with him, if she be large enough, or if this be deemed to involve too great trouble and expense, he will find but little difficulty in making arrangements to hire a comfortable craft at the Antipodes.
The southern coast of Australia, though it possesses many beautiful harbours, is washed by the great rollers of the Pacific, coming up through the 'roaring forties' without anything to break their force, straight from Antarctic regions, to dash themselves in mile-long breakers against the Australian coast. Yachting is therefore better confined to the sheltered harbours, and specially to those which have been selected for the sites of the capital cities of Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
No more lovely sea exists in the world on which to cruise than that part of the eastern coast of the Australian continent, sheltered as it is from ocean storms by the Great Barrier Reef, extending for miles from Rockhampton to Cape York, along the Queensland coast. Numberless coral islands, the roosting places of countless Torres Straits pigeons that spend the hours of daylight feeding on the mainland, afford abundant sport for the gunner. These pigeons are quick-flying black-and-white birds about the size of the blue rock; they twist and turn in their flight with great rapidity, and tax the gunner's quickness of eye and hand not less than the best blue rocks from the pigeon-cotes of Mr. Hammond. Unfortunately this long stretch of calm blue water is beset with perils from coral reefs so numerous that the traveller is lost in admiration at the skill of Captain Cook as well as at the good fortune which enabled him, in complete ignorance of the dangers now carefully marked on our charts, to escape with but one mishap. Among the apt terms which he applied in all his nomenclature only one, Cape Tribulation, bears witness to the risks which he ran.
Still, an enterprising yachtsman, choosing the time of year when the monsoon, blowing softly on these confines of its influence, is in the favourable direction, may start from any of the ports touched by vessels of the British India Steamship Company, and, by careful study of the chart coupled with information obtained from local mariners, may enjoy without great risk a prolonged cruise amid tropical scenery and vegetation as far south even as Brisbane.
It is to New Zealand, however, that the yachtsman will turn as the paradise of his sport—abounding in harbours, offering every variety of climate from semi-tropical Auckland to the equable temperature of Cook's Strait, and on to the colder harbours of Stewart's Island—he will find as great variety in scenery as in climate. But let him not imagine that after cruising in Australian waters he may trust himself to the tender mercies of the Tasman Sea, or cross to New Zealand in a small yacht. No more terrible sea exists in either hemisphere.
Once arrived in the harbour of Auckland, however, the potentialities which lie before the amateur navigator are boundless. As he passes down the coast from the lighthouse on Cape Maria van Diemen, he will see the entrance to the singular harbour of Whangaroa, where masses of limestone rock lay piled one above another, dominated by the cupola-shaped dome of Mount St. Paul. Either this or the historically more interesting Bay of Islands may be visited in a yacht from Auckland. The Bay of Islands is one of the most beautiful yachting bays in the colony. It has a width of ten miles at the entrance, and is divided in two by a peninsula, while, with the exception of the Onslow Pinnacle rock, which has 19 feet on it at low water, it is devoid of all dangers. Here is the scene of the earliest settlement of the colony. In this bay the fleets of whalers, who trafficked in dried and tattooed human heads, and who had dealings of all kinds with the Maories (not always the most reputable), conducted a lucrative business, which has now ceased entirely.
Here the first missionaries established themselves, and here was signed the treaty with the natives which brought the islands under the sovereignty of the Queen, a sovereignty which was not to remain undisputed, save after many bloody contests, and after a loss of life and treasure which still burdens the New Zealander with a load of war taxation, happily not imposed on his neighbour of the Australian continent. In this bay many days may profitably be spent in studying the interesting Maori tribes who dwell on its shores, and of whom none have stood more loyally by the English settlers than those who fought under Tamati Waka Nene. Every sort of provision may be obtained in the bay from the once flourishing town of Russell, while a sufficiently good cheap coal may be procured at Opua.
It is around the harbour of Auckland, in the Hauraki Gulf, and the Firth of Thames, however, that the perfection of yachting may be enjoyed. As the traveller approaches the earlier capital of New Zealand he will observe how the aptly named Great and Little Barrier Islands protect the Gulf from the heavy seas of the Pacific, and as the steamer wends its way through the islands that dot the Gulf and opens up the land-locked Firth of Thames on one side and the Waitemata Harbour on the other, he will realise the advantages afforded by the situation of Auckland.
Two comfortable and well-managed clubs exercise the proverbial hospitality of colonists to properly accredited arrivals from England. In addition to which the Auckland Yacht Club is an association from which all information as to both cruising and racing will readily be obtained.
The history of yachting in New Zealand is of but recent date; for, although for many years races have taken place and regattas been held annually, the competitors were rather the cutters, schooners, and scows that did the coasting trade of the colony before the Union Steamship Company inaugurated their line of well-found, fast and regular coasting steamers to and from every port of New Zealand. These were assisted by the boats and crews of Her Majesty's ships, whose presence was, and still is, ardently in request on Regatta days. The era of pleasure yachts dates from the last eight or ten years, and the Auckland Yacht Club now occupies, in the number of yachts belonging to the squadron, the first place among the Australasian Colonies. The club has one hundred members and the register of yachts exceeds sixty, which does not by any means exhaust the number of vessels used solely as pleasure-boats in the harbour.
Colonial yachts, like the great majority of colonial incomes, are not large, and nearly all the boats used are built locally. Shipbuilding is a trade extensively carried on at Auckland. During the year 1875, when the prosperity of that part of the colony was at its highest, not less than forty vessels were built, their aggregate tonnage being 1,930. A few steam yachts, such as the 'Sunbeam,' the 'St. George,' and the R.Y.S. schooner 'Blanche' with auxiliary screw, used by Sir James Fergusson when Governor of the colony, have cruised in New Zealand waters; but a vessel of 20 tons burden is considered among the Tritons of colonial pleasure craft. The 'Thetis,' a small yacht of 10 or 12 tons, was built on the Clyde, and was brought out by five gentlemen, her owners, to the Antipodes.
Perhaps the most interesting yacht now sailing in New Zealand waters is the 'Mascotte,' both on account of the circumstances under which she was built, as well as for the remarkable success which has attended her during her sailing career.
In the year 1890 a strike in the shipping trade broke out in Australia, and after a few days was extended to other trades connected with shipping, finally spreading to New Zealand. During the enforced idleness of certain shipbuilding hands at Lyttelton, the port of Christchurch, some of the men bethought themselves of laying down the lines of a yacht for themselves. The 'Mascotte,' commenced under these circumstances, was found, when finished, to be an exceptionally fast sailer. Within eighteen months of her completion she was manned and sailed by her owners in six regattas, netting for them 395l., besides numerous smaller prizes in club races—not a bad outcome of work which, at the time, was doubtless done with no little amount of grumbling, because no wages were coming in weekly on account of it. The result, however, has been a very considerable falling off in the entries for the races last year. For the Champion Cup at Lyttelton only the 'Tarifa,' rated 8, the 'Mima,' 10, and the 'Maritana,' 14, put in an appearance. The First Class Championship race for 100l. at Wellington, the capital, was among those secured by the 'Mascotte.'
It is, however, in the cruising opportunities to be found in New Zealand that readers of the Badminton Library will be chiefly interested. Taking Auckland as headquarters, it may safely be asserted that throughout the season the yachtsman may lie in a different creek, harbour, or estuary every night that he is out.
He may coast up the north shore till he reaches Waiwera, where he will find an excellent hotel. He can bathe in a large and luxurious hot swimming bath, formed from the thermal springs rising close to the sea, or he may go on to the beautiful island of Kawau, once the property of Sir George Grey, which has been so graphically described by Mr. Froude in 'Oceana.' He may lie in the harbour of Bon Accord, which indents the island a mile and a half, and affords shelter in all weathers.
On landing he will find planted by the erstwhile owner of Kawau every sort of tree, shrub, and rare plant that will live either at Madeira or the Cape.
He will see the wallaby from Australia, deer, sheep, and wild goats. The beautiful Pohutukawa, or Christmas-tree, covered at Christmas-tide with scarlet blossom, feathering down to the clear blue sea till its lowest branches are covered by the rising tide, so that oysters cluster on them with all the appearance of being the natural fruit. In the rocky depths of the clear water great lazy stingarees may be seen floating along with the tide, like sheets of brown paper flapping idly from side to side in the tide race. A perfectly appointed English country gentleman's house fronts the harbour. Its lawn and park-like slopes are timbered with the forest trees of Europe. The opossum of Australia may be seen nimbly springing from the boughs of an English oak to those of the silver tree of South Africa, the whole being a combination of the flora and fauna of all continents, bewildering to the brain of the naturalist.
As the total population of the island is thirty-two, and consists of the family and dependents of the owner, visitors, unless they wish to run the risk of abusing hospitality which is always cordially accorded, must bring a sufficiency of provisions with them.
The Little Barrier Island, though possessing no harbour, has several yachting anchorages. It is uninhabited, and is chiefly interesting from the fact that it is the last remaining stronghold of many rare species of New Zealand birds. This is attributable in some degree to its distance from the mainland. The bee has not found its way across to Little Barrier, and the honey-eating birds, driven away from elsewhere by the stings of bees seeking a common food, have made this island their last habitat. It is greatly to be hoped that the New Zealand Government will complete the pending negotiations for its purchase from the natives, so that it may be made into a national park for the preservation of these unique ornithological specimens.
Great Barrier Island is larger than the Isle of Wight, being 21 miles long. It is about eight miles eastward of the Little Barrier, and possesses in Port Fitzroy one of the finest harbours in New Zealand. Yachts enter by a channel 1¼ mile wide, pass under a remarkable rock resembling the Duke of Wellington's head, and come to Governor's Pass, a narrow channel, 178 feet across, which opens out into an inner harbour three miles in length and more than half a mile wide, surrounded on all sides by high mountains which give complete security from every wind. The harbour is full of fish of every kind, from the little New Zealand herring to the flat stingaree resembling an enormous skate with a formidable spiked tail. Unless the fisherman cuts this off before he proceeds to deal with the fish, he may find one blow from it compel him to seek for several weeks an asylum in the Auckland Hospital. If the yachtsman has on board a seine net, he may realise something of the miraculous draught of fishes mentioned in the Bible. Let him also bring his rifle, for the island is swarming with wild goats, and if he can steel his heart against the piercing and humanlike screams to which they give utterance when wounded, he may, by getting up to the highest ground and stalking them down the mountain-sides, secure more than he will find it possible to get back to his yacht, be he never so impervious to powerful odours. He will, moreover, earn the gratitude of the settlers by so doing, for the goats eat not a little of that pasture which would more profitably be utilised in affording sustenance to the domestic sheep of the island farmers.
Many years ago Selwyn Island, at the entrance to the harbour, was stocked with the large silver-grey rabbit, and a good day's shooting may still be had among them, though the skins are no longer of the great value they were when first acclimatised.
Having explored the creeks of the Waitemata, which open into the harbour of Auckland to the north, the yachtsman may proceed to cruise in the southern waters of the Hauraki Gulf. On his way he may run in for a few hours to one of the Maori villages, where he will find some very well-to-do natives, owners of valuable property close to Auckland, but who still practise all the old-fashioned Maori customs of cooking and manufacture. He will be interested, too, in the long war canoe with its carved prow, one of the few now remaining in New Zealand.
All the islands between the mouth of the gulf and the Firth of Thames are interesting. The most remarkable in appearance is Rangitoto, guarding the entrance to the Auckland harbour. In shape it is a perfect cone. The mountain is an extinct volcano, rising to a height of 920 feet, and presents a precisely similar appearance from whatever aspect it is regarded. The summit of the mountain is composed of masses of scoria, but there is no fresh water on the island. Rangitoto is connected by a sandy neck, a quarter of a mile long, dry at high water, with Motu Tapu, the Sacred Island. Whatever odour of sanctity may have attached to it in earlier days, it is now the island most profaned by the feet of Auckland yachtsmen. Herds of deer scamper across its grassy slopes, and afford excellent stalking to the hospitable owner and his guests. No one who takes care to keep on the shores of the island and refrain from disturbing the deer is likely to be forbidden to shoot a few rabbits. From some of the higher points round the coast he may espy the acclimatised emus stalking over the hills; the pheasants feeding round the edges of the patches of woodland, and the flocks of turkeys, once tame, but which now require the persuasion of the fowling-piece before they can be brought to table.
From the Thames the yacht may be taken round to the harbour of Tauranga; this is a quiet and comfortable little town, the harbour land-locked by an island running down to meet a sandy spit. From this spit rises the Mawayanui Rock, 860 ft. in height, conspicuous for miles, both from the land and sea sides of the harbour.
The entrance is tortuous, narrow in places, and liable to gusts and eddies when the wind is blowing from the sea, but of considerable capacity inside. Tauranga is close to the scene of a conflict between the Maories and English troops, in which the 68th Regiment lost more officers than did any regiment at Waterloo. It is the best harbour whence to visit the volcano of White Island, and is the nearest also to the Maori Settlements, the hot lakes and springs of the interior of the North Island.
White Island is sixty miles off, and the steam blowing off the crater to a height varying from 2,000 to 10,000 feet is clearly visible in fine weather. This island is well worth a visit, though great care must be exercised in landing, for the whole island is so hot that walking is not pleasant, while the clouds of sulphurous steam blowing to leeward are suffocating. It is about three miles in circumference, having in the centre a crater about a hundred yards in circumference, surrounded by steam geysers, which make a roaring, deafening noise, like a hundred engines massed in one engine-room. Although there is no vegetation on the island, the base of the crater gives the appearance of a well-watered meadow in spring. This effect is produced by the bed of crystallised sulphur traversed by the streams from the several geysers. Myriads of sea birds, chiefly gannets, circle round the island, and the remarkable Tuatara lizards may be seen crawling on the hot rocks. There is no harbour in the island, but there is shelter between the principal islet and a little islet half a mile to south-east.
Yachting on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand is less agreeable; there is no convenient centre from which to start on many cruises, and between the harbours are long distances of usually stormy sea.
Once inside the Kaipara Harbour a large expanse of rather uninteresting water is available, but the rivers which flow into it are wide and picturesque, afford excellent wildfowl shooting, and are the home of the trade in Kauri timber. The huge logs are cut up by sawmills with giant circular saws. The trunks of the Kauri trees may be seen floating down the rivers from the forests above till they are caught, as they pass the various mills, by baulks stretched at an angle across the stream to intercept their progress. In the same way, once you get across the bar of the Hokianga River, many days may be spent in the land of oranges and lemons.
Travelling to the southern end of the North Island to the harbour of Port Nicholson, we come to Wellington, the capital, where the Port Nicholson Yacht Club have their headquarters.
An annual regatta is held here in January. The harbour, though magnificent for steamers or vessels of large tonnage, is subject to the gales and sudden squalls which blow through Cook's Strait as through a blast pipe, and therefore not always to be trusted. Not a few sad accidents have happened to small craft sailing on the waters of the harbour.
Most enjoyable excursions may be made from Wellington to the sounds on the northern shores of the South Island, but great care should be exercised in crossing Cook's Strait, though the distance to the first sound is but a few miles. The winds are local, and almost invariably north-west or south-east. Yachts running through the Straits should, therefore, be on the look out for a rapid change from the south-east to north-east, or from north-west to south-west, as they open out either entrance. Queen Charlotte and the Pelorus are the most picturesque of these sounds. They resemble somewhat the fiords of Norway, and though they have not the grandeur of the sounds on the west coast of this island, they are remarkable for the soft green contour of their slopes and the striking contrast between sky, shore, and sea which they present in clear weather.
Picton, at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound, is picturesquely situated, with a good wharf. Like those in the south, the sounds are so deep (20 to 25 fathoms) that, except in the coves, of which, fortunately, there is no lack, vessels have difficulty in finding an anchorage. Like the harbour of Wellington across the strait, these sounds are liable to many gusts from the mountain gullies, and care should be exercised whenever it is known to be blowing hard outside.
Pelorus Sound has even more coves and bays than Queen Charlotte Sound, and no inconsiderable time is necessary to explore the whole of it.
There is abundance of both wood and fresh water; in every part excellent fishing with the line may be had. Most of the catch will be new to English fishermen. Rock cod, blue cod, schnapper, the giant hapuka, a sort of cod, and the game kahawai, which will run like a salmon, are the best from a gastronomical and sporting point of view. Enough has been caught by a single line in a day to feed the whole crew of a man-of-war. Every sort of necessary provision is obtainable both at Havelock and Picton, at the heads of the respective sounds.
From the northern sounds every traveller will wish to proceed through the remarkable French pass to Nelson in Blind Bay. This bay is singularly free from gales and storms. Often, while a hurricane is tearing and raging through Cook's Strait, calm weather will be found to prevail without disturbance in Blind Bay.
The harbour of Nelson is formed by a very remarkable bank 4½ miles in length, covered with huge boulders and forming a natural breakwater to the harbour. There are one or two gaps in the bank at high water where boats and very small vessels may pass over, but the tide runs with such force that it is not advisable to attempt it.
The entrance is not more than 50 yards wide, and lies between the bold pinnacle of the Arrow Rock and the barrel beacon at the edge of the Boulder Bank. The entrance is easily effected on the flood, but the tides run very strong in and out of the narrow entrance. The climate of Nelson is perhaps the most perfect in all New Zealand, and the scenery of the bay, with its blue waters and background of snow-covered mountains in winter and early spring, excels anything that can be seen on the Riviera, while the climate closely resembles that of the French littoral of the Mediterranean; the only unpleasantness being the Waimea wind, felt in early spring down the valley of the Waimea, but it is neither so continuous nor so unpleasant as the Mistral of the Riviera.
Very pleasant expeditions may be made to Motueka and Collingwood, on the opposite shores of the bay. The Californian quail exists in great abundance on these shores; so much so that the little steamers plying weekly bring sackloads of the birds to Nelson, where they are preserved whole in tins for export.
The yachtsman should spend a sufficient length of time in exploring the indentations of the northern coast of the South Island, for next to that of the surroundings of Auckland he is likely to meet with the best weather for his pursuits to be found in New Zealand.
If he then wishes completely to exhaust the opportunities which the colony affords him, he may, choosing a fine day and favourable barometric indications, venture on the ocean to the southward. Let him, however, avoid the west coast, where the harbours are few and far between, and where those that exist are rendered difficult of access, save where great expense (as at Westport and Greymouth) has been incurred by the local authorities to erect breakwaters and dredge the bars. It is noteworthy that the harbours on the west coast of both islands, where they are also the estuaries of rivers, have dangerous shifting sand-bars, while those on the east coast are comparatively free from this objection.
If the yacht be taken down the east coast to Lyttelton, the traveller will pass in full view of the grand range of snow-covered mountains, the Kaikouras. With a north-easterly wind the sea does not get up to any extent, but if it should change to south there is convenient shelter for small craft at Kaikoura.
The harbour of Lyttelton is an indentation of considerable depth and width in Banks Peninsula, which, rising from the flat plains of Canterbury to a height of some 3,000 feet, juts out into the ocean and extends twenty miles from the mainland with an average width of sixteen miles. This peninsula affords plenty of facilities for yachting. Lyttelton has a yacht club, and is connected by eight miles of railway with Christchurch, a town that has always borne the reputation of resembling those of the old country more closely than any other in New Zealand.
Inside the harbour are many pleasant anchorages for yachts, especially Quail Island and Ripa Island; also Governor's Bay, a favourite holiday resort of the people of Christchurch. It should be borne in mind that with a north-easterly wind a heavy swell comes rolling up the harbour, but a secure inner harbour of 107 acres has been formed by moles of rubble, where there is perfect safely for vessels of every kind.
There are many pleasant cruises to be made from Lyttelton to the various bays and harbours in the peninsula, such as to Port Leny and to Pigeon Bay, formerly a favourite station for whaling vessels; but the most interesting as well as the most beautiful is the harbour of the old French settlement of Akaroa. This harbour penetrates the peninsula to a distance of eight miles. The town of Akaroa is the centre of a fine pastoral district, most picturesquely situated on the slopes of green hills turned into fertile gardens. The French language is no longer to be heard in the streets, but the green 'persiennes' and the white fronts of the older houses bear witness to the nationality of their builders. Lucky it was for the Anglo-New Zealander of to-day that Captain Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor at Auckland in 1840, was both of hospitable intent and impressed with the necessity of 'pegging out claims' for the future of the English race. Lucky, too, that Captain Lavand, on his way to prepare for a shipload of French colonists, stayed to enjoy Captain Hobson's hospitality in Auckland, while the latter, having ascertained his guest's intentions, had time to despatch H.M.'s brig 'Britomart' with all possible speed to Akaroa, so that when the gallant Frenchman arrived he found the smart sailors of the 'Britomart' sitting at the foot of a recently erected flagstaff admiring a Union Jack flying from the top; by virtue of which they claimed the South Island of New Zealand for Queen Victoria in the same manner as Captain Hobson had recently done in the case of the North Island. These same French emigrants, stopping at St. Helena on their way out, visited the tomb of Napoleon, and piously preserved sprays cut from the weeping willows that surrounded it. From these sprays, planted and cherished on their arrival at Akaroa, sprang all the beautiful willows which grow with such rapidity, thrive so remarkably, and are so conspicuous a feature throughout New Zealand. In December of every year a regatta is held at Akaroa, and yachts from all parts of New Zealand, as well as boats' crews of one of H.M.'s ships, come to take part in it.
The yachting grounds proper of New Zealand may be said to be completed by the exploration of the peninsula below Christchurch, and yet the most remarkable waters of the colony remain unvisited.
These are the sounds of the south-western extremity of the island. To get to them, however, many miles of open ocean must be sailed over. Rarely does the wind blow from the east, and hard threshing against the wind is the usual condition of sailing from the 'Bluff' to the sounds. When they are reached, the giant mountains which hedge them in on every side shut out from some, for days and weeks together, the least puff of wind to fill the sails of the yacht; while the deep gullies running down the sides of the mountains in others admit sudden and violent gusts of wind full of danger to the small sailing craft.
There are interesting places to be visited on the way, such as the harbours of Timaru and Oamaru, where man at vast labour and expense has wrested from the violence of the ocean a small space of calm water in the long straight coast line, well named the Ninety-mile Beach, on which the rollers break and roar with ceaseless monotony; or the beautiful harbour of Port Chalmers, leading to Dunedin, the Scotch capital of Otago. The uninviting looking harbour of the Bluff, where the traveller may touch the most southerly lamppost in the world, lies opposite to Stewart's Island, and is separated from it by Foveaux Strait, one of the most extensive oyster beds in the world. There are several fine harbours in Stewart Island, especially the spacious port of Paterson's Inlet, full of coves and bays.
Yachts bent on visiting the sounds should be warned that a strong current consequent on the quantity of water pouring down from the mountain torrents is usually found to oppose the entrance of a yacht into each sound, and that it is very rarely that the wind blows strong enough to bring yachts in. Generally speaking, within a mile of the entrance a dead calm with heavy swell will be found, rendering it both difficult and dangerous to make the entrance.
Once inside the depth is so great that, except where a river runs in at the head, there is little chance of anchorage, and the vessel must be made fast by tying her to a tree.
There is land communication with one sound (Milford) alone, and that only by a foot track. One or two men manage to eke out a hermit's existence in certain of the sounds, but are chiefly dependent on the periodical visits of the Government steamer; otherwise the only living things on the land are the wingless kiwis and kakapos, and an occasional seal lying upon the rocks. Probably no one visiting New Zealand will care to omit a trip to these sounds; but let the yachtsman leave his vessel snugly berthed in the harbour of Lyttelton or Port Chalmers, and pin his faith to the screws of the Union Steamship Company's well-found vessels, rather than to the sails of his own craft.
For a yachting expedition to New Zealand the month of January, February, March, or April should be chosen. During these months in the northern parts of the colony and on the coast a N.E. sea breeze sets in daily about ten in the morning, and dying away at sunset is succeeded by a westerly or land wind. The yachtsman may generally reckon on these winds; but if the land wind should not set in towards evening the sea breeze may increase to a gale, when he can remain safe at his anchorage till it has blown itself out—a proceeding which generally occupies not more than twenty-four hours. These gales occur on an average but once in six weeks, and should be looked for when the moon changes or comes to the full.
I have already spoken of the winds of Cook's Strait; those likely to be met with between it and Banks Peninsula will be chiefly north-easterly and light in summer. Southerly and south-easterly gales, known as 'southerly busters,' often last three days, and bring cold rain and dirty weather. Very strong, hot north-westers blow across the Canterbury plains to Banks Peninsula, and are particularly drying and unpleasant. Their approach can generally be foretold by a remarkable clearness of the atmosphere, and an arch of cloud over the Southern Alps, showing blue sky between the cloud and the snow peaks.
The climate in the central and southern parts of the colony is remarkably like that of Great Britain, with more wind and more sunshine, while the northern part resembles that of the shores of Europe washed by the Mediterranean. Indeed, if one takes the map of New Zealand and turns it upside down, imagining the two islands joined together at Cook's Strait, its general similarity in outline and configuration to Italy will at once become apparent. The Southern Alps, the Spencer Mountains, and the Ruahine Mountains, like the Alps and Apennines in Italy, form the head and backbone of the country. The rich plains of Otago and Canterbury answer to those of Lombardy and the Campagna, while the palms and fern-trees of Auckland wave against a sky as blue as that of Naples.
The coast is more indented, the harbours more spacious than those of the Mediterranean; the islands in the north are more numerous, and though the winds blow stronger and the sea runs higher when gales come on, the weather is far less treacherous than that of the Mediterranean, and gives better warning of its approach. For those who wish to enjoy two summers without a winter, to see some of the most remarkable natural phenomena of the world, and the most interesting and most developed savage race with which Englishmen have come in contact; to explore fresh waters; to find an ample supply of good provisions, suited to European requirements; to live among fellow-countrymen who will assuredly give a hearty and hospitable welcome, and to realise something of the extent, the variety and the vastness of the Queen's Empire, I can suggest no better nor more enjoyable cruise during the English winter months than one round the beautiful islands of Antipodean Britain.
CHAPTER VIII
FOREIGN AND COLONIAL YACHTING
FRANCE
By R. T. Pritchett
Frascati and pierhead at Havre.
The year 1891 will be memorable in the history of French yachting as the date of the beginning of a thorough organisation for the encouragement of what in France is called 'navigation de plaisir,' a term which will soon contract to our simpler word 'yachting.' The French have long, however, had a taste for the sport. For half a century at least Havre has been en fête in the month of July with a great deal of rowing and sailing, encouraged by crowds on the quays of the port, whence they could enjoy the sport much more than if they were afloat. All this is due to the energy and encouragement of the Société des Régates au Havre, under the patronage of the Minister of Marine and the City of Havre.
HAVRE REGATTA CHART. HAVRE.
In the year 1891 the regatta was first conducted in a business-like manner. A yachting tribunal was instituted in Paris to make rules and arrange the details of racing. The society, styled 'Union des Yachts Français,' 45 Rue Boissy d'Anglas, Paris, was very heartily taken up by all the best men in France, and absorbed the other clubs. The President is Contre-Amiral Baron Lagé; Vice-Presidents, M. E. Pérignon, Baron Arthur de Rothschild, Comte Alain de Guébriant, and M. Henri Menier, with a Council of twenty-eight, and a tremendous administration of commissions or committees for everything. The list of members amounts to 520, and their yacht list comprises over 300 vessels of sorts and sizes.
Harbour at Havre.
NICE REGATTA CHART.
After Havre, Nice ranks as a French yachting centre. The regatta is always held about the 12th to 15th of March—a time of the year when we are generally experiencing a kind of weather which totally removes any idea of yachting from our minds. The Union des Yachts Français patronise this fête nautique, which is sometimes assisted by English yachts that are in the Mediterranean; for instance, Lord Dunraven's 'Valkyrie' has been amongst them, and Lieut. W. Henn's 'Galatea,' he being a member of the Club Nautique, 8 Quai Masséna, Nice, a club founded in 1883, with rather more than one hundred members. At the present time several English gentlemen belong to it. Their 'Siège' is No. 12 Rue St. François de Paula à Nice. These foreign yacht races do not offer any inducements to our finer and larger craft, as few of the competitors are over 20 tons. The City of Nice gives good prizes, as under:—
| Above 20 tons | |
| Francs | |
| 1st Prize for yachts above 20 tons, 'City of Nice' | 5,000 and gold medal |
| 2nd Prize for yachts above 20 tons, 'City of Nice' | 2,500 and silver medal |
| 3rd Prize for yachts above 20 tons, 'Société des Bains de Monaco' | 1,000 and silver medal |
| Under 10 tons | |
| 1st Prize for yachts under 10 tons, 'Monte Carlo' | 1,500 and gold medal |
| 2nd Prize for yachts under 10 tons, 'Monte Carlo' | 750 and silver medal |
| 3rd Prize for yachts under 10 tons, 'Monte Carlo' | 400 and bronze medal |
The courses are very short—about 11½ miles in the triangle once round; and in the race from Nice to the flagboat off Monaco the course there and back is only about 19 miles. The whole arrangements are carried out according to the rules and regulations of the U.Y.F., which have given great satisfaction at Nice as well as at Havre.
It was at Nice that the idea of a race for steam yachts was first carried out. Two vessels entered, and only two; and as the 2nd prize and medal was 120l., they both had something to try for. The two were the 'Eros,' 850 tons, Baron A. Rothschild, and 'Francisca.' The 'Eros' won the first prize, 600l. and medal.
'VALKYRIE,' NO. 1.
53 tons (Commendatore Florio, Nice Yacht Club).
GERMANY
His Majesty the Emperor William having bought the English yacht 'Thistle,' 170 tons, and Prince Henry of Prussia having built a new 40-rater, the 'Irene,' designed by G. L. Watson (as also a small rater, the 'Niny,' from Arthur E. Payne), the idea of an Imperial German Yacht Club naturally arose, and in 1891 one was established at Kiel, a place admirably adapted for the purpose. The whole matter was taken up so heartily along the coast that there are at the present time more than 550 members belonging to the club. Of course the number of yachts is not in proportion as yet, but this will gradually develope, and in the meantime it is very pleasant to know that the 'Thistle' has become the mother of such a club.