954 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
and all stand liigh in community. The call is, ot course, 
only in the nature of a preliminary step, and we leam 
that suggestions made by any one present at the proposed 
meeting will be given full consideration in such a way 
that the new organization will become truly *' national” 
in every sense. The individuality of clubs will not be 
interfered with in the least, as it is intended that the 
business of the National Club shall he carried out on the 
basis of a vote to each member. The arrangement of all 
details of the constitution and by-laws will be in the 
hands of the congress itself, and the whole movement is 
instituted not by or for the furtherance of any olub or 
influence in particular, but with the solo view of putting 
canoeing on a sound foundation, spreading the popular 
taste for the sport; and for the general advantage of all 
who may join. 
We trust that so favorable an opportunity as now 
offered will not be allowed to fail through lethargy, but 
bespeak an active participation in the congress on the 
part of each and every canoeist in America. If not able 
to attend in person, arrangements should be jnade for re¬ 
presentation by proxy. We may add that it will afford 
us pleasure to assist through these columns in any man¬ 
ner that may be deemed advisable. In the meantime we 
urge all to comply with the request made, and send their 
addresses to N. A. Bishop, Esq., in order that the work 
in hand may be advanced and facilitated as much'as 
possible. 
Another Big Sharpie. —The schooner sharpie, build¬ 
ing by Mr. Clapham at his yard in RoBlyu, L. I., for 
New York parties is approaching completion. She is 
52 feet long, 16 feet beam, and 4-i feet deep, with over 
six feet in cabin. Being intended for duck shooting on 
the Chesapeake, she has been given more beam and is to 
receive a lightesrig than if speed had been kept in view. 
Concerning the material and workmanship.in this craft too 
much praise cannot be bestowed upon the builder. For 
thoroughness in detail, ample scantling, best material, 
and fastening, the sharpie will not only compare favorably 
with any yacht work, but is in many respects superior 
to the general run of craft launched. After the publica¬ 
tion of our aunual list of races and winners we hope to 
give detailed information and plans which will be of in¬ 
terest to all sportsmen. 
Orion's Record.— Editor Forest and Stream .—In last 
week's Forest and Stream, “Martin Gale” speaks of 
the performance of a keel boat against a centre-board, 
and refers to the race between the Enterprise, Regina, 
and Winsome-, from New London to Greenport last sum¬ 
mer. But did you notice the performance of the Orion, 
Vic.e-Cmu. Cooper, centre-board, which started twenty- 
five minutes after the Enterprise, and got in twenty-six 
minutes before her ? W. B. II. 
New York, Dec. 26 th. 
The time for electing officers for the ensuing year 
being note at hand, we request secretaries of yacht clubs 
to forward the new lists as soon as convenient. Copies 
of dub books will also aid us much in tracing yachts, and 
will be received until thanks. 
THE PAST YACHTING SEASON. 
FOURTH paper. 
| SPECIALLY COMPILED FOR FOREST AND STREAM.J 
S EPTEMBER breezes. How often these are looked 
forward to by yacthsnien who have suffered from 
the doldrums during the three previous months, and who 
believe that the month which brings hack the oyster is 
sure to bring back likewise strong winds and grand sail¬ 
ing weather, with no fear of drifts to spoil races, Alas ! 
this vear September was not true to its character, and 
did inflict some horrible calms which came in most inop¬ 
portunely. The month opened with uneventful racing 
by the yachts of the Salem Yacht Club, keel Dolphin 
heating the first-class centre-boards she was opposed to, 
although at one time both Leona and Mignon were ahead 
of her ; Coquette led the second class lot, and in the third, 
Tulip had a sail over. 
4 threatening drift on the 6th happily gave place to a 
good breeze for the Boston Yacht. Club regatta, and 
Viking, which has performed wonderfully well during 
the season, scored another brilliant victory after a grand 
race with Lillie. Among the second-class schooners 
Loiterer showed to advantage, and made up for previous 
defeats by gamely landing first prize. Rebie, Edith, and 
Sunbeam had a regular mittening among themselves for 
the. third class sloops prize ; Rebie leading off. being 
passed by Sunbeam, and finally going to the front 
ag Tbe RoyalOan^ian Yacht Club, once the crack club 
on the Lakes, but now content with occupying a second 
place and retrograding to the use of slutting ballast in 
some of its races, had a regatta the same day, which re- 
a-atta owing to a buoy not having been properly moored, 
Inded in a fiasco for the first class, in which were some 
new and also some ancient specimens ot naval arcmtecc- 
ure Madcap, a vessel of which I know nothing save 
that she was built by Culhbert, and that she belongs to 
Mr Boswell Commodore of the Royal Canadian Yacht 
Club led from start to what became the finish but the 
disappearance of the buoy caused the race to he dec ared 
null and void. Her rivals were Brunette, a 24-ton sloop, 
built three years ago ; Rivet, a very ancient 17-ton non 
cutter, built on the Clyde neariy forty since and 
once a great prize winner at Royal Canadian Yacht Club 
races; Oriole, Mr. Campbell’s beautiful 95-ton schooner, 
built in 1871 by Shickluna, at St, Catherine's; the 38-tOn 
yawl Alarm, better asacruiscr tha n us a racer, and Coral, 
a 16-ton sloop, In the second class the honours all went 
to Bay of Quinte Y. C. yachts, Katie Gray carrying 
away Commodore Boswell’s cup and the $100, Emma the 
second prize of $60, and Grade the third of $40, Jmogene, 
a G-ton yawl, formerly owned by that accomplished 
yachtsman, Lord Duffer in. also started, with five others, 
but was out of the hunt. The third class prizes secured 
thirteen competitors, the dollars going to Fiona, Nellie 
and Wanderer, in tho order named. 
The Eastern Yacht Club, whose handicap regatta bad 
failed through lack of wind, determined to sail it off at 
the same time as their fall regatta, and double prizes leut 
additional interest to what was counted on as a good con¬ 
test. But the most sporting of clubs .cannot command 
the winds, and though there was plenty of breeze at 
the start, it suddenly failed at about noon, and the races 
in tho first class were declared off. There was a fine 
entry, too, .Intrepid, Phantom, Halcyon, and Foam in 
the first class for schooners, and Fearless and Latona in 
the second, while Addie V, and Madcap, first class sloops, 
made a match of it. Just before the wind dropped there 
came a parting rally, which carried away the ]ihhooms 
of Phantom and Foam, and split Halcyon's staysail, after 
which only the gentlest of airs sighed over the water. 
Northwesterly winds have a trick of doing this, and I 
never recollect without a smile being caught in a 20-ton 
sloop in a howling squall from that quarter, while heat¬ 
ing to windward. There were three of ns, all Corin¬ 
thians, and we put her before it, boom buckling and 
rising up iu the air till we got peak lowered and main¬ 
sail and jib close-reefed, when we hauled our wind for 
another stretch. Breeze took off, out came all reefs ; 
lightening still, up went gaff-topsail, and absolutely 
within twenty minutes of having her snugged down for 
what promised to be a hard blow, we were fiat becalmed 
with everything set. To return, to our Orientals—the 
second class sloops and the third class schooners had a 
good race, the only mishap being the loss of Anna's top¬ 
mast, carried away while setting her "spar-breaker;” 
and schooner Sylph landed both the allowance and the 
handicap prizes ; Dream securing the second handicap, 
and sloop Shadow walking off with the allowance prize 
for her class. The club's ill-luck attended it to the end, 
for twice subsequently, on the 15th, and 16th, were, the 
combined races started again. On the first day Halcyon 
leading, reached the finish 22 min. after the time was up. 
and the next, which promised better, as it was blowing 
hard from southeast at the start, the wind played its old 
trick, died out, came light out of northeast, and the race 
could not be finished in time. This was a very great pity, 
as besides leaving the destination of the prizes unsettled, 
three or four useless attempts to sail a race through are 
enough to discourage the most enthusiastic, who are apt 
to grumble, and not without reason, at the limitation of 
time rule. No doubt there are good reasons for decreeing 
that a race must he finished in so many hours, audit wu 
could always he certain that the elements would con¬ 
form, and the wind blow steadily enough to allow the 
yachts to perform their task, no objection could be taken 
to it. As it is. races are often shorn of their interest, 
both for spectators and contestants, by the fact that it is 
hopeless to expect them to he finished in time, and the 
owners have all their trouble and expense for nothing. 
Personally, ,1 believe it is best to have no limit, even 
though some inconvenience is thus entailed on the com¬ 
mittee in charge, and the race finished perhaps at night. 
The 9 th September was a gala day for the Frisco yachts¬ 
men, who, not satisfied with their breezes and seas, went 
in for an ocean race, in which the new Annheuscr again 
beat Consuelo iu a reefing breeze, pretty effectually set¬ 
tling the question of superiority in favor of Mr, Gutte's 
craft. The sight of the. day, however, was, by all ac¬ 
counts, the performance of Clara in the second class, this 
yacht being driven by her new owner, a Scotch yachts¬ 
man used to "west coast weather,” iu a fasliiou that 
somewhat scared the onlookers, and enabled her to give 
Frolic an unmistakable beating in the ramping wind 
and sea. 
The autumn regatta for the BouthernYacht Olub Chal¬ 
lenge Cup, saw that valued prize won by a new boat, 
Cydnus, which led from start to finish, Albertina, that 
had won it in spring, being so horrified at the speed her 
rival displayed, that she incontinently turned bottom up, 
and Limnus, the third contestant, filling with water, had 
to be anchored to give her crew a fair chance of bailing 
ler out. ,, , . 
JEolus distributes his favors very unequally, and gives 
tubs with yachts that dare not face a blow', a regular 
cudding breeze, and palms off on hard weather clubs 
oiserahle airs. This was the case on the 13th, when a stiff 
iff-shore west-southwest wind induced the vessels of the 
Chicago Yacht Club to decline racing, wliiie the Royal 
4ova Scotians dolefully contemplated an almost fiat calm, 
latters improved, however, anda humming breeze from 
oulliwest blew the colors out and filled the sails of the 
leet. In the first-class Petrel and Sea/uam met, hut in the 
ong turn to windward the sloop proved altogelhertoogood 
or the schooner, and she walked away with a long lead, 
sventually seem ing the prize very easily. In the second 
lass Psyche did one of those bits of sailing that aresoine- 
imM heard of but seldom seen. Flat becalmed a long 
way astern when the gun fired, and last to get the breeze, 
he crossed the line 8m. 30s. after Petrel in the first-class, 
'et in a dead turn to windward of four miles, not .only 
saught up tlie yachts in her own class, but look the mark 
i-om the big sloop, that only' managed to leave her when 
beets were checked and their, loftier canvas told. Of 
;ourse Psyche won as she pleased, and right well has she 
ihown what Corinthians can do in handling a yacht sldll- 
ulh', for I am informed her owner always sails her lfim- 
iclf with no professionals on board. In the five ton class 
dr. West’s new Ina gave the hitherto invincible Muta an 
ixemplarybeating. * ... 
When one mentions the annual Pennant Regatta of tne 
Atlantic Yacht Club, visions at once arise of rude Boreas 
ayiug yachts in to the rail and stripping them of their 
nuslinin less than no time. 11is singular that nearly 
■very year the Atlantics are so particularly lucky in'nav- 
ng roaring breezes and half gales of wind for their clus- 
ug festival. Who does not remember the eud ot the 
•ace in 1877, when Wanderer and Rambler sped across 
be finishing line with everything flying? Or that of last 
rear, when Peerless stripped to the sudden blast, and 
Winsome, with her huge club-topBail where it ought not 
to have been just then, caught it most severely, heeling 
over till all who saw her made sure she was gone, and. 1 
her crew had a time of excitement which, as Gilbert says, 
they are likely to 
* * * carry to the Catacombs of Age, 
Photographically lined 
On the tablet of their min a. 
When a yesterday has faded from its page.” 
Of the contestants that day Peerless and Agnes turned 
up this year, with Dolphin, Genia and Lizzie L, as re¬ 
presentatives of the sloop class. A small fleet, undoubt¬ 
edly, and a striking commentary on the seagoing (?) 
qualities of the majority of American yachts, thfe strong 
northwest wind fiighteniug other competitors. It is 
strange that after all that has been written and said about 
the superiority of our models over the English, especially 
in a heavy wind and sea, American yachts should decline 
racing in weather which is sport to Britishers. Not that 
they are to be Warned, being unfit to contend with any¬ 
thing more serious than a good summer breeze, but the 
bragging some of ns indulge in looks very small when it 
ends in a hack down. What has made me a believer in 
the deep, powerful style of craft, is that excellent teacher 
experience, and it has also, I am glad to say, converted 
some friends of mine from the shallow and beamy theory. 
I ant willing to grant that in ordinary summer weather 
tho shallow yacht, carrying a great crowd of sail, shows 
great speed and often heats the deeper craft, but come a 
breeze and, presto ! things are changed. I have sailed a 
ten-ton craft under whole lower sail in abreeze that laid 
her in two planks under, when a shallow model—mine 
being deep—could not look at it Under close reef, but in 
light breezes she walked round me, and I did not mind, 
for I knew my craft could stand a blow and she could 
not. But let me work back. Peerless and Agnes, both 
with reefed mainsails, and the latter with double reefs in 
foresail and jib as well, to counterbalance her rival’s 
housed topmasts, went off at score, Agnes, holder of the 
pennant from last year, leading. She was overhauled by 
the swift Peerless, reduced top hamper telling its tale in 
the seaway, and below the hospital ship had to up-helm 
for home, her foremast having been sprung, whereupon 
Peerless kept the pot boiling for her own benefit, and 
sent the pennant to join her other prizes of the season. 
Dolphin was the only first-class sloop out, and, of course 
under reefs, sailed round the course, getting a very bad 
knock-down in the style of Winsome last year. In the 
second class sloops Genia gave up and Lizzie L, like the 
other two winners, sailed over. A catboat, the Wind, 
made a start—whole sail on, trusting to sandbags—but 
over she went, crew in the water, shifting ballast in its 
place at the bottom of the sea, and the prize decidedly 
in nubibus. 
Tho race was quickly sailed, Peerless, with single reefed - 
mainsail, completing the course of forty miles in ex¬ 
actly five boms, or at the rate of eight miles an hour. 
This was with a reaching wind—the best for a schooner 
—and only a very short bit of turning to windward near 
the Renter. Now, this reminds me of a race sailed in 
" auld Scotland," at Largo, at the Royal Northern re¬ 
gatta, in July five years ago—strong wind and lots of sea ; 
and. in view of the prevailing belief that British cutters 
cannot sail by the side of American sloops and schooners, 
I am tempted to make a little comparison. Peerless is 
sixty-seven feet on the water line, rather over than 
under. The racers in the R. N. Y. C. forty-ton race 
were Britannia, cutter, fifty-nine feet on water line; 
Myosotis, cutter, same lsingth ; Bloodhound, cutter, fifty- 
nine feet four inches; and Glance, cutter, about lifty-iivo 
feet. The wind was strong from southwest, the yachts 
single reefed, third jibs, reefed bowsprits, the course over 
rather over forty miles. The start was made at 11.38 
a. m, ; BllSodhound won at 3.34.10 p, M., Glance (last boat) 
finishing at 3.50.24. Bloodhound, therefore, sailed the 
course in 3h. 56m. 10s., and Glance in 4h. 12m. 24s., com¬ 
paring favorably, “ not to put too fine a point upon it,” 
with the larger vessel’s five hours for forty miles. 
There was enough wind from south-southwest on the 
following day to cause a casualty in each of the three races 
of the South Boston Yacht Club, the worst being the cap¬ 
sizing of Unique, whose skipper was nearly drowned. 
Lilly managed to secure the first class centre-board 
prize, and Banneret in second class keels was hailed 
victor, while Peri, centre-board, scored in third; prizes 
for first class keels and second class centre-hoards went 
to A nnie and Attic respectively. The catboat champion¬ 
ship in Boston waters was decided on the 19tli. Fancy, 
Mr. P. Grant, was first home, with Herald, Mr. W. B. 
Smith, second; but the third boat, Rocket , which had 
been the last to start, won the $35 and the championship 
by time allowance. At the regatta of the Dorchester 
Yacht; Club, on the following day, sloops triumphed over 
cutters, Enterprise and Saxon bringing up the rear in 
the light wind, and the smart Viking leading the fleet 
home. The Sea. Rover, however, had started after the 
expiration of the five minutes delay allowed, and this 
being brought to the notice of the judges, she was prop¬ 
erly disqualified’. 
The right way to start yachts is the way adopted by the 
Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in tlieir handicap 
race on the 20tli. No time was allowed at the start, and 
good seamanship came into play, three of the leading 
yachts crossing the line exactly at the same time, and 
the rest hot foot after them, Hebe, the crack Nova 
Beotian sloop, had things all her own way, She was 
lucky in getting what breeze was going, and holding on to 
it till she completed the course, winning first prize, Ina, 
a three-ton ner, hanging on through drift and calm 
till it was pitch dark, and she and Isabel managed to 
get an air that took them past the line. 
The Bay of Quinte Yacht Club autumn regatta was a 
spirited affair, the olub giving good prizes for ten and 
live tonnera, and some good sailing being the result. A 
newyacht, Judge Jelle.it, appeared among the tens, hut 
did not do much by the side of Katie Gray, Kathleen , 
Emma, Surprise and other well-known lake racers. 
Katie Gray led at the start, but Kathleen eventually got 
into first; place and won. The five-ton race resolved it¬ 
self practically into a match between 3Iystery and Wide 
Awake, resulting iu favor of the former. 
A large entry and a nice breeze made the East Boston 
Y. G. open Tegatta, on the 26th, a pleasaut occasion, and 
Viking scored again, canning off the keel sloop’s prize, 
that for centre-boards going to Siren, and the winners ui 
the other classes being respectively Veronica, Eva, Non¬ 
pareil aud Waterwitch. Anonymavraa the first schooner 
