Circular of Cumberland Fleet, 1775.
On July 27, 1793, the 'Cumberland,' Commodore Taylor, and the 'Eclipse,' Captain Astley, had a match for a turtle, which the commodore won, and the members of the Club had a turtle feast on the strength of it. In 1794 the proprietors of Vauxhall put a wonderful car upon the river, on the match day. It was drawn by tritons and was moved by invisible oars. It contained, besides bands of music, Father Thames attended by his river gods; and for several years this appeared, but with different devices.
A curious light is let in by the newspapers of 1795[18] on the way they managed matters when racing. The 'Mercury,' which was the leading boat, somehow got foul of the 'Vixen'; whereupon the captain of the 'Vixen' cut away the rigging of the 'Mercury' with a cutlass and fairly well dismantled her, another boat, the 'Mermaid,' winning the cup. We have failed entirely to find any sort of protest against such high-handed proceedings. There was another cup presented to the Club besides the Vauxhall one in 1796; it was given by the proprietor of Cumberland Gardens. A match for a wager of forty guineas took place on August 11, 1797,[19] between the 'Mercury' and the 'Providence,' from the Gun Wharf at Blackwall round the Nore Light and back; this was won easily by the 'Mercury,' which did the distance in 12 hrs. 5 mins., beating the 'Providence' by twenty miles.
The year 1800 was again kept as a septennial one, or, as the papers prefer to call it, a 'Jubilee,' and there is in existence a print of the 'Cumberland,' Captain Byrne, winning the cup. Mr. E. Smith, owner of the 'Atalanta,' which won the Vauxhall Cup in 1801, presented the same year a cup to be raced for, and it was won by the 'Mercury,' Captain Astley. Another septennial (or Jubilee) cup was given by the proprietors of Vauxhall Gardens in 1807, and this fell to the 'Bellissima,' owned by Captain Farebrother. This year the contractors for the State Lottery gave a cup to be raced for on the Thames, and all the boats entered for it belonged to the Cumberland Fleet. A new public Garden was started in 1809, called the Minor Vauxhall, and Mr. Sheppard, its proprietor, gave a silver cup to be sailed for on the river. The first two attempts failed to come off, but at the third and final one the 'St. George,' Captain Gunston, won the prize. The last cup given by the proprietors of Vauxhall Gardens, in 1810, was won by the 'St. George,' and the same year Mr. Sheppard (who had changed the name of his Gardens to 'The New Ranelagh') again gave a cup, which was won by the 'Sally,' belonging to Captain Hammond. The proprietor of the New Ranelagh Gardens also gave cups in the years 1811 and 1812, and although the club is not mentioned in connection with them, none but vessels belonging to the Cumberland Fleet were entered. On July 16, 1812, the club gave two cups, by subscription, to be raced for from Blackwall to Gravesend and back, which were won respectively by the 'Mercury' and the 'Vixen.' As the years roll on the newspapers get rather confused about the sailing matches, and the name of the old club very rarely occurs, although we have seen an account book where the subscription of one guinea is mentioned as having been paid to the secretary of the Cumberland Fleet, in the year 1818.
The years 1814, 1821, and 1822 have no sailing matches recorded against them, but these, with 1783 to 1785, are the only ones in which we have failed to find a race of some sort or other. After Commodore Taylor's retirement it is believed that Mr. Edward Nettlefold was elected in his place, but there is, great confusion on the subject, for in 1817 he is called commodore of the 'London Yacht Club,' which in another number of the same paper is called the 'New Cumberland Fleet.' Most probably there had been some dissensions among the members of the club, but whatever had happened, there is no getting over the fact that in the year 1823 the Cumberland Fleet had a below-bridge race, and that it was under the direction of Commodore Edward Nettlefold.
The year 1823 is a most important one in the history of the club. On July 17 there was a race for a silver cup in honour of the King's coronation,[20] and the newspapers[21] go on to say:—
The 'Favourite' steam packet, soon after ten o'clock, came down from the Tower. This boat was elegantly decorated, and was crowded with ladies. The gentlemen of the 'Old Cumberland Fleet' were on board, under the direction of their respected Commodore, Edward Nettlefold, Esquire, under whose direction the match took place.
The cup was won by the 'Venus,' belonging to Captain George Keen. In the 'Public Ledger' of July 17, 1823, is the following advertisement:—
HIS MAJESTY'S CORONATION
The Subscribers and Members of the Old Cumberland Fleet will dine together at the Ship Tavern, Water Lane, Tower Street, this day at four o'clock precisely to celebrate the coronation of His Most Gracious Majesty King George IV.; when the superb silver cup, sailed for in honour of that event, on Thursday last, from Blackwall to Coal House Point, below Gravesend and back, by gentlemen's pleasure vessels, will be presented to Captain George Keen, the winner of the prize; and to arrange the articles for the sailing match to take place on Wednesday afternoon, the 30th instant, and to start at three o'clock from Blackfriars Bridge, and sail to Putney and back to Cumberland Gardens, under the especial patronage of the proprietors of the Royal Gardens, Vauxhall.'