184 



KNOWLEDGE 



[October 1, 1891. 



men, and these are exposed to the full force of Atlantic 

 seas. Hci:ce it follows that the ICnglish yacht must be 

 a boat of greater stability than the American type, one 

 that is ablu to make good weather in a rough seaway, and 

 need not always run to port on the approach of half a gale 

 of wind. This structural difference between British and 

 American tjpes is much accentuated when an international 

 race comes off. The American type is possessed of greater 

 stiffness than English yachts usuaUy are, and consequently 

 can carry greater sail spread. This stifl'ness holds good only 

 through the ordinary inclinations at which yachts are sailed. 

 At au angle when the British deep-keel boat is perfectly safe, 

 the stability of the centre-board boat vanishes altogether. 

 Thus the celebrated Vohintirr could can-y an enormous 

 spread of canvas until an inclination of 76^ was reached, 

 when its stability vanished. The Tliistl,', however, now the 

 Mitear, is practically uncapsizable. In ordinary weather 

 the centre-board has the advantage of being able to carry 

 more canvas on a more even keel than the English type of 

 yacht, and at the same time possesses the additional 

 advantage of making less leeway without increase of wave- 

 making resistance. The superiority of the British yacht 

 needs rough weather to demonstrate it. Safety is assured 

 where the American type would be absolutely unsafe. A 

 glance at the loss of life attendant upon British and American 

 yachting shows the truth of this statement. Of course it 

 is impossible that English yachting should be prosecuted 

 with the ardour so characteristic of yachtsmen without 

 disaster of some kind. During the three years ending .June, 

 1887, the average loss of life from yachting accidents was 

 ten. The season 1887-8 gives a loss of eleven hves, while 

 1888-9 shows a reduction of this number to four. The 

 mishaps in question were produced either by collision or 

 stranding. There is no case of capsizing. The American 

 record compares unfavourably with this. Taking the year 

 1887-8 we find some serious cases of capsizing, which 

 point conclusively to a woful lack of stability. The sloop 

 Mi/atcn/ capsized, and twenty-five hves were lost. The 

 (inirir was thrown on her beam ends, and one person was 

 drowned; while the Olivetti' cap)sized in Newark Bay, and 

 six lives were lost. As showing the risk attendant upon 

 yachting in " shallow " boats of the " skimming dish " 

 type the above figures are conclusive. The Mi/steri/ was 

 2'Jl't. Sin. by lift. 5in., with a draught of 2ft. .5in. ; while 

 the dnicii' was 70ft. by 21ft., with a draught of 6ft. 



Most of the disasters occurring among British yachts 

 are those which happen to smaU vessels of but few tons. 

 The larger British yachts enjoy an immunity from disaster 

 producing loss of life, that is most remarkable, only one 

 life being lost from boats exceeding 40 tons during the five 

 years terminating with the yachting season 1888-9. 



The international races between British and American 

 Yachts, besides proving of the greatest interest to the 

 naval architect, stir a national enthusiasm which stimu- 

 lates invention on both sides of the Atlantic. Their 

 present discontinuance is to be regretted as the inevitable 

 result of the conditions under which the American Cup is 

 offered for competition. English yachtsmen are asked to 

 send the particulars of the boat they propose to enter for the 

 contest, and the nature of the details enables the Americans 

 to build a boat on lines which they think an improvement. 

 Or some three or four boats maybe built and the best selected 

 to compete with the foreigner. \Vhen the enemy is placed in 

 possession some ten months previously of the length, 

 draught, extreme breadth, breadth on the load water line, 

 and the register tonnage of the challenging craft, he is 

 supplied with data which place him at a very great 

 advantage indeed. To such stringent conditions as these, 

 British yachtsmen can hardly be expected to concede, and 



until some important modification is arranged international 

 competitions for the possession of the American Cup must 

 cease. 



The conditions attached to the international race whicli 

 our Royal Victoria Yacht Club attempted to arrange are 

 much fairer. The challenger needs only to send an 

 approximate specification of the design of the vessel he 

 ^vishes to enter. The length on the load line must be 

 stated, and the rating, but a margin of variation of 5 per 

 cent, on the length and 10 per cent, on the rating is allowed. 



The American excess of patriotism, which amounts to 

 exclusiveness, makes itself felt in other directions besides 

 excluding competitors from the chance of winning the 

 American Cup. 



The jirotectionist policy, of which the McKinley Tariff 

 Act is typical, affects American ship-owners, and more 

 especially yacht-owners, very seriously. The design of 

 the measure was to foster native ship and yacht building 

 by levying a duty of 50 c. per registered ton every time . 

 a foreign-built but American-owned vessel enters a United 

 States port. Visiting yachts are, to a certain extent, 

 exempt from this impost, but if their visit is prolonged 

 over six months then they become liable under the Act. 

 How hardly this tax will fall upon American citizens a 

 single example will show. Mr. Frederick Vanderbilt 

 purchased at Cowes, during the present season, the steam 

 yacht Coniiiwriir. Each time he enters one of the United 

 States ports he will have to pay a tax of £'40. Au American 

 contemporary thus explains the working of the Act so far 

 as visiting yachts are concerned. " It Lieutenant Henn 

 should pay a friendly visit in the (inlntiii, as he did in 

 1886-7, arriving in August of the former year and staying 

 until October of the latter, he would be compelled to pay 

 duty on his yacht — about 1800 dollars — and, besides this, 

 a tax of 80 or 90 dollars at every port at which he called, 

 besides being liable to a fine of 100 dollars each time he 

 got underway." 



Such a measure as this can hardly tend to foster friendly 

 rivalry between British and American yachtsmen, and 

 must inevitably decrease tbe enthusiasm for the sea and 

 the improvements in shipbuilding which it was intended 

 to foster. 



So far as present prospects are concerned international 

 yachting in the future will be confined to contests between 

 British and French vessels. Yachting is quite a new sport 

 in France, but its growth, though rapid, has been phe- 

 nomenal. It is not so very long ago that the Eidalie of 

 20 tons, built at Havre, was the sole representative of this 

 type of craft in France. Now the popular interest in the 

 nautical pastime is such that a highly successful weekly 

 journal, " Le Yacht," is published, and French yachtsmen 

 are longing to measure their strength with foreign com- 

 petitors. An energetic and influential committee, formed 

 to further yachting, resolved to offer, in the name of the 

 Comite du Yacht Francais, a challenge cup styled " Coupe 

 de France," as the prize of an international race to come 

 off" in French waters during the racing season of 1892. 



The friction betss"een England and the States relative to 

 yacht racing has given a decided check to the multipli- 

 cation of large yachts, and both in England and America 

 the feature of the present season has been the development 

 of small yacht racing. The 90ft. sloop which engrossed 

 so much attention along the Atlantic seaboard has gone 

 out of fashion, and the largest class now is the 46ft. boat, 

 which corresponds to the Enghsh 20 tonner. The Pacific 

 and the North American lakes have copied the movement 

 initiated in the eastern nautical centres, and nothing but 

 the revival of international racing will bring the big boats 

 into favour again. Whether the present friction will shortly 



