THE ROYAL WINDERMERE YACHT CLUB
The beautiful Lake district is provided with an excellent yacht club, well organised, with workmanlike system and detail; and, as a fresh-water club, it is here described after the Thames associations. It was founded in 1860 and possesses a Royal Warrant dated 1887. The headquarters are at Bowness, adjoining the Old England Hotel, and consist of club-house, reading-rooms, billiard and committee room, and boat landings; and the club has a very hospitable arrangement, like the Bombay Club, by which gentlemen not residing within ten miles of Bowness, on being proposed and seconded by two members, can be admitted as temporary members, for a week, fortnight, or month, for a moderate fee. The sailing committee request owners to see that professional crews of yachts engaged in races wear white or blue jerseys, yachting or man-of-war caps, or straw hats. The ensign is red with crown in fly.
The leading feature of the Royal Windermere Lake Yacht Club is well shown in the illustration on p. 185, as, out of comparatively few members, fourteen are at the starting line, a proportion very seldom met with in any club, and certainly suggesting great unanimity and good feeling. The beautiful surroundings of the lake constitute a great charm, though crews in racing craft have not much time to admire picturesque landscape.
'Feeling it' off the Ferry.
The Windermere Club takes precautions to ensure as much as possible real, well-contested races, and like the 'Water Wags' at Dublin has definite club measurements, thus:—
(a) Length of yacht on load-water-line, from fore side of stern to after side of rudder post, shall not exceed 20 ft., and the total length from fore side of stern to extreme end of counter shall not exceed 25 ft. 6 in., and no part of stern above or below water shall or sternpost below water shall project beyond the 20-ft. gauge. A yacht shall be considered to be on her load-line when she lies adrift from her moorings in smooth water, without crew, with all sails set and racing gear on board.
Royal Windermere Yacht Club. A fair start.
(b) Beam (extreme outside measurement) shall not be less than 6 ft. 6 in. without beading or moulding.
(c) The draught of water shall not exceed 5 ft. 6 in. when the yacht is on her load-water-line.
(d) The yacht shall show at least one-quarter of an inch of her rudder-post clear of the water when on her load-water-line.
(e) No part of the counter shall intersect a triangle or the produced perpendicular thereof shown on p. 186. Base 5 ft. 6 in. on load-water-line produced perpendicular 1 ft. 4 in. from water.
(f) The length of mast from deck to trunk or end of pole shall not exceed 26 ft. 8 in. Bowsprit from fore side of mast to extreme end shall not exceed 19 ft. in length. The boom from aft side of mast to the end shall not exceed 18 ft. 6 in. and the gaff (measured parallel to the boom) shall not exceed 16 ft. 8 in. in length. It shall, however, be optional to have a boom 22 feet in length from aft side of mast to the end, provided that the gaff does not exceed 15 ft. in length. Topsail yard shall not exceed 18 ft. 9 in. in length.
Limit angle of counter.
(g) Hoist of mainsail from thimble to thimble 16 feet.
(h) From deck to pin of jib halliard sheave or pin of block shall not exceed 23 ft. 9 in.
(i) Mast from deck to pin of topsail sheave shall not exceed 25 feet 9 inches.
Smart breeze for racing, Windermere.
(j) No yacht shall have less than 32 cwt. of ballast, and no ballast shall be carried inside of yacht.
ROYAL WINDERMERE YACHT CLUB, BOWNESS.
Fair wind round the buoy.
These restrictions certainly tend to uniformity and good sport. The yachts have to be constructed with natural frames, spaced not more than two feet apart with steamed timbers, between with single pine, larch, oak, pitch pine, American elm, English elm, bay wood or teak planking, and decks. Iron floors are allowed, but no iron or steel frames.
Calm weather.
The size of racing flag at the main peak during a match to be 2 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 6 in.
Fore and aft sails—namely, mainsail jib and topsail only, and no square sails or other sails set as square sails—must be used at Club matches. No footsticks or jackyards are allowed to gaff topsails; no booming out of the sails is permitted even by hand, except by sheets hauled aft of the fairleader. Every yacht sailing in a race must carry at least two life buoys ready for immediate use.
The general and sailing rules published by the Royal Windermere Yacht Club are practical and ably drawn up.
As will be seen by the chart, Bowness is situated about a little north of the half length of the Lake. The Ben Holme flag boat opposite, at the north end, is the Waterhead flag buoy, and at the south end of the lake is the Town Head buoy.
The club course is from the ferry round a flag buoy off Town Head at the south extremity of the Lake and back to the Ben Holme flag boat, opposite Bowness. The distance is 18 miles.
The Waterhead course is from Waterhead, N. extremity of the Lake, round flag buoy, off Ben Holme (Bowness), thence round flag buoy in Lowood Bay, thence round flag buoy in Pull Wyke Bay, thence round Waterhead flag buoy, sailing the same course again and turning off Waterhead. The natural formation of the surrounding district explains the special necessity for the two life buoys ready for immediate use, as squalls and stormy weather are characteristics of the Lake district, although the regattas are sailed in the finest season, during the month of July. The secretary, Lieut.-Col. Arthur L. Reade, has courteously furnished details of this interesting inland club. The photographs of the 'Beauties of the Lake' of Windermere are by Mr. Bronskill, of Bowness.
CHAPTER V
YACHTING ON THE NORFOLK BROADS
By G. Christopher Davies
The sailing of small yachts and boats is vigorously indulged in upon the rivers and lakes of Norfolk and Suffolk, in what is popularly known as the Broad District. There is, indeed, every temptation to the sport in this favoured region. No mal de mer can haunt its smooth waters; there is no tossing about in exposed anchorages, but instead the mooring by grassy banks odorous with flowers. Gales lose their terrors and zephyrs gain additional charm on these placid and sinuous waterways and toy lakes. Yet there is room enough and to spare for all the evolutions the boat-sailer delights in, and the exploring cruises dear to the owners of small yachts, while life on sailing houseboats is sufficiently tempting to the laziest lotus-eater. The adventurous can make adventure, the explorer can lose himself in mazy reed-beds, the lounger can lounge with the minimum of trouble, the young can picnic in the most luxurious fashion, ladies can 'yacht' in the most ladylike way, and complexions will not pale (what is so piteous as a seasick woman?) upon these favoured streams. Even the sturdiest sea cruiser acknowledges the charm of the quiet gliding between their verdant banks, and the quiet sleep dependent upon neither watch nor riding light. No one enjoys a sail at sea in fair summer weather more than I do; but upon the many occasions upon which the sea has been rougher than I approved of, I have said in my haste: 'What a fool I must be to desert the safety and surety of the Broads for this, which is neither safe nor sure!' At the same time it is only fair to say that, after a quick and pleasant passage to some foreign port, I have also said: 'Better one such sail than many on the Broads.' My boating life has been spent in a vacillation between the quiet pleasures of the Broads and the excitement of the sea; and I have made many attempts to procure craft in which to enjoy either at will. This is a difficult matter, inasmuch as the draught necessary for able work at sea is too great for the rivers.
The 'Greyhound.'
Although many thousands know well the district of the Broads, yet to the bulk of people it is still a terra incognita. It is therefore necessary to give at least a brief description of the locus in quo. Taking one's stand at Great Yarmouth, with one's back to the sea and facing inland, one sees—or could in truth see if one ascended the lofty Nelson Monument—first the narrow and busy harbour which conveys the waters of all the rivers to the sea, then a great tidal lake known as Breydon Water, four or five miles long. From this one can ascend by vessel the greater river Yare, which for twenty miles of broad and sinuous course threads the marshes to Norwich. On the right is the Bure, commonly called the North River, which twists and turns for twenty-seven miles to Wroxham, and is navigable further yet to Coltishall and Aylsham. Tributary to this river are the Ant and the Thurne, giving access to the largest of the Broads. Southward of Breydon is the deep and clear Waveney, with Beccles twenty-three miles from the sea at Yarmouth, and a short cut to the sea by Oulton Broad and Lowestoft.
The fisher's home, the Broads.
Broadenings of these waterways at many points have become, by the growth of reeds and accumulations of soil, lakes or Broads, more or less separate from the rivers, but in most cases having navigable access to them. The characteristic of the district is its extreme flatness and the consequent slight fall of the river-beds, the current being mainly tidal, with not much difference of level at that. Yet this flatness is not monotonous; for, in addition to the ever-varying and ever-pleasing cloudscapes seen to best advantage in flat regions, there are beauties on the marshes and river borders of no common order. The luxuriant growth of reeds around the lakes gives the feeling of utter seclusion from the madding crowd. The gay hues of flowering plants, altering with sunshine and shadow of clouds on the wind-swept marsh, the deep shades of groves, the clear and winding rivers, the dark-brown and high-peaked sails of the wherries with their graceful curve of leach, and the white sails of the yachts scattered here and there, now reflected in a glassy reach, and again seeming to thread the verdant marshes where no water is visible from one's standpoint; the kestrel hovering over the 'rand,' a jay hunting a reed-bed for nests and eggs, waterfowl of many kinds, the splash of fish in a quiet bay, a heron by a lilied dyke, and innumerable noticeable incidents of bird and insect life, make the hours too short which are spent on these singular waterways.
In order to fully understand the peculiarities of the craft navigating the Broads and rivers both for trade and pleasure it is desirable to appreciate the necessities of the district; and for this purpose it would be well to step on board some kind of craft on which one can be independent of hotels as well as railways. For it is quite clear that journeys by rail cannot show one the life of the Broads. It is singular what a difference the point of view makes. Thus there are reaches where the rail and river run near each other. From the rail there is nothing to see but a flat marsh and a winding river. But from a boat on the river the view assumes an altogether different aspect. If one pleases, the tall and swaying reeds, brown topped and feathery, may bound the scene, hide the rail, and provide one with the loneliness of nought but water and sky—a veritable solitude; or from a higher standpoint the eye may travel with a keen interest over the reed-beds and the brilliant-hued marsh, past windmill and dwarf tree to the undulating and wooded higher lands which are the shores of the marsh.
For choice for a mere cruising holiday, I would take, if middle-aged, a real Norfolk wherry converted into a roomy houseboat as presently to be described. The Norfolk wherry is a craft quite unlike those of any other district, and eminently suited to the shallow and somewhat narrow waters of its birthplace. The limit of suitability seems to have been reached by perfection, since of late years no alteration whatever has taken place in the design of the wherry or its sail. As it is the aboriginal craft, so to say, of these waters, and its graceful sail forms a constant object of interest upon the waterways, it merits the pride of place in a description of Norfolk craft. It has greater interest also in that it is suitable for cruising in other waters, notably in those of Holland and Friesland, where Mr. Doughty found that a Norfolk wherry was even more suitable for Dutch waters than the Dutch vessels, so far as pleasure purposes go.[23]
The draught of an unladen wherry is from 2 ft. 4 in. to 2 ft. 6 in., with a beam of 13 ft. and a length of 52 ft. It has a short hollow bow, with the greatest beam well forward and a fine run aft. It has only a few inches outside keel, yet in fairly smooth water it lies remarkably close to the wind, going fast through the water all the time. The mast is stepped 12 ft. 6 in. from the stem, and is a splendid spar of spruce fir or pitch pine 37 ft. deck to hounds, without any stay other than a forestay, and supports a single sail of the following dimensions: luff, 27 ft.; foot, 28 ft.; head, 29 ft.; and leach, 44 ft. 6 in. There is no boom, and the gaff has a high peak. The sail is hoisted by a single halliard set up by a winch on the mast. A drawing and lines of a wherry accompany an article by myself which was published in the 'Field' of March 20, 1880, to which the reader who may be interested can refer. The mast swings in a tabernacle, and the heel is weighted with lead and iron to the extent of 1½ ton, and is so well balanced that a boy can lower and raise it. It will be seen that the rig has the extreme of simplicity to recommend it. One man can sail a 30-ton wherry, although he generally has the assistance of his wife or a mate. When within a few yards of a fixed bridge the sail is rapidly lowered, the forestay tackle cast off and windlass unhitched from the mast, and down comes the mast as gently as possible; the wherry shoots through the bridge, and up go mast and sail the other side. The mainsheet works on a horse on the cabin-top in front of the steersman, and with his back against the tiller he controls the great craft with ease. The stern is pointed, and the rudder is no less than 5 ft. in breadth. Of course the tonnage of the craft varies; the above measurements are those of a medium-sized one. A cabin about 6 ft. long in front of the small steering-well accommodates the crew, and there is a long hold, reaching to the mast and protected by movable hatches, for the cargo.
A few years ago some ingenious person hit upon the idea of converting a trading wherry into a pleasure one by raising and permanently fixing the hatches, placing windows at the sides (there is no bulwark, and but a narrow plankway between the edge and the cabin sides), dividing the roomy interior into saloon and bedrooms, and so producing a commodious and comfortable sailing houseboat, which has become exceedingly popular. There are numbers of them about now, and they are always in demand for hire by parties visiting the Broads.
The large sail carries a sort of flounce laced on to the bottom of it called a bonnet, and the removal of this is equivalent to lowering a topsail. The trading wherries carry no ballast when empty of cargo, but the pleasure wherries have a sufficient quantity of scrap iron. They move in the lightest of airs, and in strong winds are marvellously stiff. They will tack in channels no wider than their own length, but in narrow waters they are helped round by the man giving the bows a set off each bank with a 'quant' or long pole (Latin contus); they are capable of high speeds, and the easy way in which they get about the narrow and shallow waters is surprising. Occasionally they essay the sea passage from Yarmouth to Lowestoft, instead of going round by the rivers, and even race at sea; but it cannot be doubted that in doing so they go beyond the margin of safety. Although Mr. Doughty successfully towed a wherry behind a steam tug from Yarmouth to Stavoren, another wherry essaying the same feat was lost. The low, long, flat hull cannot stand rough water, and the heavy mast with its weighted heel is a dangerous lever in the wrong position.
Regatta time.
Many yachts have been built after the plan of the wherry, but with yacht-like hulls above water. At first the simple wherry rig was retained, but soon there came a boom to the sail, and then a bowsprit and jib, additions which, no doubt, make the vessel faster, but mean more help in handling—two men instead of one, and so on. These barges, as they are called, have increased greatly in number during the last few years. The other day I counted no fewer than twelve lying moored on Oulton Broad, where five years ago one such would have attracted attention. The immense influx of visitors to the Broads is, of course, responsible for this increase. The latest of these barges, the 'Waveney,' is no less than 58 ft. long, but it is believed that there is considerable difficulty in getting her about.
The barge yacht is more seaworthy than the wherry, and one—the 'Ianthe'—has twice crossed the North Sea to Holland for cruising in Dutch waterways. She was fortunately favoured with fine weather, and it would, no doubt, be needful to make as sure as possible that the weather was set fair for a day or two before venturing. The draught is but 5 ft. or less, and the heavy pole mast is set far forward, while there is an open well, so it would not be the best kind of craft for bad weather. Still, for modest sails out of the harbour, for Dutch waters, and for Norfolk rivers, these barges possess every advantage, while they are most comfortable to live upon.
The barges look smarter than the wherries, inasmuch as they have white sails instead of brown or black, and yacht-like decks and fittings; but I must say that for pure river cruising I prefer the plain wherry. It is more picturesque in appearance, and, size for size, easier to handle, although, no doubt, the latest types of barges are faster.
Taking one's departure from Wroxham, one finds a narrow river crowded with boats. Only a few years ago the arrival of a single yacht at Wroxham was an event. Now both banks of the river are lined with wharves, yachts, and boats, and boat-builders' sheds are springing up on every side. A striking tribute to the favour in which the Broads are held is the boat-letting establishment of Mr. Loynes, who at the first Fishery Exhibition exhibited models of small open centreboard boats, to be converted at night into sleeping cabins by most ingeniously contrived awnings. In consequence of this he desires, and very properly, to divide with the writer the honour of first drawing the public attention to these favourite cruising grounds. From the small beginning he then made he has come to own many yachts, large (20 tons) and small (3 or 4 tons), mostly built by himself, capable of navigating the shallowest of the Broads, comfortably fitted with all essentials of comfort, and attended by most civil and capable men. He is now introducing his boats to the Friesland meres, and it is probable that many of his Norfolk customers will follow him to that larger lake-land. His vessels are mostly centreboard and of light draught, the latter, by the way, being of more vital necessity than ever. The tourist steamers which now rush up and down the Bure draw down the soft mud from the sides and deposit it in the channel, so decreasing the depth. A few days before writing this I had a 25-ton cutter towed up from Yarmouth to Wroxham, for the purpose of laying up, by a steam-launch. By taking out ballast her draught was reduced to 5 ft. 6 in., yet she grounded at least twenty times in the upper reaches, right in the middle of the channel.
Wroxham pleasure craft.
The river below Wroxham is very narrow and very sinuous; its banks lined with groves of trees which intercept the wind. The lofty peak of our wherry's sail holds the air over the bushes, and we keep slowly moving along, while smaller boats are either becalmed or, catching sudden puffs, lay over at alarming angles. It is a Saturday evening, and very many little yachts, from the open lugsail sailing boat on which a high-roofed cabin-top has been placed to the 4- or 8-ton yachts of smarter build, are making their way down to more open waters for the happy and healthy week end, most blessed to the person whose occupations are sedentary. A mile or two of charming river reaches brings us to Wroxham Broad—a lovely sheet of water surrounded by an inner circle of tall green and feathery topped reeds and an outer circle of bushes and trees. It is entered by a narrow gateway from the river, and boating is freely permitted, subject to certain wise regulations which are as much to the interest of the public as to that of the riparian owners.
The reeds have a golden belt where the rise and fall of the water has left its yellow mark, shining brightly in the westering sun. In the smooth patches under the lee of the reeds one may see the sparkle of bait flying out from pursuing pike or perch, and in the still bays the coots and water-hens dive and splash. Across and across the Broad skim the white sails of boats and canoes making the most of the dying breeze, and the wavelets sink to ripples, and the ripples are shot with streaks and patches of cloud-reflecting calm. We leave this, the most beautiful and deepest of the Broads, to make the most of the evening air down the river.
On the occasion of the annual regatta there is a prodigious water frolic at Wroxham, which is attended by perhaps a hundred sailing craft of all kinds, and much merriment results.
Gliding quietly down stream we pass on the left Hoveton Broads, Great and Little—nurseries of wildfowl and kept strictly private, with chains across the entrance; on the right Salhouse Broads, Great and Little, on which boating is permitted under protest; and further still on the right Woodbastwick Broad, also strictly private. Hoveton little Broad is a breeding-place of the black-headed gull, which nest here in great numbers.
So by wood and mere and sighing reed we pass with many a twist and turn until we reach the hostelry of Horning Ferry. Here, as night draws on, many vessels arrive. Strolling along the bank we can note what is after all the great fun of Broad yachting—the camping and living on board a floating house, however small. The big wherries and barges are of course floating houseboats, comparatively luxurious; but at the other extreme here are three or four open boats covered in with canvas tents or awnings luminous with the lamps within, and with myriads of dazzled night insects pattering against the shining canvas. The evening meal is being discussed, then there is the clatter of washing-up, the cleaning of knives by thrusting them into the soft bank, the washing of plates with tufts of paper, and the general tidying-up which is part of the fun to young men, but which ceases to possess any charm to older ones. These rivers are capital places for the man fond of single-handed sailing. One well-known and elderly amateur sails a lugsail boat alone, but at a proper distance behind him comes his man in another single-handed boat. The latter pitches his master's tent and relieves him of household troubles, and retires to his own boat tent when not wanted. This is really a capital arrangement.
Wroxham Broad.
When the stars come out, the herons settle in the shallow pools; the wild duck fly from the sheltered decoys and preserved sanctuaries to more open feeding-grounds; a shot rings out on the August night from some reed-hidden gunner who has been patiently awaiting the evening flight. In contrast come the notes of a piano and song from a barge; along the bank is a row of lights from cosy cabins; the inn is thronged with boat-sailers eagerly discussing their common sport; then the last cheery good-nights, and silence falls over the lone marsh and winding river.
In the morning there is the splash of swimmers, blankets and bedding are put out to air on the cabin-tops, spirit and paraffin stoves mingle their scent with that of frying bacon and the wild thyme on the banks. About ten o'clock the little yachts spread their sails to the freshening breeze, and off they go. If we have ladies on board, they will probably wish to go to Horning Church in the morning, and can then sail in the afternoon with a clear conscience—a compromise approved by the strictest sabbatarian, who finds in the peace and quiet of Norfolk waters an assurance that neither the wind nor he is a sinner in the gentle movement.
After lunch the wind has freshened so that we take our bonnet off (off the sail, that is) and smaller vessels reef. The wind, too, is ahead, and we have to tack a great deal as we continue our course down stream. Still the river course is so tortuous that every reach is not a head one; sometimes, indeed, we can lay one reach on one tack and the next reach on the other tack. It is pretty to watch the yachts shooting from side to side of the river (which widens as we proceed); they lay over, with the water bubbling over the lee deck and the foot of the great balloon jib deep in the water. The long bowsprit sweeps over the grass of the margin as the helm is let go; the boat shoots up into the wind, is upright with fluttering jib for a moment, then off she goes on the other tack to repeat the manœuvre at the opposite shore. If the mainsheet is well handled the mainsail never shakes. As it loses the wind on one side it catches it on the other, the jib being kept slightly aback until the boat's head is well off the wind. It is no joke to handle the jibsheets of an 8- or 10-ton boat. In spite of soft cotton rope being employed, the chafe will try the horniest hand. In sailing the jib is worked to every puff, eased off or drawn in at every variation in direction or strength of wind. The man in charge watches the wind pressing down the grasses and reeds and darkening the water in advance, and trims his sheet to every puff or lull. If he does not, why, the boat is not sailing her best—that is all. The mainsheet man, too, is almost as particular. When there are hands enough to work the sheets no one thinks of making a sheet fast. The bends of the river are too frequent for that. Again, there is almost always another yacht ahead or astern, and you strive to overtake the one or sail away from the other, so that every day's sail is more or less of a race. In passing or meeting other craft the rules of the road are well observed, and the steering is usually so excellent that a space of six inches is considered an ample margin of distance from the other vessel. These narrow rivers soon develop considerable skill in this direction, and accidents do not often happen. The least rare is that of misjudging the rate at which a wherry is coming, and getting athwart her bows while tacking; but a direct collision is averted, and the yacht's bowsprit or mainsheet is the only thing which suffers.
Smooth-water bowsprit.
On the right we pass Ranworth Broad, a fine lake in two sections, the larger of which is now in process of being closed to the tourist; on the left the mouth of the narrow river Ant, which, after twisting like an eel for some five miles, opens into the navigable but shallow Barton Broad, of considerable size. There is a bridge over the Ant so narrow that the larger kind of vessels cannot get through.
The tract of marsh widens out and the view broadens. On our right is a mile-long channel leading to South Walsham Broad, part of which is navigable and part private. As an instance of how vibrations of movement are carried along water, a gentleman residing at South Walsham tells me that when the water near the staith is covered with a thin veneer of ice he can tell when a wherry entered the mouth of South Walsham Dyke from the river, a mile and a half away, by the ice rippling and cracking.
Passing the ruins of St. Benedict's Abbey on the left, we presently come to the mouth of the river Thurne, up which we sail for a few miles to Potter Heigham Bridge, where in company with several barges and yachts we moor, with the intention of visiting Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere on the morrow. The night falls dark and lowering, with flashes of summer lightning in the south lighting up the great distance of flat and treeless marsh; but no rain falls, and a quiet night and sound sleep bring us to the dewy morn of another glorious summer day.
Most of the larger yachts and pleasure wherries have centreboard sailing dinghies, and it is more convenient to take ours through the narrow arch where the tide-impelled current sweeps upward to diffuse itself over the terminal lakes, twenty-five miles from the sea by river, three miles by land. Here, save in the tourist-crowded month of August, may be found true solitude. The river runs through far-reaching marshes, a branch leads through a wilderness of water and tall reeds, the brown tops of the latter trembling against the clouds from our low point of view. Water, reeds, clouds; a kestrel hovering overhead, our boat gliding on clear, shallow water over trailing weeds and shoals of startled rudd; then the wider channel of Heigham Sounds, and at last the expanse of Hickling Broad. Four hundred acres it is said to be, but the reedy margins absorb a great part of this. Still, there is water enough to make the scene imposing, and the first thought of a boating-man is—What a splendid place for sailing! But looking down through the clear water one sees that the bottom is almost within reach of one's arm, and even in the channels there is only sufficient water for a wherry. It is obvious, therefore, that the shallow centreboard boat is the only type fit for Hickling. It maybe useful to mention that a recent judicial decision gives as the law that the public have the rights of navigation and passage over Hickling Broad, but that those of fishing and shooting are vested in the riparian owners.
Not far from Hickling, and connected with it by Heigham Sounds and a narrow dyke, is Horsey Mere, so near the sea that the sea-water at times wells into it in the shape of salt springs. At the entrance of the mere a small cruising yacht is lying, the men having gone ashore for a walk over the sand dunes to the sea. The mooring rope is fast to a deck scrub thrust into the bank, and a heifer, having found out the roughness of the scrub, is leisurely rubbing herself all over and most thoroughly against the bristles. A wherry sweeping down the dyke with peak lowered leaves us but scant room to pass as we sail back to Heigham Sounds.
From Potter Heigham we sail in the wherry down the Thurne, into the Bure, and so on to Acle Bridge, where the mast has to be lowered. From Acle to Yarmouth the sail is not so interesting. The tide runs strongly and the banks are shoal. This part of the passage is undertaken of necessity, and not for pleasure. At Yarmouth we enter Breydon Water, where the greater space and depth of channel brings us into contact with larger yachts. Still, it is yachting in miniature, and the man accustomed to Cowes must think it rather ridiculous of us to call our small craft yachts. I much prefer the old and truly descriptive term of pleasure boats. When the Broad sailor comes to Breydon he feels that, comparatively speaking, he is in the open sea, and a beat across it with a smart breeze against tide means wet plankways and an exciting sail.
At the top of Breydon to the left is the entrance of the river Waveney, so shallow and dangerous as to be avoided. The river Yare, to the right, is wide and deep, and gives good sailing ground up by Reedham to Cantley, where the chief river regattas are held, and higher still to Norwich. From Reedham a narrow and straight canal, called Haddiscoe Cut, leads into the Waveney at a point above its shallows and a fixed bridge. The bridges on the Yare and the Upper Waveney from Haddiscoe to Beccles are railway bridges, opening save when a red flag or lamp denotes the arrival of a train. The scenery on both rivers seaward of Reedham is flat and uninteresting, and it is above Reedham, on the Yare, and St. Olave's, on the Waveney, that the beauty of the landscape adds interest to the sailing.
As one proceeds up the Waveney and through the narrow dyke which connects the Mid-Waveney with Oulton Broad, Lake Lothing, and the sea at Lowestoft, one meets great numbers of yachts and sailing boats, and we may now dwell more closely upon the characteristics of these.
The old term in existence before the more ambitious title of yacht was pleasure boat. This was applied to the decked sailing boats we now call yachts, and is perpetuated in the sign of the Pleasure-boat Inn, Hickling. A favourite type, of which but few examples exist, was the lateener, first, I believe, consisting of two lateen-shaped sails, but afterwards of a lateen-shaped foresail and a gaff-mizen. The foresail was set upon a short mast right in the bows and raking well forward, and the yard was often twice the length of the vessel. Such a rig was very close-winded, and handy enough to handle once the sail was up; but the long yard was a great nuisance in raising and lowering the sail, and the reefing had to be done along the long yard instead of the short boom. The boats also were dangerous in running before the wind, being apt to run under head first. This may have been partly owing to the short and full bow which was deemed necessary to support the weight of the mast and sail, and which at high speed created a great hollow in the water. Possibly a lateen-rigged, sharper-bowed boat would even now be found to be a very fast and handy type for our rivers. The balance lug so much in vogue is but a lateen sail with the fore-angle cut off. I only know of two lateeners of late on our waters—the 'Ariel' of Beccles, a boat of about 10 tons, and the 'Black Maria' of Barton Broad. The owner of the latter died recently, and it is possible the yacht is not now in commission; but she looked picturesque threading the narrow and sinuous reaches of the Ant on her way to and from Barton Broad.
River Waveney craft.
A light-displacement boat is a necessity upon Norfolk waters. It is not only that the depth is small and that the draught of a boat should not exceed 4 ft. 6 in. if she is to get about comfortably, but the water displaced by her movement has but little room to disperse in the narrower channels. It is sufficient to watch the light-displacement sailing wherry going fast through the water with scarcely a ripple, and making but slight difference in the level of the water at the grassy margins, and then to see a heavy-displacement steam wherry going not so fast, yet piling up the water in front of her, filling and emptying the dykes and runlets as she passes, to understand that the one thing essential for speed is light displacement. Again, in a heavy-displacement craft of my own which is sometimes brought upon the rivers, whenever the waterway is constricted she moves slowly and the river craft gain upon her. When the channel suddenly broadens she seems to leap forward and away in a striking manner.
Many yachts have come to try their speed with the Norfolk boats, but generally having greater displacement have come off second-best, although possibly better craft in more open waters. The old type is a flat-bottomed boat with a deep keel spiked on to it; the angle between the keel and the hull is filled in with more or less graceful curves, but the principle is the same in the most successful of the modern racing yachts, as it was in the older craft: a beamy, flat hull and a comparatively deep keel. Practically there is no change in the midship sections other than that which more skilled workmanship and more artistic design have evolved. The principle is only the same, however, so far as the midship section is concerned. Great advances, or at all events alterations, have gradually been made in the longitudinal design of the boats.
Quick turning has always been a necessity with the yachts of the Broads, and this has been attained by the help of three peculiarities—a keel short for the length of the boat, a rudder so large as to be in reality a movable keel or leeboard, and an enormous jib, which is the only head-sail. The size of the jib is also influenced by the fact that it has to balance the equally enormous mainsail. In order partly to carry as much sail as is required for these smooth waters the mast is always well forward, and with a large mainsail and boom projecting far over the counter great head-sail is a necessity.
The old measurement of racing craft used simply to be length on the 'ram' or keel, which as long as all boats were of the same type in other respects was fair enough. But a boat, say, 20 ft. over all would have a counter of 9 ft. or 9 ft. 6 in.; practically half her length would be counter. I do not think this great counter was altogether the result of an attempt to cheat the tonnage measurement, although no doubt this may have had some influence. It was more the result of circumstances; the yacht with a short keel, well forward, and great rudder, turned more quickly than a boat of similar size with longer keel and smaller rudder. About half this great counter was permanently immersed, and when a boat laid over, almost the whole of it came into bearing. It was popularly supposed that the broad, flat counter peculiar to the old boats bore the weight of the boom; the yachts, though very quick and handy, carried tremendous weather helm and were very hard to steer, sometimes taking the strength of two men to prevent them shooting into the wind. When the helm is let go, the little vessel shoots so quickly into the wind that she might be put about on the other tack by backing the jib, without further touch of the tiller. In fact, so powerful is the great overhang of mainsail and jib in controlling the balance pivoted on the short keel that I have many times tacked a 4-ton boat up a narrow reach without touching the tiller at all, simply by manipulating the sheets, and this, too, while sailing single-handed. This was by way of experiment only. The usual way of sailing a 4-ton, or, for the matter of that, a 10-ton yacht single-handed, is while going to windward to make the mainsheet fast, steer with your back, and work the jibsheet with your hands. Reaching or going free you work the mainsheet and jibsheet alternately as best you can. All the boats have large open wells, the jibsheets lead aft through a couple of blocks shackled to the clew of the sail, with the standing part fast to eyes on each plankway, and leading blocks further aft. Thus there is just sufficient purchase to enable a strong man to control the jibsheet of a 10-ton boat. In sailing these boats there is no making the jibsheet fast if you wish to get the best speed out of the vessel. They are trimmed to an inch, and every bend of the river means a careful and anxious adjustment of the jibsheet. The same remarks apply to the mainsheet, and where two or three equally capable amateurs are engaged in sailing there will be keen differences of opinion as to the proper quantity of sheet to be allowed out, and hot arguments as to the advisability of an inch more or less, when to the man accustomed to sailing in more open water the difference would appear immaterial.
In tacking, the stern of the boat swings upon the pivot of the forefoot, and it frequently happens that in sailing close to the bank of the river before putting about, although the bowsprit bends the grasses, and the stem is clear of the bank, yet the counter cannons against the bank or shaves the mud.
Whether it was found that advantage was taken of the keel measurement to get larger boats by means of immersed counters, or whether it was simply to give more scope to designers, is a matter of controversy; but it was ordained that half the length of the counter had to be added to the length of keel to form the factor of length, the rest of the measurement being according to the Thames rule. This rule of measurement prevailed for many years without any particular alteration in the type of boat supervening. Then, and only recently, length on the load-water-line was taken, and presently the Y.R.A. rules of measurement and rating were adopted.
The effect of the alteration has been to lengthen the keel, and perhaps to round up the forefoot a little. It has been suggested that it would be as easy to attain the quick turning by rounding the forefoot and having the greatest draught aft as it is by the present method of keeping the draught well forward and shortening the keel; but there is this objection—the shores next the banks are frequently shoal and muddy. When the boat swings round on her deep forefoot, if that is free from mud the lighter draught stern is sure to follow; but when a light draught forefoot is still free from the mud, the deeper draught stern swings on to it and is caught, and the boat's head pays off to leeward before she releases herself. Experience goes to show that in the larger classes the boat with much drag aft is not suitable for these shallow-margined rivers, and that to succeed in racing it is necessary to be able to perform the feat of waltzing a boat round and round in little more than her own extreme length, as the writer has done by way of experiment. A boat which will only handle when she has steerage way does not stand much chance.
'Greyhound,' midship section.
The yachts used generally to be built by that rule-of-thumb method, the result of long and slow experience, which has often proved more sure than the experiments of science; but of late years two boat-builders have studied intelligently the principles of design, and have applied them with great success to the building of the most successful craft yet seen upon these waters. These two are Mr. Brighton of Yarmouth, and Mr. Mollett of Brundall. The former has confined his attention to the larger class of craft in use here, and the latter to the smaller vessels. First of Mr. Brighton's boats to attract attention was the 3-tonner 'Trixie,' then the 9-tonner 'Wanderer,' and then the 4-tonner 'Greyhound,' all in their time the best boats of their class, although run hard by those of other designers. The 'Trixie' is a boat 27 ft. 6 in. over all, 20 ft. 6 in. stem to sternpost, 24 ft. on the water-line, 6 ft. 6 in. beam, and 3 ft. 9 in. draught of water; boom 25 ft., gaff 20 ft., bowsprit outboard 22 ft. She carried about 4 tons of lead ballast. The 'Greyhound' was designed by William Brighton, but built by workmen of the owner, Mr. John Hall, of Yarmouth. In design she is undoubtedly the best produced by Brighton, and therefore the best boat of her size on the rivers. Proportionately to size, she is a better boat than the 'Wanderer.' Since she was built, in 1889, she has won 175 first prizes and 30 second, in addition to several challenge cups, and is also a good little boat at sea, thinking nothing of making the 'outside' passage direct from Lowestoft to Dover in fair weather. The design we give is traced from the moulds off which the yacht was built. The dimensions are as follows:—
| Length L.W.L. | 25.27 | feet |
| " over all | 34.45 | " |
| Beam | 6.00 | feet 8 inches |
| Overhang forward | 3.30 | " |
| " aft | 5.88 | " |
| Rudder-head from taffrail | 6.00 | " |
| Draught amidships | 5.00 | " |
| Lead on keel | 3.00 | tons |
| No inside ballast. | ||
For sea-work her rating is 3.9 tons.
| Boom | 22.55 | feet |
| Gaff | 17.15 | " |
| Foresail | 359.3 | square feet |
| Topsail | 110.0 | " " |
| Mainsail | 452.2 | " " |
| —-—- | ||
| 921.5 | " " | |
Lines of the 'Greyhound,' 1892, Norfolk Broads yacht.
For river-work she spreads 1,014 sq. ft. sail-area, and her rating is about 4.5.
The boat is built entirely without caulking, with not a single butt in deck or hull. The keel is Memel oak; skin of yellow pine 11/8 inch; sawn timbers 2 inches square, with steamed timbers 1½ inch square. She is in every respect beautifully finished, and some of her success may be attributable to the excellence of her workmanship.
The designer has refused us any dimensions of the 'Wanderer,' but we believe that practically she is an enlarged edition of the 'Greyhound.' She has been run close, if not excelled, by the 'Corona,' a boat designed for both sea and river, and fairly good on each. She has greater draught and more rise of floor, with greater displacement. At first she was fitted with a centreboard, which, however, was found as useless as it generally is in a boat of comparatively deep draught. Its province is in shoal boats. I tried a centreboard in the 4-tonner 'Swan,' but discarded it after one season. None of the racing yachts over 3 tons have centreboards, and experience has shown that on these waters the centreboard is only of use for the smaller and flatter boats. It is true that Loynes, the boat-letter, has many yachts up to about 20 tons fitted with centreboards, but then his vessels are designed to navigate the shallowest Broads, and centreboards are a necessity in his case. He is, by the way, an adept at fitting centreboards with various devices to facilitate handling them, and his cranks and automatic brakes and other mechanical contrivances are most ingenious and effective.
The 'Corona' was designed and built by Peed of Oulton, who had built several fast-sailing boats. She is supposed to be a better boat in rough water than the 'Wanderer,' running her close also in the river reaches at Cantley, where the regattas are frequently held. She is also a comfortable cruising boat, having two cabins with good accommodation. Her chief measurements are:—
| Length over all | 50 | feet |
| " W. L. | 33 | feet 6 inches |
| Beam | 9 | " |
| Draught | 6 | " |
| Ballast | 6 | tons |
Mr. Mollett's boats have chiefly been of the open and half-decked class. His first great success was the 'Cigarette,' a centreboard lugsail boat, which won a great number of prizes and was a perfect witch in going to windward. He followed this up by several similar boats, all fairly successful and betraying advances in cleverness of design and experiments upon well-thought-out principles.
In 1890 Mr. Mollett startled the boating fraternity by producing a kind of double-hulled boat called the 'Gossip,' which, to use his own words, is 'curious though fast.' Her deck appearance is that of an oblong raft, and the section of her hull is that of a flattened W. There is no actual division between the hulls, but a hollow runs along the middle so that when the boat is on an even keel the top of the hollow is upon the water-line. When she heels over the windward hull is raised more or less out of the water, and the vessel sails on the support of the leeward portion, the windward portion acting as a kind of outrigger or windward ballast. The buttock lines are, roughly speaking, segments of a circle of long radius with only the middle and lower part of the segment immersed. She had no keel, but a centreboard dropping between the hulls, and a deep rudder. Her dimensions are: Length over all, 28 ft.; length on L.W.L., 17½ ft.; beam, 7¼ ft.; depth, 2¼ ft.; draught of hull, 10 in.; draught with plate down, 3¾ ft.; area of sail in foresail and lug mainsail, 460 ft.
'Castanet.'
The 'Gossip' was extremely fast running and when sailed full, and won several races. Her mode of going to windward looked peculiar, as she was sailed broad full and rattled from side to side of the river at a rare pace, so that although neither sailing so close as the other competing craft nor shooting so far in stays, being so light, yet she would often make a point to windward quicker than any of them by reason of her speed; and, after all, as Mollett says, the object is to get to windward as quickly as possible, no matter how you do it.
The 'Gossip' had, however, one grave defect. She would turn turtle with astonishing suddenness. Her vanishing point was soon reached. She had to be sailed with the utmost skill and caution, and it is only by good luck that she has not yet drowned anyone. The only time I sailed in her, being unaware of this peculiarity, I as nearly as possible had her over in a sudden puff; which, as I had my children on board, might have been a serious matter. Her owner tells me that she has capsized five times, and has very frequently been on the verge of capsizing.
A design of this remarkable craft, and an interesting article upon her by Mr. Mollett, appears in the 'Field' of January 10, 1891. Mollett took the centreboard out and substituted a fixed keel with 5 cwt. of lead on it, which he was sanguine enough to say rendered the boat practically uncapsizable. She has, however, capsized several times since then. He afterwards removed the keel and returned to the centreboard, with which he thought the boat was faster and handier. Since then a succeeding owner has reverted to a sort of heavy fin-keel, but the boat has not done so well in racing as formerly. Her canvas is, however, worn and stretched, which may have something to do with it. We hope, for the sake of her owner and his companions, that she will disappear somehow or another before any fatal accident results from her use.
Noticing how cleanly our flat counters leave the water, Mollett thought—What is the use of having a sharp bow to divide the water? Why not have a double-sterned boat, and let the bow slide over the water instead of through it? Something of this idea was present in the building of the 'Gossip,' but in the 'Castanet,' lately built for Mr. Russell Colman, the idea has had full sway. There is a broad, flat, spoon bow, differing very slightly on deck from the stern, and not differing at all on the water-line, so that it is practically immaterial which end is selected to go first. There are the same segments of large circles for buttock lines. The load-water-line is 17 ft. 3 in., and on deck 29 ft., the overhang being very nearly equal at each end. The beam is 7 ft., and the extreme draught of the short fixed keel, which is spiked to the bottom of the spoon, is 3 ft. 2 in., with 23 cwt. of lead. The latter is disposed at the bottom of the keel in a triangular bulb.
If you take an ordinary tablespoon and press it into a soft substance at different inclinations, the water-lines which it will mark are much the same. The principle is the same in the 'Castanet.' The water-lines lengthen and narrow as she heels over, and the length at which she is measured when upright is considerably exceeded at both ends. The spoon comparison is only to a certain extent applicable, as one end of a spoon is smaller than the other, while in the case of the 'Castanet' both ends are large ends. There is no deadwood except what is necessary for the keel, and the rudder is a projecting one. Mollett's theory is that it is better to cut away every inch of deadwood which is not absolutely necessary for preventing leeway. He finds the boats so constructed sail faster in every way. As to whether a fin-keel or a weighted centreboard is the better, he has not yet made up his mind.
Hull of the 'Castanet.'
The 'Castanet,' although beaten in her first race by the 'Gladys,' a boat of conventional design, has subsequently proved herself the fastest of her class. When sailing fast she lifts herself out of the water forward and slides very easily over it, although her flat bow makes a noisy brabble of the surface water, which is, however, not detrimental to her speed. Of course she would not do in rough water, but in smooth she is stiff, fast, and remarkably handy. In spite of her square ends, which are but little narrower than the rest of the boat, she is, owing to excellence of workmanship, rather a handsome boat than otherwise. It is not likely that another 'Gossip' will be built, but the 'Castanet' is a taking precedent which may be followed up with advantage.
There are other designers and builders of fast boats, which have, however, nothing peculiar in build or rig to justify especial notice. They are simply well-designed boats of light displacement and large sail-area, very fast and very handy.
There are two boating clubs in existence which provide regattas for the encouragement of sailing. The senior and more select club is the Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club, which professedly holds races for the 9-and 10-tonners—the 'large yachts' of the Norfolk rivers. It has a club-house at Lowestoft which is a great convenience to yachtsmen using the harbour, but as a river club it has not much vitality. The junior club is the Yare Sailing Club, which welcomes all amateurs as members who can pay a 5s. subscription. It professedly encourages the sailing of open and half-decked boats, and the smaller class of yachts of 4 tons or thereabouts. It has a large number of members, most of them keen boat-sailers, and its regattas are well attended and the races numerously and keenly contested.
The classes in the Norfolk and Suffolk Club are: Not exceeding 2-rating, exceeding 2 and under 5-rating, and exceeding 5-rating; and those in the Yare Sailing Club as follows:—Class I.—Exceeding 2-rating and not exceeding 5-rating. Class II.—Exceeding 1-rating and not exceeding 2-rating. Class III.—Not exceeding 1-rating. Any 'foreign' boats (all persons not natives of Norfolk are foreigners) which can sail in these classes are welcome, and any wrinkle they can teach will be quickly taken up.
The 'Mystery,' a Thames open boat, is almost the only strange boat which has succeeded in showing the way to the local racers, and I think she would not be second to either 'Castanet' or 'Gladys.' It would be most interesting to see a match between the well-known Thames 'Ruby' and our Y.S.C. boats. Regattas are held at various points on the river, and there are, in addition, local regattas unconnected with clubs.
'Mystery,' Thames boat ('foreign' boat).
Once a year there is what is called an Ocean Match—that is, a match from Lowestoft to Harwich—on the Saturday before the regatta of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club. This is looked upon as a great adventure by the river boats, which tackle the sea under the cloud of canvas which is enough on the rivers. The trip to Harwich and back, and the excitement of bringing up in wide water, after the safety of a grassy margin, furnish food for many tales for the rest of the year. The crux of the thing is the passage round the bleak Orfordness, where the tidal race raises a cruel sea if there is any wind; the great mainsails with their long booms cannot easily be reefed under way.
One necessary rule upon these rivers sometimes causes trouble to strangers who are unaware of it. In the narrow reaches it is almost impossible to pass a boat to leeward, so if the overtaking boat can but get a few inches of her bowsprit overlapping to windward of the slower boat, the latter must give way and let the other pass to windward of her.
Visitors often get nervous when they see a wherry bearing down upon them, but there is no occasion for them to do so. If the boat-sailer observes the rule of the road, he may be sure that the wherryman will do so. The latter are a very civil and obliging class of men, taking a keen interest in the doings of smaller craft and yachts. It is usual, however, for the yachtsman to remember that he is on pleasure bent and the wherryman on business, and he therefore gives way sometimes when not compelled to do so, to save the wherryman from having to put his craft about. In return the wherryman will often, when tacking, keep his craft shooting in stays to let a yacht beat past him. The wherries are so long and take up so much of the river when beating to windward that it is often very difficult to pass them at all unless they make this concession. The rowing boats which are hired by inexperienced people in great numbers at Oulton Broad are great sources of danger. The occupants generally go the wrong side of a sailing boat, and it is a wonder that accidents do not more often occur. Another source of difficulty are the anglers, who are very fond of mooring off the windward bank (where there is a quiet 'lee') well out in the channel, and perhaps at a 'scant' corner—that is, where the next reach being to windward the sailing vessels hug the corner as closely as possible in order to get a good shoot into the next reach and so save a tack. It does not do, however, to hug the corner too closely, as if it is at all shallow the way of the boat is deadened, though she may not actually touch the mud. The 'putty,' as the black soft mud of the river bottom is locally termed, plays an important part in sailing on Norfolk rivers. It serves sometimes to help a vessel to windward. Thus a wherry might not be able to hug the weather shore or to lay close enough to sail along the middle of a reach, but if she drops to the leeward shore the pressure of water between her bows and the mud will 'shoulder' her off and stop her leeway, so that she can drag round a corner and save a tack. Some of the wherrymen will say that they could not put their craft aground if they would while sailing sideways along the mud. The deeper-draught yachts do not reap this advantage to any extent.
One of the things which make a yachtsman ask if life is worth living is to run hard on the putty. He gets out his quants and shoves; but the poles sink deep into the mud, and require more force to withdraw them than to drive them in. Those who know the river best seem to me to get oftenest aground, because they cut it too fine, and if their calculations are out by an inch or two they stick fast. The desperate struggles to get free are more amusing to other people than to the chief actors in the scene. How blessed is the sight under such circumstances of a friendly steam-launch! I remember well one heart-breaking experience of my own in a 4-ton yacht which I was sailing single-handed. I got aground in the Bure at Yarmouth in the awful place known as the North End, and with a falling tide. I got off at last, after exerting myself until my heart beat frantically, my mouth was parched, and my eyes dim; then seizing a bottle I supposed to contain beer, I tossed half a tumblerful down my throat ere I found it was vinegar!
A good half of Oulton Broad is taken up by yachts lying at their moorings, which are buoys at a sufficient distance apart to give the boats room to swing. There appears to be some doubt as to what authority has the right to interfere, and so nothing is done; but a better plan would be to have proper mooring-places along the shore where yachts might moor in tier, a small charge being made for the privilege.
Below Oulton Broad is Lake Lothing, a tidal lake communicating with Lowestoft Harbour. A lock gives access to it. Lowestoft Harbour is a most convenient one, easily entered at all states of the tide. A large basin is reserved for the use of yachts during the summer months, and from its easy facilities for a day's sail at sea or a run up the Broads in the dinghy or steam-launch it is yearly becoming more popular with yachtsmen.
Leaving Oulton Broad and re-entering the Waveney, we find deep water right up to Beccles, which some sea-going trading vessels use as their port; but in the upper reaches the river is very narrow. It is, however, extremely pretty. Almost the last of the lateeners—the old 'Ariel'—hails from Beccles.
On every Whit Monday there are great goings-on at Oulton. There is for one thing a regatta, and the Broad is literally crowded with boats; and for another it is the smacksman's yearly holiday, and he is very much in evidence both ashore and afloat. It is, however, but fair to say that the disgraceful scenes of drunkenness and fighting which formerly characterised Whit Monday are not so marked. The smacks' crews are now so well looked after by mission-ships afloat and Salvation Armies ashore that a most gratifying improvement has taken place in their manners and customs.
A start.
On a Sunday morning it is interesting to stroll round by the fish wharves in Lowestoft and listen to the outdoor services and services on smacks, and note the intense earnestness animating the rough-looking seamen who are the speakers, and the respect with which they are listened to even by well-known rowdies.
We leave Oulton Broad in company with several barges, and it is a race between us to get to Cantley, on the Yare, in time for a regatta of the Yare Sailing Club. Our wherry is gradually left behind by all the barges, but they have to wait at Herringfleet Bridge on account of a train, and as we come up just as the bridge is opened we are again on even terms with them, and are third out of six as the procession files along the narrow Haddiscoe Cut. At Reedham we meet the contingent of trading wherries which have started from Yarmouth with the flood, and several yachts on their way to Cantley, so that as we pass the picturesque village of Reedham and turn to windward up the broad reaches of the Yare the scene is a very animated one. At Cantley it is difficult to find a mooring-place, and the northward bank is lined with yachts for half a mile.
After the regatta we can sail up a most interesting part of the river, by the pretty ferries of Buckenham, Coldham Hall, and Surlingham, exploring Rockland and Surlingham Broads in the dinghy, and so on up to Norwich, just below which city the riverside scenery is most beautiful.
The rapidly increasing popularity of the Broads has given a great impetus to the trade of boat-letting, and the agencies are too numerous to mention. It may be useful, however, to say that, just as Loynes has made Wroxham a well-known starting point, so Bullen, of Oulton Broad, has done the same by the latter water. He owns or has the command of a large number of yachts and barges, some of which are suitable for Holland. At Norwich Messrs. Hart & Son, of Thorpe, have a similar agency, and the fishing-tackle makers and secretaries of yacht and sailing clubs keep lists of yachts to let. An advertisement in the 'Eastern Daily Press' will elicit replies. Also, if any reader of this article chooses to write to me at Norwich, stating what kind of craft he wants, and enclosing a stamp, I will forward the letter to a suitable yacht agent. I will not, however, undertake to reply to any letter, because in one or two of my boys' books I promised to do so, and the consequence is I get a recurring crop of letters from boys in many parts of the world, which are excessively inconvenient to a busy man, although it would be unkind not to reply to them.
To sum up, the rivers of Norfolk and Suffolk, with Oulton, Wroxham, Barton, and Hickling Broads, are most excellent cruising grounds for small yachts and sailing boats; and as for racing, I really think that 'foreign' boats, if their owners would remember that light displacement and a gigantic spread of canvas are essentials, would have an excellent chance of lowering the pride of the local men. The power of quick turning is, of course, a sine quâ non.
In the gloaming.
Practically the chief interest of the Broads to visitors lies in their cruising advantages rather than the yacht racing to be obtained or seen; and it may serve a useful purpose to go more into detail as to the nature and cost of the craft to be hired for cruising, and to give itineraries of short cruises. While yachts can be hired at Norwich, Wroxham, Yarmouth, and Oulton Broad, the business is more scientifically carried on at Wroxham and Oulton than elsewhere, and the convenience of visitors more thoroughly consulted by the persons already named as catering for the public there. The class of craft is also rather different. At Oulton there are for comfort the usual barges and wherries, and for fast sailing the usual four to ten tonners of the smart type already described. At Wroxham a fleet has been built consisting of vessels chiefly designed for ease of handling and comfort of camping and cruising, without any pretensions to racing speed. They are also of shallower draught than the Oulton boats, and have as a rule centreboards instead of the deep fixed keels of the others. It is, therefore, a matter of individual taste, and further comparisons would be invidious and perhaps unjust. With the deeper yachts it is customary to explore the shallower Broads in the jolly, while the smaller centreboards can be taken there. Those who chiefly love the science of sailing will prefer one sort, and those who delight most in exploring every lilied pool and in camping will prefer the other.
It is unfortunate, perhaps, to have to mention names in a book not intended to advertise persons whom it will probably survive, and it may seem unjust to other meritorious traders in the same line; but in the interest of the reader it has to be admitted that Bullen of Oulton and Loynes of Wroxham have taken too prominent a part in the exploration of the Broads for us to shirk mentioning them, any more than we can avoid naming the chief builders and designers.
None of Loynes' craft draw more than 3 ft. 6 in., and they range from twenty-three tons downwards. The largest will sleep four ladies and four gentlemen. The cost of hire is from 10l. to 12l. 10s. per week, according to the season, the height of the season being July and August. The hire includes two men, who are boarded by the hirers. This boarding of the men is rather a nuisance, but it is so much the custom that attempts to make the men board themselves, paying them increased wages, do not answer on the rivers. The 4-ton boats will sleep three, and the hire per week with attendant is 4l. 10s., and without an attendant 3l. 15s. All household necessaries are supplied, and visitors need only bring rugs, towels, and provisions.
At Oulton, Bullen has a number of craft, ranging from a large pleasure wherry accommodating twelve persons, and let at 12l. per week, to the typical 10- and 5-tonners. He has also several of the barge yachts, now so fashionable. One of them, the 'Ianthe,' has been twice to Holland, crossing the North Sea with safety, notwithstanding the shallow draught and large sail, with heavy mast set well forward. Bullen says that, for gentlemen who wish to get plenty of sailing, his 10-tonners are the best, but for ladies who require comfort and real pleasure the barge yachts or wherries are preferable.
A fortnight is required to do all the rivers and Broads properly, although much may be done in a week if the winds and weather are favourable.
With only a week to spare, it would be best to stick to the North river, or Bure. Thus, if starting from Oulton, Norwich, or Yarmouth, sail straight away to Wroxham, say two days' journey; on the third day back to Horning and up the coast to Barton Broad; fourth and fifth days up the Thurne to Potter Heigham, and do Hickling and Horsey Mere; sixth and seventh back to the starting point. Much depends, however, whether the object of the cruise is to loiter about and fish, or to sail and cover the ground. In the latter case the following is an itinerary I have carried out in a week.
Birds of a feather.
Starting from Wroxham, Yarmouth can be reached the first day; second day up the Yare to Norwich; third day Norwich to Oulton Broad; fourth day up the Waveney to Beccles; fifth day Beccles to Yarmouth; sixth day Yarmouth to Potter Heigham; seventh day do Hickling Broad in the morning, and sail up to Wroxham in the evening. A dead calm, or a combination of head wind and adverse tide, might, however, upset the plan by a day. It would be well, therefore, to stipulate in the hire that the yacht might be left short of its destination, to be taken back by the man.
Most people will take fishing tackle with them on a cruise on the Broads, but I hope everybody will leave their guns at home. The incessant popping away with shot-guns and pea-rifles is quite useless in results, very annoying to riparian owners, and very dangerous to the public. A camera is a much better weapon. Few districts offer better or more artistic subjects for the photographer's skill. A dark room is provided upon some of the pleasure wherries, and the tripod is almost as common an object on the marshes as the windmills.
Commodore Stevens, founder of the New York Yacht Club, 1844.
CHAPTER VI
YACHTING IN AMERICA
By Lewis Herreshoff
The degree of leisure and wealth, so essential to the development of yachting, was not realised by the citizens of the American seaboard until nearly one-third of this century had passed, and even then only a mere handful of nautically inclined sportsmen could spare time from the stern duties of country settling and fortune-hunting to follow in any measure their tastes in seeking pleasure on the alluring waters that flowed at their very feet.
It must not be supposed, however, that our ancestors took absolutely no pleasure in sailing; they had their pirogues and other small craft which were kept ostensibly for trade, but which served the double purpose of affording gain and pleasure.
In the traditions of my ancestry I learn of a small boat kept by one who used her to visit an island farm, whence he brought produce; and another would sail down the bay (Narragansett) for the love of it, but largely to meet and pilot up the tortuous channel his returning vessels from their coastwise trade.
No people were ever more advantageously situated for yachting, as to frequency of harbours and tempting conditions of water and weather, than are the dwellers on the eastern seaboard of North America. True that the season for yachting is from May to November only in the more northerly portions (north of Hampton Roads); but if a genuine yachtsman takes in five months of his beloved sport, it will be found that the remaining seven will be none too long to talk over the exploits of the past season, and prepare and plan for the coming.
R.Y.S. Cup,
won by the
'America,' 1851.
As the character of water and weather that surround a locality has a direct bearing and influence on the form and rig of yacht, it is thought that a short sketch of the coast and its surrounding waters will be of interest.
The shores of Maine, as well as those of the British Provinces, present one of the most interesting fields for yachting that can be found in the whole continent of North America.
The deeply indented coastline and numerous outlying islands afford endless variety in scenery as well as in the surface of the water. Choice may be had between sheltered bays and the open sea.
The atmosphere during the first half of the yachting season is somewhat obscured by fogs, but after July the air is clear and bracing, with pleasant breezes from the sea during the day, and land winds during the night from north-west. Tidal currents are swift and the change of level is large, particularly on the shores of the provinces, ranging from 10 ft. or 12 ft. at Portland to far more as one sails eastward, whilst in the Bay of Fundy the rise and fall often reach 50 ft. Moving southerly, good yachting ground will be found from Cape Anne to Cape Cod; the waters thus included are fairly smooth in summer with harbours available every few miles, the shores being fully occupied by summer resorts where the visitors are, as a rule, yacht-owners, or deeply interested in aquatic sports. In fact, this locality, embracing Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays, with their many inlets and harbours (the chief being Boston Harbour), is the scene of more yacht racing and boat racing than any other sheet of water in America, as evidence of which some of the open regattas often start no fewer than 130 yachts and boats varying from 15 ft. to 50 ft. in length.
The winds off the coast of Massachusetts are moderate, twelve to fifteen miles an hour, easterly in the early part of the season, and south-west during the summer, with north-west in the autumn. Tidal currents are moderately strong, with range of level from 6 ft. to 10 ft., fogs are infrequent and short in duration. After rounding Cape Cod, Nantucket Sound is entered, a large semi-enclosed sheet of water full of sand shoals, amongst which the tide rushes to and fro with great speed, and whilst it is always traversed by yachts and trading vessels, it cannot be said to be strictly a favourable yachting ground, although sail-boats of shoal draught may be seen sailing for pleasure or fishing, which pastimes are enjoyed by the visitors that flock to the island of Nantucket and the adjacent mainland during the summer season. Fogs are very dense and frequent during nearly, the whole of the yachting season; the winds are more fresh than in Massachusetts Bay, and usually are from south to south-west, except in autumn when north or north-west may be expected.
From the foregoing we sail directly into Martha's Vineyard Sound, where strong winds and tidal currents are found, with fewer obstructions in way of shoals than in Nantucket Sound.
On the right of Martha's Vineyard Sound lie the Elizabeth Islands, some of which are picturesque. The nearest one to the mainland at Wood's Holl, called Naushon, is owned by several of the Forbes family, who for many years have been—and still are—most interested and intelligent patrons of yachting; and in one of the most beautiful little harbours on the north side of Naushon may be seen their fleet of yachts, lying at the safest of anchorages, often a dozen, some sailing vessels, and others steam.
Through many of the passages between the Elizabeth Islands access may be had to Buzzard's Bay, whose shores are everywhere dotted with the houses of summer dwellers, singly and in small villages; so it goes without saying that yachting; or more correctly boating, is the chief pastime, and no more agreeable field can be found for it, save perhaps the adjoining Bay of Narragansett, which without doubt is the paradise of yachtsmen.
The winds of Buzzard's Bay are fresh, even strong, and seeing that its expanse is unbroken by islands, it is often rough—perhaps too rough for pleasure-sailing in boats of the size usually seen; but in Narragansett Bay, though the winds are fresh its waters are not so rough, as its many islands prevent in a great measure the formation of waves uncomfortably large. Here, as in Buzzard's Bay, the tidal currents are moderate and change of level from 4 ft. to 6 ft.; fogs are less frequent than in Buzzard's Bay, and are never long in duration.
In the ocean, directly south from the mouth of Narragansett Bay, lies the most favoured spot on the entire coast for yacht racing, and for the last forty-five years it has been the scene of the most interesting races held away from the racing grounds at the approach to New York Bay; but for the best results of racing no place on the coast is equal to it, its winds are fresh and constant, its tidal currents are moderate and regular in their time and direction, so that little advantage can be had by one familiar with the locality over those who are not.
Few 'flukey' days can be remembered off Newport, and year after year the races there are becoming more and more important, as the waters in New York Harbour and its approaches become crowded, and as yachtsmen seek more open water than exists in the vicinity of New York. Twenty miles west of Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound is entered; it is a glorious expanse of water, more than one hundred miles long and having an average width of fifteen miles; it is a thoroughfare for an enormous traffic, and in the season yachting and boating are most successfully and agreeably followed. Its tidal currents are generally moderate; in a few places they are swift; fogs are infrequent.
South of Long Island, and protected from the sea by a narrow spit of sand, are several shallow bays on which boating is largely followed; proximity to New York makes this shore sought for as a summer resort, and as boating is the only thing to be done in way of pastime, it is small wonder that so many boats are to be seen.
The harbour of New York with its approaches, and surrounding waters of the East and Hudson Rivers, are all splendid ground for sailing; but, seeing that traffic has so taken possession of nearly every available spot, yachting is forced into the more distant waters of the lower bay, and those parts of the Hudson less frequented by trading vessels. That part of the sea east and south of the Sandy Hook Lightship is a famous racing ground, and is destined to become even more so as competing yachts find the crowded waters of even the lower bay unsuitable for a just comparison of the speed of their vessels. The sea-coast of New Jersey, like that of Long Island, has many inlets leading to sheltered, shallow bays, where may be seen numberless small yachts and sail-boats from 40 ft. in length downward to the most unpretentious cat-boat.
Delaware Bay and River are well adapted for yachting, but few large yachts are to be seen there, the dwellers in that section being content with boats and small sloop yachts.
Chesapeake Bay is a noble stretch of water that is almost unknown to the yachtsman. Its advantages are many, and in the near future it is to be hoped that the inhabitants along its shores will avail themselves of so fortunate an opportunity for sailing with more agreeable conditions than exist anywhere south of New York Bay.
Fogs are rare and tidal currents slight, except when induced by a constant high wind either up or down the bay; the rise and fall also from purely tidal causes are very small.
Hampton Roads and tributary waters are all well adapted for yachting and boating, but all their reputation as a yachting centre has yet to be made. For boats or small yachts there exists an inland watercourse through the Canal of the Dismal Swamp from Hampton Roads to the chain of sounds that skirt the sea-coast of the Carolinas, the waters of which are for the most part shallow, but well suited for small sailing craft, and more particularly for small steam yachts drawing less than 6 ft. of water. Albemarle, the most southerly of these sounds, is broad and deep, and well adapted for the navigation of yachts of the largest tonnage. Access to the ocean may be had at Hatteras Inlet, or still farther south for smaller vessels at Morehead City, where the navigator must take to the open sea if he would continue his voyage still farther to the south. More than 200 miles of open ocean must be passed before Charleston, South Carolina, is reached, which port is well suited for small yachts and sail-boats, many of both classes being already in use as purely pleasure craft. Southward from Charleston is good ground for sail-boats and small steam yachts, numerous islands forming protected channels through which one may pass as far south as Savannah in Georgia. At Brunswick, in the same state, is a bay with a large area of protected water formed by the shelter of islands in which yachts of modest size thrive, but apart from convenience for shooting and fishing little use is made of any craft unless by the more venturesome tourists from the Northern States.
Florida is more the home of the steam yacht than of the sailing craft; you may ascend St. John's River for a distance of 260 miles in a steam yacht; at a few places where this beautiful stream swells into a lake boating may be pursued with no small degree of satisfaction. In the Bay of St. Augustine one finds many small yachts and a very agreeable place to sail them, a yacht club, and many evidences of civilisation in the way of opportunities for sport and pleasure-seeking.
There is also in Florida an extended system of inland navigation, which at present is but partly developed; soon, however, the entire length from north to south may be traversed in a vessel of moderate draught. Of course steam-yachting in such situations is by far the most satisfactory. The Gulf Coast in general does not present a very favourable field for yachting except under steam; in summer it is too hot, and in winter the winds are not steady nor well suited to the taste of the average yachtsman.
There is a deal of semi-protected water along the shores of Mississippi and Louisiana, and also some at widely separated bays in Texas, so that, with a few exceptions, yachting has not been established; at New Orleans, however, there is a yacht club that has for its field some of the large inland lakes where yachts of moderate size can be used with satisfaction.
The Pacific coast is not well designed for yachting on account of the extreme infrequency of harbours, and the generally rough sea found off the coast from Puget's Sound as far south as Point Conception. Puget's Sound is said to be a most favourable place for all marine sports, fishing and shooting as well as yachting; it is surely large enough, and also there is no lack of depth of water, but some time must elapse before the dwellers along its shores will find sufficient time and money to indulge in any pastime. The Bay of San Francisco is well adapted for yachting with vessels of moderate size, the winds are mostly from seaward and are strong, even more so in summer than in winter. There is a yacht club in San Francisco with a large membership and a goodly number of yachts, but most of their sailing is done inside. The scarcity of coal, and consequent large cost, seems to hinder the introduction of steam yachts, but a large number of naphtha launches are used with evident satisfaction.
South of Point Conception the conditions are far more favourable for yachting than in the north; but the want of good harbours, well distributed, will always serve as a block to the sport. It is true that, owing to the wonderfully quiet waters, a shelter is not essential, for a gale of dangerous force is a rarity from a direction that would render anchorage unsafe; but it is the unceasing swell of the ocean that renders landing difficult, and makes felt the absence of a harbour over at least two-thirds of the coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego.
Santa Barbara channel is a charming expanse of water which in summer is admirably calculated to afford great pleasure to the lover of yachting. Fogs are rare, winds steady and moderate in force from S.S.W.; but in winter there is such an entire absence of wind that sailing is wholly impracticable.
On the islands that form the southerly limit of Santa Barbara channel may be found several pretty harbours with most interesting surroundings in scenery, as well as fine fishing and shooting. Forty miles eastward of the Santa Barbara Islands lies the beautiful island of Santa Katalina, where there is a fine harbour for small yachts; and as this island is somewhat removed from the influences of the ocean it may become, in the near future, a favourite centre for all aquatic sports. San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, has what passes for a harbour, in which may be seen a few yachts and smaller pleasure craft, the embryo squadron of the Los Angeles Yacht Club. San Diego boasts of the finest harbour in South California, and, taken in connection with the neighbouring islands, it is truly a very attractive spot for yachting, which, as yet, has not made much advancement; but by the recent organisation of a yacht club it is hoped that the sport will become well established, and afford pleasure to the many tourists who flock to that blessed climate, where sun and air invite one to spend one's days in comfort and in love with all nature. It will be years, however, before yachting on the Pacific coast will have reached anything like the proportion that it has assumed in the east.
It will be easily seen that the Atlantic coast of the United States and British Provinces offers the greatest facilities for both boating and yachting. In almost every situation there can be found large areas of sheltered and semi-sheltered water specially suitable for small yachts and boats; and it is at once seen that all these expanses of protected water are easily accessible from the open ocean, where those disposed and properly provided may find as large a range of sailing or cruising as their fancy or means will admit. The very favourable distribution of wind, the infrequency of fogs, and the rarity of storms during the yachting season, all combine to make the conditions for general yachting as advantageous as possible—in fact, nothing more perfect could be found even if we search the world over.
From June 1 to the middle of September only one storm of any importance may be expected; it is from the north-east, lasting two days, and occurs about August 20. About the middle of September a gale from the south-east is expected, but it is short in duration, not over eight hours, and if other storms come from the east or north-east, they are always foretold two or more days in advance by the Weather Bureau, prompt notice of them being published in every daily paper in the section threatened; north-east, east, north-west storms are always heralded by the same office; the south-east storms are the only ones that come unforetold. Thunderstorms and sudden squalls are becoming more and more infrequent on the northern and middle Atlantic coast. It is thought that the settling of the country, with its network of railways and telephonic wires, exerts a dispersing influence on all local electrical storms; but, be that as it may, they are now little felt where once they were of almost daily occurrence in the height of summer.
The generally quiet character of the water available for yachting, and the prevailing pleasant weather with moderate winds, combined to influence the form and rig of boats and yachts in use for the first half of this century, and if one carefully examines the situation, it will be found that the style of pleasure craft chiefly in vogue was well adapted to the requirements of the then yachtsman; but as years passed, new influences were at work and new requirements sought for, so that to-day the build and rig of boats and yachts used by our ancestry seem likely to disappear, save perhaps in certain localities where the shoal draught must be considered, as along the south shore of Long Island, the coast of New Jersey, and in much of the waters of the Southern States.
In illustration of the effect that winds and waters have on the form and rig of yachts, one need only compare the yachts in England with those in America. The conditions of weather and sea are as different in the two countries as are their vessels; but it must also be admitted that the rules of time allowance arranged to equalise yachts of different size in racing has also had large influence in separating so widely the form of yachts in the two countries, a difference which, under the newest order of rules and intercourse, is rapidly disappearing.
The history of yachting in America begins with the brilliant career of the Stevens brothers, notably the elder of the three, John C., whose life and labour seem to have been devoted to the development of the best type of vessel for pleasure. He may justly be called the father of yachting. The Stevenses lived in Hoboken, and in the early years of this century to cross the Hudson to New York by the established ferry boat was slow and uncertain, so naturally the Stevens brothers had each his own boat, and crossed the river by his own skill, either by sail or oar. Through ferrying themselves over the river, they became very skilful in the management of boats, and the love and talent thus awakened were held by them all their lives.
The first craft of any importance owned by John C. Stevens was 'Diver,' built in 1809, but of her there exists no record, save the fact of her being 20 ft. long. He built 'Trouble,' in 1816; she was a pirogue, a style of vessel much in vogue in those days, 56 ft. long, two masts, one in the extreme bow, the other a little aft of amidships, with no bowsprit or jib. Her mid-section is here shown; she was wide and flat, with a round, full bow, and was said to be very fast for that class of craft; she has the honour of being the first yacht in America, and without doubt was a comfortable seaworthy vessel, but was soon put aside by her progressive master, who in the following fifteen years built and owned several craft of various sizes and rig.
'Trouble,' midship section.
It seems to have been a passion of Mr. Stevens to experiment. Indeed, this striving for something better was the key-note of his life, and a boon to yachting, since the science of naval architecture made very rapid progress during his career; for he died having carried the form of vessels from their rude model in early times to the vastly improved 'Maria,' which famous yacht stands as a monument to his skill and determination to improve.
One of the fancies of Mr. Stevens was a catamaran, or a boat with two hulls. She was built in 1820 and named 'Double Trouble.' The sides of the hulls toward the centre were parallel. But the old 'Trouble' beat her easily, and she was laid aside to make room for something new and better. In 1832 Mr. Stevens built the schooner 'Wave'; she was 65 ft. water-line and proved to be fast. She visited Boston in 1835 and 1836, and beat all yachts she found there.
'Maria,' sloop, 1846, midship section.
'Wave' was sold to the United States Government in 1838, and used in the Revenue Marine Service. Her section is here given.
About this same date other yachts began to appear. The schooner 'Dream' was built in New York by Webb & Allen; her length was 47 ft. over all, and she was a well-known yacht, until 1855, when she was lost near Bridgeport, Connecticut. The schooner 'Sylph' was built in Boston in 1833 by Wetmore & Holbrook, for John P. Cushing, and finally sold to R. B. Forbes. After he sold 'Wave,' Mr. Stevens brought out 'Onkahya,' a schooner, in 1839; her tonnage was 250, length on water-line 91 ft.
'Wave,' midship section.
'Onkahya' was a departure from other craft in many respects, some of which may be seen in her mid-section here shown. Her keel was of iron, which gave her unusual stability, and her bow was long and fine to a degree. She was but a moderate success as a racer, but was a very good cruiser, having made a voyage to the West Indies. She was sold to the United States Government in 1843.
After five years' service under the Revenue Marine flag, 'Onkahya' was lost on the Caicos Reefs, West Indies.
Mr. Stevens next appeared on board 'Gimcrack,' a schooner built in June, 1844, by William Capes, of Hoboken, and designed by George Steers. She was about 51 ft. extreme length, and 49 ft. on water-line, 13 ft. 6 in. beam, 5 ft. 2 in. deep, and drew 7½ ft. of water. Her chief peculiarity was a sort of fixed centreboard of heavy plate-iron—in short, like the fin-keel of to-day, only without being loaded with lead at the lower edge. This fin was 4 ft. wide, and 12 ft. or 15 ft. long.
'Onkahya,' midship section.
'Gimcrack' was not wholly satisfactory to her owner, but served for three years; several years later she was broken up at Oyster Bay, Long Island. No model or drawings of her now exist.
The little cabin of 'Gimcrack' has the honour of being the birthplace of the New York Yacht Club, an organisation that has done vastly more than anything else to foster a love of yachting, and to promote progress in naval architecture. On its roll is entered the name of every noted yachtsman in America, and every important yacht has at one time or another been the property of one or more of its members. The story of the formation of the New York Yacht Club is best told by reading the minutes of the first important meeting, and as it has such a direct bearing on the progress of yachting, it is here given in full:—
MINUTES OF THE NEW YORK YACHT CLUB
On board of the 'Gimcrack,' off the Battery (New York Harbour), July 30, 1844, 5.30 P.M.
According to previous notice, the following gentlemen assembled for the purpose of organising a Yacht Club, viz.: John C. Stevens, Hamilton Wilkes, William Edgar, John C. Jay, George L. Schuyler, Louis A. Depaw, George B. Rollins, James M. Waterbury, James Rogers, and on motion it was resolved to form a Yacht Club. On motion it was resolved that the title of the club be The New York Yacht Club. On motion it was resolved that the gentlemen present be the original members of the club. On motion it was resolved that John C. Stevens be the Commodore of the club. On motion it was resolved that a committee of five be appointed by the Commodore to report rules and regulations for the government of the club. The following gentlemen were appointed, viz.: John C. Stevens, George L. Schuyler, John C. Jay, Hamilton Wilkes, and Captain Rogers. On motion it was resolved that the club make a cruise to Newport, Rhode Island, under command of the Commodore. The following yachts were represented at this meeting, viz.: 'Gimcrack,' John C. Stevens; 'Spray,' Hamilton Wilkes; 'Cygnet,' William Edgar; 'La Coquille,' John C. Jay; 'Dream,' George L. Schuyler; 'Mist,' Louis A. Depaw; 'Minna,' George B. Rollins; 'Adda,' Captain Rogers. After appointing Friday, August 2, at 9 A.M., the time for sailing on the cruise, the meeting adjourned.
John C. Jay, Recording Secretary.
The New York Yacht Club soon showed vitality, energy, and power, as the following reports of the first matches will clearly show what amateur and Corinthian crews could do in those days. 'None but members to sail and handle their yachts' was the rule, and Commodore Stevens's big sloop 'Maria,' a winner in 1848, was 160 tons.
'GIMCRACK.'
Mr. J. Stevens, 1844.
FIRST AMATEUR CORINTHIAN REGATTA
OF THE
NEW YORK YACHT CLUB
October 6, 1846
For a Cup subscribed for by members of the New York Yacht Club. None but members to sail and handle their yachts. The allowance of time on this occasion was reduced to 45 seconds per ton Custom House measurement.
The course was from a stake boat (the 'Gimcrack') anchored off the Club House, Elysian Fields; thence to and around a stake boat anchored off Fort Washington Point; thence to and around a stake boat anchored in the Narrows (off Fort Hamilton), turning it from the eastward and return to the place of starting. Whole distance 40 miles.
SECOND AMATEUR CORINTHIAN REGATTA
OF THE
NEW YORK YACHT CLUB
October 12, 1847
Over the New York Yacht Club Course
By a resolution passed at the second general meeting, July 13, 1847, it was decided by members, not yacht-owners, that on the second Tuesday in October, a regatta should take place for a prize made by their subscription, the yachts to be manned and sailed exclusively by members, allowing each boat 'yacht' a pilot.
The following gentlemen were appointed a committee to regulate the regatta, with full power to postpone if the weather should prove unfavourable.
Edward Ceuter.
Lewis M. Rutherfurd.
Nathaniel P. Hossack.
October 6, 1846.—Corinthian Regatta of New York Yacht Club—Club Course Entries and Record of the Regatta
| Rig | Name | Owner | Tonnage | Start | S. Island | L. Island | S. W. Spit | House stake boat |
| Schooner | Gimcrack | John C. Stevens | 25 | 10.00.00 | 12.19.23 | — | — | — |
| " | Dream | George L. Schuyler | 28 | 10.02.00 | — | — | — | — |
| " | Spray | Hamilton Wilkes | 37 | 10.04.00 | 12.04.55 | 12.12.10 | — | 4.28.28 |
| " | Cygnet | John R. Snydam | 45 | 10.06.00 | 12.06.35 | 12.13.52 | — | — |
| Sloop | Una | J. M. Waterbury | 59 | 10.08.00 | 11.40.11 | 11.47.00 | 1.28.43 | 3.43.40 |
| Schooner | Siren | W. E. Miller | 72 | 10.10.00 | 12.07.02 | 12.14.22 | 2.02.05 | 4.23.00 |
| " | Cornelia | William Edgar | 94 | 10.12.00 | 12.21.11 | — | — | — |
'The Dream,' 'Gimcrack,' 'Cygnet,' and 'Cornelia' did not finish. The 'Una' won the prize—a Silver Cup. Wind fresh from the West during the race.
October 12, 1847.—Corinthian Regatta of New York Yacht Club—Club Course Entries and Record of the Regatta
| Rig | Name | Owner | Tonnage | Start | Fort Washington Point | Narrow | Finish | Actual time |
| Sloop | Maria | John C. Stevens | 160 | 10.58.20 | 11.54.00 | 2.38.10 | 4.02.45 | 5.04.25 |
| " | Lancet | George B. Rollins | 20 | 10.00.00 | 10.54.00 | — | 4.36.09 | 6.36.09 |
| Schooner | Siren | W. E. Miller | 72 | 10.21.40 | 11.17.00 | 2.48.55 | 4.24.20 | 6.02.40 |
| " | Cygnet | D. L. Snydam | 45 | 10.10.45 | 11.05.00 | 2.38.00 | 4.26.15 | 6.15.30 |
| " | Spray | Hamilton Wilkes | 37 | 10.07.05 | 11.01.00 | 2.40.00 | 4.28.31 | 6.21.26 |
| " | La Coquille | John C. Jay | 27 | 10.02.35 | 10.58.00 | 2.45.00 | 4.29.12 | 6.26.27 |
This was 'Maria's' first race.
The tide at starting was at the last of the flood, tide turning ebb at 12 m. Wind strong from S.W. The 'Maria' won, beating the 'Siren.'
| Sailing Committee | George L. Schuyler. |
| Andrew Foster, Jun. | |
| William E. Laight. |
MODEL ROOM OF NEW YORK YACHT CLUB.
(From Photograph sent by J. V. S. Oddie.)
The formation of the New York Yacht Club was followed by a rapid augmentation of the yachting fleet, and general interest seemed to be suddenly awakened in the sport. The attention of designers and builders became centred on pleasure craft, so that in the first five years of the life of the club several new builders and designers came into public notice. Foremost among them was George Steers, who showed marked ability in designing; indeed, it is not too much to say that his ideas in naval architecture and construction were a guide in the art for many years. Some of his best known yachts of this period were 'La Coquille,' schooner, 1842, length 44 ft. 6 in.; 'Cygnet,' schooner, 53 ft. 2 in., 1844; 'Cornelia,' schooner, 1847, length over all 74 ft.; 'Gimcrack,' before mentioned.
In 1846 Winde & Clinckard, of New York, built 'Coquette,' schooner, length 66 ft.; she made the passage from Boston to New York in 29 hrs., and returned in 28 hrs. 'Brenda,' schooner, was turned out by the same builders in 1845; she was 48 ft. over all. She visited Bermuda in May 1849, and on the 14th of that month sailed there a match with 'Pearl,' beating her 55 secs., this being the first international race found in any American record.
The schooner 'Spray,' was built by Brown & Bell, of New York, in 1844; her length was 49 ft. 8 in. over all.
Commodore Stevens contented himself with 'Gimcrack' for three years, during which time he was evidently accumulating strength for a great stroke in yachting, which in the autumn of 1847 culminated in his last and by far the most famous yacht, the sloop 'Maria,' the largest pleasure craft of her class ever built in this or any country. George Steers assisted the Commodore in designing, and during the winter of 1847 and 1848 she was built by William Capes in Hoboken. Sloop 'Maria' was originally 92 ft. long on water-line, she had the full round entrance and gradually tapering after body, a style popularly known as the 'cod head and mackerel tail,' a form that prevailed generally in all vessels up to about this date. After two years Commodore Stevens became tired of the full round bow of 'Maria,' and in 1850 she was lengthened forward, so that she became 110 ft. on water-line, and 116 ft. on deck.
'Maria' was such a departure from accepted rules, and became so well known in all yachting circles, that a full description of her is deemed worthy of record in these pages.
Her beam was 26 ft. 6 in., 8 ft. 3 in. depth of hold, 5 ft. 2 in., draught of water at stern, and 8 in. forward. She had two centreboards, a small one near the stern to aid in steering, and the large board 24 ft. long in the usual position; this main board was of iron and lead, weighing over seven tons. When first launched 'Maria's' centreboard was not pivoted, but worked in a vertical line, both ends being dropped to the same depth.
The great weight of this board was partly balanced by two large spiral springs, one at either end, which were extended when the board was lowered. Length of mast 92 ft., 2 ft. 8 in. in diameter at deck, and 1 ft. 11 in. at hounds; it was a hollow spar, being bored out, for the first 20 ft. having a hole 12 in. in diameter; for the next 20 ft. 10 in., and above that the bore was 7 in. Her main boom was 95 ft. long, 2 ft. 7 in. in diameter and 2 ft. 4 in. at the slings; it was built up with staves like a barrel, inside it was a system of truss-work with long tension-rods reaching nearly to the ends. Length of main gaff 61 ft., with a diameter of 2 ft. 2 in. Her bowsprit had an extreme length of 38 ft., with a diameter of 2 ft.; it entered the hull of the yacht below deck, leaving the deck space above all free and clear; there was also a jibboom which materially lengthened the bowsprit, so that the point where the jib-stay was attached was 70 ft. from the mast. Area of mainsail, 5,790 sq. ft.; the cloths of this were placed parallel to the boom, the bighting running fore and aft instead of vertically as usual. It was thought by the Commodore and his brothers Robert and Edward, who were equally interested with him in the ownership of the yacht, that a sail thus constructed offered less opposition to the passage of wind than a sail made in the usual style; but the plan was open to objections, so that it never became popular. Her jib presented 2,100 ft. of surface, leach 69 ft.; its foot, 70 ft.; foot of mainsail, 94 ft.; hoist, 66 ft.; head, 60 ft.; and leach, 110 ft. 'Maria' had a working topsail, but it was rarely set.
'BLACK MARIA,' SLOOP, BEATING 'AMERICA,' SCHOONER, IN TEST RACE, NEW YORK, 1850.
132 tons. Built 1848. (Commodore Stevens, N.Y.Y.C.)
(Contributed by E. A. Stevens, of Hoboken, U.S.A.)
Commodore Stevens with his famous craft took part in many races and matches during the first six years of 'Maria's' life; she usually beat all her competitors, the few failures she suffered being attributable to the failure of one or other of some new devices in her rigging or fittings; for her owners were for ever trying something new in way of experiment.
At one time the ballast of 'Maria' was disposed in a layer on the outside of her planking, the lead being about 2 in. thick at the rabbit and tapering to a half-inch about half-way out to the turn of the bilge. 'Maria' had several test matches with the schooner 'America,' just before that vessel departed on her eventful voyage to England in 1851; 'Maria' usually beat the schooner easily, particularly in smooth sea and moderate wind. It is related of 'Maria' that on one day when conditions favoured her she sailed three times completely around 'America' in a comparatively short distance, which performance forms the subject of a spirited picture here given.
After the death of Commodore Stevens, and when 'Maria' was the property of his brother Edward, the yacht was lengthened about 6 ft. or 7 ft., and finally rigged as a schooner. She was then sold and used in the fruit trade, making voyages to the coast of Honduras; but in October 1870, as she was bound to New York with a load of cocoa-nuts, a storm overtook her when in the vicinity of Hatteras, in which she succumbed, and vessel and crew were never more heard of.
James Waterbury was also a prominent yachtsman in those early days. The sloop 'Una' was built for him in 1847 by George Steers, 64 ft. long, lengthened in 1851 to 68 ft., and again in 1854 to 71 ft. 9 in.; tonnage, 70. The sloop 'Julia' was built for Mr. Waterbury in 1854 by George Steers, and designed by Nelson Spratt; her length was 78 ft. 8 in. extreme, and 70 ft. on water-line. This wonderful vessel seems to have sprung into existence by chance; her designer was a quiet, obscure man, whose ideas of naval architecture appear to have been far in advance of his time.
'America,' 170 tons, 1851 (Commodore Stevens, N.Y.Y.C.)
'Julia' was one of the handsomest yachts of her day, and the fastest when proper allowance for difference of size was made. It is true that 'Maria' nearly always beat her, but in those days the system of allowance favoured the larger vessel, which error exists in allowance tables in use at present. The sloop 'Rebecca' was built in 1855 by William Tooker, a brother-in-law of George Steers, for J. G. van Pelt. Her length over all was 72 ft., 65 ft. on water-line, 19 ft. 2 in. beam, 5 ft. 8 in. deep, 6 ft. 3 in. draught, 3297.62 sq. ft. of sail spread, tonnage 77.6. The schooner 'America,' the most famous yacht of her day, was built by George Steers and W. H. Brown, designed and superintended by George Steers, launched May 3, 1851, for John C. Stevens, Hamilton Wilkes, George L. Schuyler, James Hamilton, J. Beekman Finlay, and Edward A. Stevens, brother of Commodore Stevens.
The 'America' was 94 ft. long on deck, 83 ft. water-line, 22 ft. 6 in. beam, 9 ft. 3 in. depth of hold, 11 ft. 6 in. draught; her mainmast was 81 ft. long, 76 ft. 6 in. foremast, her main topmast was 33 ft. 6 in. long, no foretopmast, 58 ft. main boom, no fore boom, 28 ft. main gaff, 24 ft. fore gaff, 17 ft. bowsprit outboard, 170 tonnage. After 'America' finished her brilliant career in England in August 1851, she was sold there to Lord De Blaquiere and remained in foreign waters for ten years; she then fell into the hands of the Southern Confederacy, and when the U.S.S. 'Ottawa' visited Florida in 1862 'America' was found sunk in St. John's River. She was raised, pumped out, and sent to Port Royal, thence to Annapolis, Maryland, where she remained in Government service for several years, and was finally sold to General B. F. Butler. She still remains in yachting service as staunch as ever, and by no means the least handsome nor slowest of the national pleasure fleet; in fact, she is to day a monument to the skill of her designer and excellent thoroughness of her builder.
The racing of the 'America' in England 42 years ago has without doubt had more influence, directly and indirectly, on the yachting world than the performance of any other yacht, and both countries concerned owe to her designer and owners a debt of gratitude that will remain uncancelled for generations; for it has been the means of bringing the two yachting nations together in many friendly contests, resulting not only in marked modifications in the form and rig of the yachts of both countries, but the social intercourse begun so many years ago has continued and increased greatly to the benefit of yachting, and has led to a more complete union of all interested in the promotion of close international relations.
Lines and midship section of the 'America,' launched May 1, 1851.
In 1845 Robert and Isaac Fish (brothers) established themselves in New York as builders and designers of yachts and other vessels. On the death of Isaac, 'Bob Fish' continued the business and turned out many well-known yachts, sloops at first and later schooners. His yachts were generally successful as racers, and next to Steers his designs were thought to be best; but whilst his yachts were fast and usually successful in other respects, their form was not destined to live, for the system of shoal draught and wide beam is now obsolete, except in waters where the conditions require special features. Fish showed no tendency to change the model then in vogue, his last yacht being just like the earlier in form and in general proportions.
Mr. Fish had great skill in 'tuning up' a yacht for racing, and many craft owe their success to his ability.
A few of the best-known yachts by Mr. Fish were, sloop 'Newburg,' 1845; sloop 'Undine,' sloop 'Gertrude,' 1852; 'Victoria,' 1856—this last became a blockade-runner in 1863, was captured, sold, and afterwards wrecked. Sloop 'Eva,' 1866, afterwards a schooner, was capsized and lost on Charleston Bar. 'Meteor,' schooner, 1869, a large and fine vessel, was lost the same year on Cape Bonne, whilst cruising in the Mediterranean. Schooners 'Wanderer' and 'Enchantress' were both very successful vessels, and fast in their day. In 1869 Mr. Fish remodelled 'Sappho,' giving her wholly new lines and changing essentially her proportions, vastly improving the sailing qualities of the yacht, as was afterward proved by her successes in foreign waters as a racer. Another designer and builder of about this period was D. D. Mallory, of Noank, Connecticut; he brought out many fast and otherwise successful sloops, but it can be said of him, as of Robert Fish, that his tendencies in designing were not in a direction toward improvement; the same wide, flat, shoal-draught vessels were adhered to from first to last.
Some of Mallory's best-known yachts were 'Mystic,' 1856, 'Richmond,' 1857, 'Mallory,' 1858, 'Haswell,' 1858, 'Plover,' 1859, 'Zouave,' 1861. In 1864 the Herreshoffs began yacht building and designing in Bristol, Rhode Island. They had inherited tendencies toward everything connected with marine affairs, and having been born and bred on the shore of Narragansett Bay, their attention was early turned to boating, and later to yachting. From the outset the Herreshoffs departed from old forms, and struck out for something better than the 'skimming-dish,' as the popular model was truly but irreverently called. Some of the best known yachts built in Bristol were 'Kelpie,' 1864, 'Qui Vive,' 1864, 'Clytie,' 1865, 'Sadie,' 1867, 'Orion,' 1870, the schooners 'Ianthe,' 'Triton,' 'Faustine,' and a great number of smaller craft of either sloop or cat rig.
'Shadow,' 1872.
In 1872 Mr. N. G. Herreshoff, the younger of the two brothers connected in yacht-building, and the designer, brought out the 'Shadow,' 37 ft. over all, a sloop whose fame is still fresh in the mind of every yachtsman in America. She has won more races than any American yacht, and even to-day can give the best of the new yachts a very hard pull. The 'Shadow' has the honour of being the first yacht built on what was afterwards known as the 'compromise model'; that is, a design that combines the beam of the American with the depth of the English yacht. From her earliest performance 'Shadow' showed speed and admirable qualities, but strangely enough, her form was not reproduced nor copied for nearly fifteen years, which may be accounted for in a measure by her designer having deserted the yachting field and turned his attention to steam engineering and to the designing of steam yachts. Mr. Herreshoff, however, did not wholly abandon his interest in sailing vessels, and occasionally put forth a sailing yacht, or more properly boat, one of which, the cat-boat 'Gleam,' was very famous for speed both in native and English waters.
Lines and midship section of the 'Shadow,' designed by N. Herreshoff, 1872.
Another well-known cat was 'Alice,' 1879; she took twelve first prizes out of eleven starts during her first year, in one race there having been two prizes offered. During the ten years from 1860 to 1870, covering the period of the War of the Rebellion, yachting interests were at a low ebb, and comparatively few pleasure vessels of any kind were built.
A change presently came over the fancy of yachtsmen, which was shown by a feeling against large sloops, mostly on account of their being difficult in management. The long boom is always an element of danger and inconvenience, so that during the period alluded to many of the old sloops were rigged into schooners, and toward the latter part of the decade schooners became more successful and popular on account of their ease in handling, and their being far better adapted for ocean cruising, which at that time became more and more general with the owners of pleasure craft. The coming of 'Cambria' in 1870, and later of 'Livonia,' seemed to act as a stimulant in the construction of schooners, and many were built and found to be very satisfactory and successful. A list of the best known and most successful schooners that existed about 1870 and 1871 would include:—'Phantom,' 123 tons; 'Maggie,' 132 tons; 'Sylvie,' 106 tons; 'Tidal Wave,' 153 tons; 'Madeleine,' 148 tons; 'Rambler,' 160 tons; 'Idler,' 133 tons; 'Dauntless,' 268 tons; 'Magic,' 97 tons; 'Fleetwing,' 206 tons; 'Palmer,' 194 tons; 'Alice,' 83 tons; 'Fleur de Lys,' 92 tons; 'Eva,' 81 tons; 'Restless,' 95 tons; 'Josephine,' 143 tons; 'Calypso,' 109 tons; 'Widgeon,' 105 tons; 'Halcyon,' 121 tons; 'Tarolenta,' 204 tons; 'Alarm,' 225 tons; 'Vesta,' 201 tons; 'Wanderer,' 187 tons; 'Columbia,' 206 tons; 'Sappho,' 310 tons; 'Enchantress,' 277 tons; 'Mohawk,' launched in June, 1875, 326 tons; 'Ambassadress,' 1877, 431 tons; 'Intrepid,' 1878, 276 tons; 'Grayling,' 1883, 91 ft. long, 136 tons, designed by Philip Elsworth, remodelled by Burgess in 1888; 'Montauk,' Elsworth designer, 1882, 193 tons; 'Sea Fox,' 1888, designed and owned by A. Cass Canfield, 204 tons.
Midship sections.
Some very fast sloops appeared after 1860, but in less number than before that date. The following list covers those that were best known and noted for speed:—the 'Mannersing,' built by David Kirby, Rye, New York, launched June 11, 1858, 58 ft. over all, 54 ft. 4 in. length on water-line, 18 ft. beam, 5 ft. 1 in. deep, and 4 ft. draught, centreboard, 24 tons; she was very fast, won three races out of five, was later owned in New Bedford, where she was wrecked. The 'Mallory,' built by D. D. Mallory, 1858, 55 ft. over all, 51 ft. length on water-line, 18 ft. beam, 6 ft. deep, 5 ft. draught, a very handsome and fast vessel, 45 tons; she was lost at sea on a voyage from Havanna to New York, no survivors. The 'Annie,' built by Albertson Brothers, Philadelphia, designed by Robert Fish, 1861, 53 ft. over all, 45 ft. 6 in. length on water-line, 18 ft. beam, 4 ft. 2 in. deep, 3 ft. 6 in. draught, centreboard. 'Annie' was first owned by Mr. Anson Livingston, who was the best amateur yachtsman of that day; he sailed 'Annie' in five races and won them all; she was finally shipped to California on the deck of the vessel 'Three Brothers,' and is now doing very satisfactory duty in the Bay of San Francisco. 'Addie,' V. sloop, built by David Kirby for William Voorhis, 1867, 65 ft. 10 in. over all, 57 ft. length on water-line and 17 ft. beam, 5 ft. 4 in. deep, 4 ft. 4 in. draught, centreboard; she was but fairly fast, and underwent many changes. 'Coming,' sloop, centreboard, designed by R. Fish, 1868, 62 ft. over all, 57 ft. length on water-line, 20 ft. 3 in. beam, 5 ft. 5 in. deep, 5 ft. draught, 5325/95 tons; she was not at first fast, but later, when owned in Boston, she developed very good speed, and won several races.
Sail plan of 'Gracie.'
'Gracie,' launched July 1868, was modelled and built by A. Polhemus at Nyack, New York. Her dimensions were then 60 ft. 3 in. over all, 58 ft. 6 in. water-line, 18 ft. 8 in. beam, 5 ft. 6 in. depth of hold, and 5 ft. draught, centreboard lengthened 2 ft. aft in 1869. In 1874 she was lengthened to 72 ft. 9 in. over all, 62 ft. water-line, 20 ft. 6 in. beam, 6 ft. 6 in. depth of hold, and 5 ft. 8 in. draught. In 1879 she was again rebuilt and altered by David Cool at City Island, and lengthened to about 80 ft. over all, with same water-line, a beam of 22 ft. 6 in., 7 ft. depth of hold, and 6 ft. 8 in. draught. Her mast was 74 ft. over all, topmast 36 ft., boom 63 ft., gaff 31 ft., whole length of bowsprit, of which 19 ft. is outboard. That was the dimension she had when she sailed with the 'Bedouin,' the 'Puritan,' and 'Priscilla.' She was again altered in 1886, giving her 16 tons inside ballast, the rest on the keel.
When she was launched her tonnage, old measurement, was 5445/95; to-day it is 10268/95.
Lines and midship section of 'Gracie,' New York Yacht Club, launched July 1868.
Such are the changes made in old yachts now-a-days. A new one every year is all the fashion; no alteration of originals, but new lines entirely.
The following were notable yachts:—
The sloop 'Madeleine,' built by David Kirby, Rye, New York, and launched March, 1869, designed by J. Voorhis. Length over all 70 ft., 65 ft. length on water-line, 21 ft. beam, and 7 ft. 9 in. deep, 6 ft. 6 in. draught. In her original form she was a failure, but in 1870 was changed to a schooner. After alterations to her design of hull in 1871 and again in 1873, she became a fast yacht, and was chosen to defend the 'America' Cup against the 'Countess of Dufferin' in 1876.
The cutter 'Vindex,' built by Reanyson and Archibald in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1871, designed jointly by A. Cary Smith and her owner, Robert Center. She is the first iron yacht built in this country, being a new departure in design as well as rig, though not famous for speed, and was not a racer; still she was an excellent vessel for cruising, and was particularly comfortable in beating to windward in strong weather. 'Vindex' was 63 ft. overall, 56 ft. length on water-line, 17 ft. 4 in. beam, 7 ft. 6 in. deep, 8 ft. 10 in. draught, keel, 68 tons.
The sloop 'Vixen,' centreboard, built by Albertson Bros., of Philadelphia, for Anson Livingston, designed by R. Fish, 1871, length overall 52 ft., 44 ft. length on water-line, 16 ft. 6 in. beam, 6 ft. deep, 4 ft. 5 in. draught, 37 tons. Sailed thirty-seven races in the New York Yacht Club, and won eighteen first prizes.
The sloop 'Fanny,' built by D. O. Richmond, in Mystic, Connecticut, 1873. Length over all 72 ft., 66 ft. length on water-line, 23 ft. 9 in. beam, 6 ft. 9 in. deep, 5 ft. draught, centreboard, 90 tons. She sailed twenty-six races in the New York Yacht Club, and won ten prizes. Sloop 'Arrow,' built by David Kerby for Daniel Edgar, 1874, 66 ft. 6 in. over all, 61 ft. 8 in. length on water-line, 20 ft. 2 in. beam, 6 ft. 6 in. deep, 5 ft. 6 in. draught, 6964/95 tons. Her career was short and creditable under the flag of the New York Yacht Club, she having, in her first year, entered five races and won four prizes. Sloop 'Mischief,' designed by A. Cary Smith, built by the Harlan Hollingsworth Co., of Wilmington, Delaware, of iron, 1879; 67 ft. 6 in. over all, 61 ft. length on water-line, 19 ft. 11 in. beam, 7 ft. 9 in deep, 5 ft. 3 in. draught, 7927/95 tons. 'Mischief' was chosen to defend the 'America' Cup against 'Atalanta' in 1881; she has sailed twenty-six races and won eleven prizes. The sloop 'Pocahontas' was built by David Kirby for a syndicate. Launched in 1881, she was 71 ft. 11 in. She was intended to defend the 'America' Cup against 'Atalanta,' but was badly beaten by 'Mischief' and 'Gracie,' and was retired, bearing the well-deserved sobriquet 'Pokey.'
The sloop 'Priscilla' was built of iron by the Harlan Hollingsworth Co., Wilmington, Delaware, and designed by A. Cary Smith for James G. Bennett and William Douglas, with a view to defend the 'America' Cup against 'Genesta,' but the trial races showed 'Puritan' to be the best yacht, 1885. She was sold in 1886 to A. Cass Canfield, who did all in his power to bring her into racing form, but improvements in designing set her hopelessly astern. 'Priscilla' was 95 ft. 6 in. over all, 85 ft. 3 in. length on water-line, 22 ft. 6 in. beam, 8 ft. 9 in. deep, 8 ft. draught, centreboard. She was rigged into a schooner in 1888, but as a racer has never made a creditable record.
The sloop 'Atlantic' was built by J. F. Mumm at Bay Ridge, Long Island, designed by Philip Elsworth for Latham A. Fish and others. She was built to defend the 'America' Cup against 'Galatea,' but in the trial races she was beaten by both 'Puritan' and 'Mayflower,' and was retired. In 1887 she was sold, and changed into a schooner. Length over all 95 ft., 84 ft. 6 in. length on water-line, 23 ft. 2 in. beam, 9 ft. 6 in. deep, 9 ft. draught, centreboard, 15981/95 tons.
Amongst designers of this period A. Cary Smith, whose name is mentioned above, stands unquestionably first in New York; his boats were and are to-day favourites amongst yachtsmen. It may be said of him that he displayed good sense in designing, and whilst his productions have not been famous as racers, still they are by no means the last to return; and when we consider qualities of staunchness, trustworthiness of working in stress of weather, and all except the extreme of speed, his yachts have not been excelled. In late years, beside yacht designing, Mr. Smith has taken up the modelling of fast screw and side-wheel steamers for special passenger coastwise traffic, in which line his skill has proved pre-eminent; vessels of his design are to-day the fastest afloat, and, like his other work, are marked by evidence of perfect understanding of the requirements; in short, he builds for the special use demanded, and therefore his labours are followed by success.
He first came before the public in 1871, when he jointly with Robert Center designed the iron cutter 'Vindex,' at Chester, Pennsylvania. Then he built the schooner 'Prospero,' and it was said that he laid down the lines from paper draughts without having a model, which was at that time a great fad. Then he designed and built the 'Norna' and 'Intrepid,' 'Mina,' 'Iroquois,' and 'Zampa'; he has now designed and is superintending the building of two schooners, two ferry-boats, and one 'Sound' steamer. He is also a fine marine artist, and has painted many noted yachts: the 'Sappho' for Commodore Douglas, and 'Dauntless' for Commodore Bennett, the 'Wanderer,' 'Columbia,' the 'Vindex,'and many other celebrated yachts.
About twenty years after the organisation of the New York Yacht Club, the Brooklyn Yacht Club was formed, and, soon following it, the Atlantic Yacht Club appeared. The new clubs were composed of men who owned generally a smaller class of yachts than that in the older club, but their members were interested and active, and races were held in early summer and in autumn, as well as a cruise to Newport in midsummer.
INTERNATIONAL RACE, 1886. 'GALATEA' (LIEUT. W. HENN, R.N.) PASSING SANDY HOOK LIGHTSHIP.
The desire for club formation was prevalent in Boston about the same time that the Brooklyn and Atlantic were started. The Boston Club was a promising institution, and called together a very respectable fleet of yachts; races and cruises were held, and much discussion on, and comparison of, designs were indulged in, to the decided advantage of the style of rig and general management of pleasure craft both in cruising and racing.
Early in the '70's there appeared a sudden disposition to form yachting clubs wherever a handful of boats could be found with owners living near each other. Club after club was started, many of which were short-lived, but in a little time the discordant elements were separated, and in all the clubs that now exist can be found a healthy social spirit, and a true disposition to advance the cause of yachting by the encouragement of Corinthian races and cruises. With the organisation of the Seawanhaka Yacht Club of New York, and the Eastern Yacht Club in Boston, the circle of really important clubs seems to be filled; but it is to-day easy to find as many as twenty-five or thirty clubs scattered from Maine to Florida, whose influence and example offer encouragement to the promotion of social intercourse and yacht designing.
About the year 1880 there began to arise amongst yachtsmen a feeling of uneasiness in respect of the design of yachts then in vogue, and for so many years in successful use.
It was the natural sequence of the gradual change that was being wrought in the surroundings of the class that seek pastimes, and with increase of leisure and wealth there came a desire for more seaworthy vessels; cruising had then become a settled thing, and a winter's cruise in southern waters was no unusual event. The ever-increasing communication with England, and consequent friendly intercourse, led directly to a desire on the part of many American yachtsmen to adopt a design—if not an exact copy—something more after the style of the English yacht.
The sad accident to the 'Mohawk' also had its influence in unsettling our faith in the wide, flat model, and in 1881, when the 'Madge' came in amongst us and showed what speed and weatherly qualities were present in the English design, and when also the cutter 'Clara' drove home and clinched the work the 'Madge' had begun, there then set in a regular furore amongst American designers and yachtsmen for something that was different from the then accepted forms of hull and styles of rig. In 1885, when it became necessary to defend the 'America' Cup against 'Genesta,' it dawned on the yachting fraternity that a stroke must be made or the much-prized trophy would return to its native shores.
'Puritan,' 1885 (General Paine, N.Y.Y.C.)
As usually happens in a country of progressive and intelligent people, the need calls forth its own means of cure, and Edward Burgess came to the front with a solution of the difficulty.
The new designer created nothing newer than a refinement of what existed in the sloop 'Shadow,' built fourteen years before; but his clever combination of what is best in English and American designs gave us in the 'Puritan' a vessel of which a designer might well be proud. The nation was satisfied with her performance, and grateful to her promulgator. The success of the cutter 'Puritan' at once placed Mr. Burgess in advance of all American designers, and at the same time her form and rig were pronounced to be entirely successful, and from that moment the compromise model, as it was called, became established on what has proved most firm foundation; for it has not only revolutionised designing in America, but has had a very marked influence on the form of yachts in England, to their evident improvement—at least, it is natural to conclude that the best of two widely divergent results in yacht designing would lie in a middle position between the two.
In 1886 Burgess brought out the cutter 'Mayflower' to meet 'Galatea,' but the former yacht had small need of her superiority over 'Puritan,' for 'Mayflower' easily beat her opponent, and again the cup renewed its length of days on this side of the ocean.
In 1887 a most determined and well-planned movement was made by Scottish yachtsmen against the 'America' Cup. It was beyond question the most hard-fought battle in yachting that had occurred up to that date, but the hastily built 'Volunteer,' also designed by Mr. Burgess, proved again that it was no easy task to carry off the cup that had then been fully naturalised by a residence in this land of thirty-six years.
The much-coveted cup now enjoyed a season of comparative rest, and year after year the new design became stronger and more securely established in the good opinion of American as well as English yachtsmen. The old question of centreboard v. keel still vexed the minds of those interested, and without doubt it will be long insoluble; but seeing that both have inalienable advantages, both types of construction will be used so long as a demand for yachts for varying conditions shall exist. Let it be admitted, however, that the newest design of keel yachts have their form below water so shaped as to very nearly resemble a centreboard, and the best shape of centreboard yachts have lateral resistance enough to do fairly good work to windward with their board drawn up; so in this particular, as in the general form of the hull, the best practice lies in combining both devices. It must also be freely admitted that for the pure comfort and pleasure of sailing, for an appreciation of the inspiriting motion, as well as for the comfort of increased deck and cabin room, nothing yet has exceeded the form of yacht now falling into disuse; and for the pleasure of sailing on the usually smooth waters of our sheltered bays, and wafted by the moderate breezes that are most frequently found, nothing can surpass for pure enjoyment the cat-boat of middle size, say about 25 ft. in length.
In 1888, the lovers of racing pinned their faith to the 30-foot class, and Burgess's fame rose higher and higher. He became the idol of his countrymen; a gift of 10,000 dollars indicated in some measure the regard of his admiring friends, and really he deserved it: he was gentle and unassuming in manner, always courteous, and interested not only in his favourite profession, for unlike many gifted men he had more than one side. His love for and knowledge of natural history were scarcely less remarkable than his skill in the pursuit to which he devoted all his time during the last four years of his life. Mr. Burgess was for many years secretary of the Natural History Association of Boston, and resigned that position only when forced by pressure of business, consequent on the supervision of construction and fitting out of the many yachts that he yearly put forth. The appended list and dimensions of some of the best known and most successful of Mr. Edward Burgess's yachts is interesting as showing the change in chief proportions of the several yachts as compared with craft of the older design.
'VOLUNTEER'
(From Photograph sent by General Paine, N.Y.Y.C.) 1887.
At this time the minds of our yachtsmen were sorely fretted by the performance of the cutter 'Minerva' from Scotland. She laid all low who dared to wrestle with her, and not until the concentrated strength of our great designer was invoked could she be beaten. Even then the 'Gossoon' could not always outstrip her, but the newly developed skill that she set in motion did not rest with the beating of 'Minerva,' and to-day she would have no chance. Great strides were made in 1891, placing on an even footing the famous 46-foot class with yachts of 20 ft. superior length.
| Over all | W. L. | Beam | Draught | Tons | Date | |||||
| ft. | in. | ft. | in. | ft. | in. | ft. | in. | |||
| Schooners:— | ||||||||||
| Sachem, C.B. | 105 | 0 | 86 | 6 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 5 | — | 1886 |
| Marguerite, C.B. | 97 | 0 | 79 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 65 | 1888 |
| Quickstep, C.B. | 83 | 0 | 65 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 54 | 1889 |
| Cutters:— | ||||||||||
| Volunteer, C.B. | 104 | 0 | 85 | 9 | 23 | 2 | 10 | 0 | — | 1887 |
| Mayflower, C.B. | 96 | 9 | 85 | 7 | 23 | 5 | 10 | 0 | — | 1886 |
| Puritan, C.B. | 93 | 0 | 81 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 8 | 2 | — | 1885 |
| Harpoon, C.B. | 63 | 0 | 45 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 5 | — | 1891 |
| Oweene, K. | 62 | 0 | 45 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 23 | 1891 |
| Gossoon, K. | 53 | 0 | 39 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 2 | — | 1890 |
| Hawk, C.B. | 42 | 0 | 29 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1890 |
| Titania, C.B. | 81 | 5 | 69 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 1887 |
C.B. Centreboard. K. Keel boats. W.L. Water-line.
The year of 1891 was famous in bringing to a climax the development of the new idea; several new designers of merit appeared, notably Mr. William Gardiner of New York. His 'Lyris' was a marvel of speed, and in her class she was well nigh invincible. 1891, indeed, opened with every nerve at the highest tension. One incident was the return of Mr. N. G. Herreshoff to the field of sail-yacht designing from which he had retired nineteen years before. To add to the interest and excitement, several designers contributed their skill in forming the famous class of 46-footers that rendered that season long remembered in yachting annals. Burgess had four, and Fife of Scotland, General Paine of Boston, Herreshoff of Bristol, and J. R. Maxwell of New York, each sent one yacht to the lists; so the new fleet represented, not only well-tried skill, but the work of several who were new in the field.
No one of the fleet of racers attracted so much interest and discussion as the cutter 'Gloriana,' keel, the Herreshoff production; she was a decided departure from accepted forms, and destined to create a revolution in the science of naval architecture.
Criticism was poured upon 'Gloriana' from every side—a very few thought she might sail moderately fast, but the majority who expressed their minds all united in declaring that nothing but abject failure could follow such an act of boldness as her model appeared to all but her designer, and perhaps her owner, Mr. E. D. Morgan.
'Gossoon,' keel boat, 1890. Designed by E. Burgess.
Mr. Herreshoff, however, had built a small craft in the autumn of 1890 which was on much the same lines as 'Gloriana,' except that the latter was a more complete representative of the new system; the trial boat of the previous autumn showed qualities in sailing and handling that gave the designer of 'Gloriana' courage to proceed with a craft that called forth general condemnation before she was launched, a feeling which was quickly changed to astonishment and approval as soon as she was tried against other members of her class. The feature of 'Gloriana' that marked her amongst all other yachts of that season was her abnormal overhang, showing a length over all of 70 ft. to that on water of 45 ft. 3 in.
This unusual degree of overhang gave an opportunity for the elongation of the body of the yacht, the fulness of the bilge being extended quite to the extreme point of the bow and stern.
'Gloriana,' 1892. Designed by Herreshoff.
The lines of 'Gloriana's' entrance seemed almost bluff; but owing to the flare of that portion of the hull where contact is first made with the water, she appeared to roll it underneath her in a manner that disposed of the displacement more easily than by the nearly vertical sides of the usual wedge-shaped bow; at least if one could judge from the very slight and superficial character of the 'fuss' made around her bow, and also by the diminished effect of the wave under the lee bow to turn the yacht to windward (shown by her very easy helm), the inference is clear that this form of entrance does its work with less expended power than the old form. Another most advantageous result of the elongation of the body of 'Gloriana' is the fact that when she plunges into rough water the part of the hull immersed by pitching presents lines that are just as long and easy as those shown when the yacht is sailing in smooth water.
This feature of 'Gloriana's' performance gives her a higher rate of speed when compared with yachts of old type at times and conditions when the speed of all the old formed yachts suffer a marked diminution.
Besides the fact of a gain in speed with a given power, this form affords an increase of space below as well as on deck, and if the vastly increased buoyancy be considered, enabling the yacht to carry greater spread of sail and carry it well, it will be seen what a really important improvement was demonstrated in 'Gloriana.' She sailed during her maiden season eight races and took eight first prizes—a clean record—and with the exception of one race all were sailed with her largest club topsail set. Had she met with fairly rough water, as occurred on one of the races, her superior sailing qualities would have stood forth in even stronger contrast.
The yachting season of 1891 was clouded by the death of Mr. Burgess, which happened soon after the close of the June races, the result of which he never knew, as the defeat of his 'Syanara' and 'Mineola' was never told him. By his death, yachting received a blow from which it may not quickly recover; he enjoyed to the utmost the regard and gratitude of the public, the measure of which was shown by the voluntary creation of a fund for the education of his children.
As was predicted, the season of 1892 was not as exciting as the previous year; the 46-foot class received a new member in the cutter 'Wasp,' from the Herreshoff hand; she was an advance on 'Gloriana'—the same ideas more fully developed—the changes being in part suggested by or taken from the design of a new type of boat afterwards called 'fin-keel,' the first of which craft was launched and tried in the autumn of 1891; but of this more will be said later.
'Wasp' found as opponents her sister 'Gloriana,' now passed from the hands of her original owner and from good management, and the reformed 'Beatrix,' a centreboard cutter of 1891, now worked by the Adams Brothers, two of the most acute yachtsmen in the country, who so improved the 'Harpoon,' as they renamed her, that for a time it was thought 'Wasp' would be out-sailed; but except in the Goelet cup race off Newport, when 'Wasp's' skipper made a capital blunder, the Herreshoff flyer made a record but little less clean than that of 'Gloriana' in 1891. 'Gloriana' took third place to the 'Harpoon's' second, the result of poor handling, and in a degree to the constantly prevailing light winds in which all the races were sailed, light club topsails being carried in every instance.
'Wasp,' 1892. Herreshoff's design.
A novel and interesting feature of the yachting season of 1892 was the 'fin-keel' boat, a production of N. G. Herreshoff. It will be seen from the cut below that some of the peculiarities of the 'Gloriana' form are embodied in this singular craft—namely, the long overhang and the rounded elongation of the bilge to the extreme limits of the bow and stern.
The chief characteristic, however, is the fin, or in effect a fixed centreboard carrying a weight of lead on its lower edge sufficient to give the craft stability enough to balance the rigging and press of wind in the sails.
The most successful fin-keel boats have a length on water equal to three-and-a-half beams, and as the section of the hull is round or nearly so, stability is gained in a manner already explained.
Fin-keel and bulb.
The first of this style of craft was built and launched in the autumn of 1891, and was called 'Dilemma'; she had a very moderate-sized rig, the jib-stay being secured to the extreme point of the bow, but with this she easily beat the old style of cat-boat, and showed, besides unusual speed, many other desirable qualities.
In 1892 the fin-keel boat was generally introduced, three or four sailing in Boston waters, while New York, the Lakes, and Buzzard's Bay claimed one each to two in their home waters of Narragansett Bay.
'Consuelo,' cat-yawl.
The 'Wenona' and 'Wee Winn,' the first in the North and the latter in the South of England, showed our friends on the other side of the sea what their racing qualities were, which are soon told by referring to their record. Out of twenty starts made by 'Wenona' she won 17 first, 2 second, and 1 third prizes, and her sister in the South was even more fortunate, winning 20 first and 1 second prizes out of twenty-one starts. The fin-keel type at home was almost as successful, except when brought into competition with a centreboard boat of sloop rig, 21 ft. length on water-line, called 'Alpha.' She was built and designed by the projector of the fin-keels, and was the chief member of a large 21-foot class that was fully exploited in Boston during the season of 1892, where the 'Alpha' won in every race she entered. The value of the fin-keel type in adding to the resources of yachting is limited; the type does not contribute anything of living value to yachting, it serves only as a means to show that old types can easily be beaten, but that it takes a 'machine' to do it. Fin-keels are, it is true, very pleasant to sail in, and they work beautifully, but the design is probably limited in size to 35- or 40-ft. water-line in length, for above that size the fin becomes a very troublesome adjunct in its handling and adjustment. When the boat is afloat the fin is not objectionable, but in taking the bottom by accident, or in hauling it out, it makes the boat most troublesome to handle.
Larger fin-keel boats have been projected, and one of 45 ft. length on water-line has just been built, but their success from a general view-point is highly questionable. Mr. N. G. Herreshoff, in 1883, introduced a very useful rig, which was first tested to his complete satisfaction on 'Consuelo.' These boats are styled 'cat-yawl,' and since their introduction the type has become very popular, and most deservedly so, as for ordinary sailing, and particularly cruising, the rig offers many important advantages. In reefing the mainsail is accessible, and the absence of the long boom of the cat-boat is readily appreciated.
The rig of the cat-yawl has been applied successfully to all designs of yacht, deep and moderate beam as well as the shallow broad type, and always with increasing satisfaction. The rig, however, seems to be confined to boats not over 40 ft. length on water-line, as, the mainmast being placed so near the bow, it is impossible to stay it, and too large a mast unstayed is not desirable in a cruising boat.
Herreshoff catamaran.
The proportions between the mainsail and jigger as recommended by the projector is 4 in the former to 1 in the latter—that is, the dimensions of the jigger should be exactly one-half those of the mainsail. Mr. Herreshoff is also responsible for another marine curiosity that appeared in 1876. This was a catamaran or double-hulled boat—intended to be handled by one man. This boat differs from its kinsfolk of the southern ocean, the point of widest departure being that the hulls are connected by flexible means, so that each hull can adjust itself to the surface of the water it moves in.
The means employed in forming this flexible union were through the agency of a complex system of ball-and-socket joints which had range of motion enough, so that one hull might be riding a wave, whilst its sister would be in the depths of a hollow.
A small tray-shaped car for passengers, and the mast and rigging, were supported between and above the hulls by a system of truss-work with adjustible tension rods of iron.
These catamarans carried a mainsail and jib, and in smooth water made wonderful speed; 21 miles an hour has been attained under favourable conditions. This aquatic marvel was not destined to become popular; the boats required special skill in their management, and were best calculated for an afternoon's sail in smooth, sheltered water. The absence of anything like cabin accommodations was also against their use, but cruising has been successfully accomplished in them through the use of a tent to make shelter, covering the car, and of sufficient height for one to stand under it.
Newport (centreboard) cat-boat.
The respect of all dwellers on the shore is due to the cat-boat. She is distinctly American, and whilst her use may be more and more circumscribed, still the old cat will live and continue to fill a place that no other rig could do. But the cat-boat in the usual acceptation means something more than its simple rig; it stands for a shallow, wide boat, with one mast crowded into the extreme bow, and a boom reaching far over the stern, as in the cut on p. 271. The 'cat' is seen on our seaboard from Maine to Florida, but 95 per cent. of all yachting and boating is done north of the capes of the Delaware. In this connection it is not out of place to speak of our very large fleet of small yachts and of boats for sailing and cruising which from their size may not properly be called yachts.
The number of these craft is legion, they swarm in every northern port, and in a few places in the south are frequently met; their rig is always of the sloop for the larger, and for the smaller—say below 25-ft. water-line—the cat-rig is in preponderance. The value of this 'Mosquito fleet' as a school for yachting cannot be over-estimated.
The fancy for cruising in small sloops or cat-boats has increased greatly of late, and as the type of craft for this work improves it will become a very general pastime.
It is not here intended to cast too deep a slur on the cat-boats; seeing that the wind and weather are so generally moderate and dependable on our coast, cruising can safely be done in a cat of moderate rig. Even in heavy weather, if properly handled, a cat is sure to come in to port with flying colours, as the writer can attest by his own experience.
There are several other types of boats seen on the Atlantic coast of the United States and British Provinces; they vary in design of hull as well as in the rig, and are adapted to the work required and the surrounding condition of weather and water. They are mostly modifications of the old pirogue, and as a rule are more used in trade or some occupation than for pleasure.
Since yacht and boat racing began, there have been many different plans suggested for measurement, and for allowance between contending craft of different length.
The same questions still agitate the mind of the yachtsman, and doubtless will for all time; but if the subject be wisely considered, it will be found that that system of measurement that conduces to the best form of hull and moderate-sized sail-spread is to be preferred.
It is mainly owing to the differing systems of measurement that the English and American designs are so widely separated; extreme depth with a minimum breadth in the first, and broad, shallow vessels in the latter. It must be said, however, that sailing conditions had quite as much influence in dividing the types as measurement, but in the new compromise design all differences are happily united, and, be the water rough or smooth, the weather light or heavy, the new types will answer all requirements of speed or seaworthiness.
The present idea of measurement that embraces sail-area and length is without question a very sensible one—surely, indeed, the best yet devised—but the tables of allowance cannot make just equality between vessels of widely different size, nor do they make just allowance between yachts of varying size in or under all conditions of wind. A system of measurement that will conduce to the construction of vessels of normal design and rig, and a table of allowance that will equalise yachts in any force of wind and condition of sea, are desiderata most devoutly wished for by all who are interested in the development of the yacht, and especially in racing. The sail of a yacht is such an essential factor in its performance that some words respecting makers of duck and of the sails themselves are not out of place.
The quality of duck as to evenness of the spinning and weaving of the component yarns, and also the equality in the staple itself, are both factors of the utmost importance when the ultimate 'set' of the sail is considered. These inequalities in material, in conjunction with the personal differences of the men employed in sewing, all combine to make the set of the sail a very unknown quantity, and the differences can be removed only by the utmost care in making duck and in selection of sewers. A wholly satisfactory setting sail is a very rare sight on an American yacht, mainly on account of the uncertain characteristics of the duck, and only within the last year, as a result of the highly commendable efforts of Mr. Adrian Wilson, of the firm of Wilson & Silsby, sailmakers of Boston, has duck been produced that can stand comparison with that made in England for the exclusive use of Lapthorn. The thanks of all earnest yachtsmen are due to Mr. Wilson for his interest and untiring labours in inducing the makers of yarn and weavers of duck to produce an article that will meet the difficult requirements of a racing sail.
Wilson & Silsby of Boston and John Sawyer & Co. of New York are considered the best sailmakers in America; but many others enjoy a good reputation: and now that really good duck can be obtained, it is hoped that better setting sails will be more easily obtained than heretofore.
'Constellation,' 1889, New York Club. Designed by E. Burgess.
Many of our yachtsmen possess skill in designing, and are also fully capable of supervising and directing the construction of a yacht as well as her rigging and fitting out; and when that is done they can take the helm, and under their guidance their craft will be as well handled as by the best professional skipper.
Prominent among these skilled yachtsmen in New York is Mr. E. D. Morgan, Commodore of the New York Yacht Club, who in the height of his yachting career owned a whole harbour full of yachts, ranging from an ocean-cruising steamer to a naphtha launch in machine-propelled craft, and from a first-class schooner yacht to a cat-yawl amongst the sailing vessels. Others but a degree less devoted and skilful are Messrs. J. R. Maxwell, A. Cass Canfield, L. A. Fish, Archibald Rogers; and, in Boston, General Charles J. Paine, Mr. C. H. W. Foster, Com. J. Mal. Forbes, Messrs. George C. Adams, C. F. Adams, jun., Bayard Thayer, Charles A. Prince, John Bryant, Henry Bryant, Gordon Dexter. The chief designers in New York are Messrs. Winteringham, Gardiner, and A. C. Smith; whilst in Boston, Messrs. Stuart & Binney and Waterhouse & Chesebro are amongst the best known; but many others scattered along our seaboard have designed and built most creditable yachts, and occasionally a craft is turned out that rivals the productions of the best and most experienced designers.
Yachting on the waters of the British Possessions in North America has developed rapidly, and, fostered by the formation of clubs, and the establishment of regular seasons for racing and cruising, there is no doubt that the improvement of design and rig will progress satisfactorily.
The seaboard of the British Provinces is well adapted for cruising and racing, and due advantage is taken of all yachting facilities on the coast as well as on the Great Lakes, and to a considerable extent on the St. Lawrence River.
In glancing over the yachting situation in the United States there is every reason to feel satisfied with what has been accomplished; all improvements in design and rig have been eagerly adopted by our yachtsmen, and if we have drawn from the English in some points, they have been fully repaid by gleanings from American practice. Yachting is appreciated in other localities than on the seaboard, with its bays and rivers; the great lakes have a small fleet of pleasure vessels, and on some of the smaller lakes, as Minnietonka in Minnesota, racing is carried to a degree of perfection wholly unsurpassed by the owners' salt-water friends.
During the season of international matches, in 1885-87, the public interest awakened was extreme; reports of the racing were read with interest from Maine to California. When there is no international work on hand, the chief yachting event of the year is the cruise of the New York Yacht Club. Following the lead of 'Gimcrack,' in 1884, the cruise always takes place during the first week in August, embracing also a part or whole of the second.
Starting from a port on the Sound easily accessible from the city of New York, the squadron makes its way eastward, stopping at several of the principal places of resort along the Sound.
Of late years it has been the custom to race from port to port, regular entries being made and prizes awarded.
At every port along its course the New York Yacht Squadron receives large augmentations of both sailing and steam yachts, so that at last, when the fleet anchors in the harbour of New London, it is an armada of pleasure craft laden with pleasure-seeking yachtsmen, all in accord to make this demonstration the brightest and gayest event of the season. The entrance of the squadron into Narragansett Bay is one of the most beautiful of all imaginable marine pictures; the ranks are then complete, often numbering 200 vessels, by steam and sail. Every available craft is pressed into service by the dwellers of Newport and vicinity to go out to meet the arriving yachts; steamers laden with passengers, tugs, trading schooners with their decks black with unusual freight, the ubiquitous cat-boat, all assemble in waiting off the Lightship at Brenton's Reef to welcome the approaching fleet that is already coming into view off Point Judith.
The yacht squadron is escorted to the beautiful harbour of Newport by the motley fleet in attendance, and anchors there with a flutter of canvas and the booming of cannon.
The ubiquitous cat-boat.
At evening the fleet is illuminated with coloured lights, the steam yachts contribute electric glare, forming a scene worth many miles of journeying to witness. Then follow races in the open sea outside Newport, after which the cruise is continued to New Bedford, and Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard Island; more racing, and then a cruise around Cape Cod to Boston, where more racing and much festivity is enjoyed, after which the squadron disbands, most of the yachts return to Newport, whilst others cruise to Mount Desert Island and beyond. About the middle of August it is usual to have more racing off Newport under the auspices of the Atlantic and Seawanhaka Clubs, and this usually closes the season for racing; a few matches, however, are generally expected in the autumn, but by the middle of October nearly all the yachts go out of commission.
Winter cruising to Florida and the West Indies usually begins soon after Christmas, returning early in April, whereby the rigours of our northern winter are avoided.
As a rule, the American yachtsman is not inclined to racing to an extent that would afford the best information and knowledge as to the design and rig of his craft. At times, however, when under the stimulus of rivalry of designers, as occurred in 1891, or particularly when there is an international contest on hand, our marine phalanx stand forth in battle array, sacrifice no end of personal effort, and stake willingly their bottom dollar.
'America' Cup Competitions
| Year | Name | W. L. Length | Beam | Draught | ||
| ft. | ft. | ft. | ||||
| 1870 | { | Magic | 78.11 | 20.9 | 6.70 | |
| August | 1870 | Cambria | 100.00 | 20.5 | 12.40 | |
| 1871 | { | Sappho | 114.40 | 27.40 | 12.80 | |
| 1871 | Columbia | 96.00 | 25.10 | 6.00 | ||
| October | 1871 | Livonia | 107.50 | 23.30 | 12.80 | |
| 1876 | { | Madeleine | 95.20 | 24.00 | 7.40 | |
| August | 1876 | Countess Dufferin | 107.20 | 24.00 | 6.60 | |
| 1881 | { | Mischief | 61.00 | 19.10 | 5.40 | |
| Nov. | 1881 | Atalanta | 61.00 | 19.00 | 5.50 | |
| 1885 | { | Genesta | 81.00 | 15.00 | 13.00 | |
| Sept. | 1885 | Puritan | 85.1½ | 22.70 | 8.80 | |
| 1886 | { | Galatea | 87.00 | 15.00 | 13.03 | |
| Sept. | 1886 | Mayflower | 85.70 | 23.60 | 9.90 | |
| 1887 | { | Thistle | 86.46 | 20.03 | 13.80 | |
| Sept. | 1887 | Volunteer | 85.88 | 23.02 | 10.00 | |
| October | 1893 | { | Vigilant | 86.19 | 26.25 | 14.00 |
| Valkyrie | 86.80 | 22.33 | 16.30 | |||
It is the earnest wish of every American yachtsman to encourage frequent and friendly intercourse with his English cousins who are working for the true interest and advancement of yacht designing. The breadth of the interlying ocean and the disparity between the winds and water of the two countries should make no barrier to closer relations, to the end that the noble science of naval architecture and its most useful teachings may find in the progress of yachting a fit subject to bind more and more closely two nations of one blood, one language, and one desire—to attain to that which is highest and best even in sports and pastimes.
The valuable assistance of Mr. Niels Olsen, superintendent of the New York Yacht Club, and of Mr. E. A. Stevens, of Hoboken, nephew of Commodore J. C. Stevens, is hereby gratefully recognised. But for them my work would have been difficult, and in many respects impossible.