No. 11. For all yachts not exceeding 15 tons. 4th Champion Cup, with 15l. added.
One more race, which was promoted this year, must not be forgotten, as it would prove a very advantageous item in all yacht-club programmes, viz. a swimming match in clothes. The conditions were as follows: 'Each member must wear woollen socks, a pair of slippers, shoes or boots, woollen or canvas trousers, a flannel shirt, with a guernsey or yachting jacket; the distance to be covered 200 yards.'
In the Corinthian matches it may be noticed that the club not only gives the customary helmsman's prize, and that a good one, but each member of the winning crew receives a tankard with the yacht's complement or the club burgee engraved on it, a principle again worthy of adoption by all Corinthian yacht clubs in races where no paid hands are permitted.
At this period the club had the fine total of 163 yachts to a list of fewer than 300 members; and to show how admirably everything was carried on to the furtherance of sport, prizes were given to the amount of 364l. out of an income of 521l., the club expenditure being more than covered by 78l. These statistics are of interest as showing what can be done by a club when not fettered by club premises.
The entry in the season of 1875 for the No. 1 Champion Cup is worthy of a notice here, since no fewer than seven of the large cracks of the year put in an appearance—'Fiona,' 75 tons; 'Cuckoo,' 92; 'Neva,' 62; 'Speranza,' yawl, 85; 'Latona,' yawl, 165; 'Egeria,' schooner, 147; and 'Gwendolin,' schooner, 197 tons; and as an example of a R.A.Y.C. Corinthian match, that which took place on July 17, 1876, for 'Twenty Tonners' will long be remembered, not so much for its record of spar-breaking, as for the seamanlike way in which difficulties were overcome. The description of the race is here given almost in the words of an account for which the writer is indebted to Mr. James Drury, who was himself an active witness on the occasion. The weather was far from favourable owing to a strong gale during the previous night having raised a nasty tumbling sea on the banks, while the wind, though moderate in the early part of the afternoon, at times blew in fierce squalls, rendering it necessary to reduce canvas at awkward moments.
The entries were:—
| 'Hinda' | 18 | tons | Mr. G. B. Thompson. |
| 'Sheilah' | 20 | " | Mr. Pascoe French. |
| 'Challenge' | 20 | " | Mr. Fred Thompson. |
| 'Sunshine' | 20 | " | Mr. D. MacIvor. |
Prizes: Owner, 25l.; helmsman, 5l.; crew, tankards. Course No. 3 (24 miles), no paid hands allowed. Though the number of competitors was smaller than usual, the quality was extremely good, all four being well known as about the best of their class. A nice southerly breeze was blowing, making it an easy reach to the South Bar buoy, and the tide was just beginning to flow to the northward. The 'Hinda' was the first away, steered by her owner, followed close astern by the 'Sunshine,' which had won so many prizes in 1874, with Mr. Henry Dudgeon at her helm. 'Sheilah' was third, with the late Mr. Pascoe French as pilot, and last, though only some 45 seconds behind the leader, came the 'Challenge,' with a crew who had come over from Liverpool in her or by steamer, and comprised the cream of the Mersey and Cheshire yacht clubs, among them Mr. Richardson, her designer, who now handled the lines. The 'Hinda' and 'Sunshine' each carried a crew of eight hands all told, while the 'Sheilah' and 'Challenge' had a complement each of ten hands, including the helmsman.
All the yachts had whole lower canvas and jibheaded topsails set, except the 'Sheilah,' who had a small square header aloft, and 'Sunshine,' who had prudently reefed her mainsail and foresail, although they still looked big enough for a 30 even thus reduced. The 'Sheilah' soon showed her speed off the wind, as, going through 'Sunshine's' lee like a dart, she led the fleet and placed herself some 50 seconds ahead of any other by the time she had made the first turning point, where it was 'gybe ho,' and she increased this lead to 2¼ minutes at the Rosebeg, the others having played at luffing and thus impeded each other.
Sheets were now hardened in for a close haul to the North and South Burford buoys, and 'Sheilah' soon found her topsail too much for her in the jumpy sea; but unfortunately it had been set with the tack to leeward, and was not therefore handy for shifting, while, worse than this, her big No. 1 jib was pulling her head off, and with a single sheet only it was more than her foremast hands could manage to get it properly aft. The 'Challenge' held a beautiful wind, and getting clear of the other two, weathered fast on 'Sheilah,' though she did not headreach on her. Mr. French, wishing to shift his topsail, went about on the port tack before he could weather the South Burford, but meeting the 'Challenge' on the starboard tack, and fearing he would not be able to clear her, stayed under her lee, with the effect of being dead covered for four or five minutes, when the first bitter puff that came clear of the after leach of 'Challenge's' mainsail whipped 'Sheilah's' topmast over her side. She was immediately hove about, and her crew set to work to clear away the wreck, Messrs. Drury and Dunne running aloft and casting off the topsail lacing; but before they could get the sail down or the rigging secured, it was found necessary to go about again in order to pass the mark on the proper hand, and four or five minutes banging about of the wreck to leeward laced everything up into such a horrible state of confusion that it took the crew all they knew to get the topsail below, the broken mast on deck, and the rigging secured.