496 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
— 
[Jan. 15, 1885. 
—_—_—_—_ — 
in proper trim? But immediately affer this second trial Pocahontas’s 
sail was cut down, unril it was only just the size of the Arrow’s sail 
when that was new, while the Pocahontas is twenty-two tons the 
largest, Any trials shé may have had after being cut down are of 
no value whatever, unlessit bé to show that shecould go almost as 
fast with but little, if any, more than a reefed sail. The true inward- 
nessiof this cutting dewn business I haye neyer yet been able to 
obtain, The talk of some that she could not carry sail is sheer non- 
sense. There wasnothing in those trial trips to indicate in the least 
that she could notearry if To the best of my recollection she did 
not once wet her Scuppers in either of those trials. She appeared to 
be much nore able than Arrow or any other of the Jarge sloops I 
have built, for the first year. : 
Th is a well known fact that no wooden boat will carry sail the first 
year as she will after that, because the bottom is getting heavier, 
wiile the top and spars are gebting lighter all the while, Pocahontas 
would have carried that sail as long as the other sloops would have 
carried theirs, Then why was she cut down until something more 
was known about her? Verily there isa mystery about it. But rig 
her up as she was, get her in proner trim, and she will be yery much 
ihe fas.est sloop in New York waters to-day, in gommg to windward 
and back. It need not be expected that she will go with that cut 
down rig. for she has not sail enough to drive her. Give her the 
chance and the training the other sloops have had, and she will be 
much better able to defend the America Cup than any of them, 
This is not iutended as any reflection on the other sloops, but is 
only to show that Pocahontas has mwever heen piven any chance 
whatever to show what she can do, andis wrongly condemned, That 
what little trials she had pave indications that were entirely in her 
favor, 7 D, KIRBY, 
Rye, N. Y., Jan. 6, 1885. 
TIMELY PREPARATIONS. 
HE blind self-confidence and the belief that any American sloop 
was inore than a mateh for a cutter which prevailed in certain 
quarters at the time of Madge’s advent, bas now disappeared under 
the light of recent events, although the bluster still is heard. The 
evidence of what the cutter can do hus at length shaken the firm 
belict of the faithful and awakened them to the immediats necessity 
of same preparation to meet the expected challengers. Tue tirststep 
in such a direction would seem to be to measure the power of our 
probabie opponents, and Jook about at once for something new or 
old, capable of meeting them. Such an open and common sensé 
course has little to commend if, however, to a certain class of our 
yachtsmen, and instead of earnest work and a careful consideration 
of the subject, they have chosen an entirely different tack, as is 
shown in various interviews in the daily papers, Their first eftort is 
to mix up the entire subject of measurement to such an extent as 
ereate an opinion in the mind of the general reader that the odds are 
entirely in favor of the English boat, to do which they stop neither af 
open falsehood. misrepresentation nor personal abuse. 
The statement is publicly made that the measurement rules of the 
New York Y. C.. as well as the Seawanhaka ©, Y. C., were not only 
based on, but stolen without credit from Mr. Dixon Kemp’s proposed 
sail aréa. and length rule, for the purpose of allowing the cutters to 
win, and only by this ruledid Madge defeat her rivais, while it is 
claimed that the present rule of the New York Y.C. is “greatly in 
favor of the long, narrow cutters.”’ The statement that Madge won 
only under the sail area rule is entirely false, as she raced under the 
rule in vopuein the Seawanhaka C. Y, C.in 1881, length multiplied 
by beam, a rule adopted by the club years before acuiter was even 
talked of, and when their fieet consisted of small open boats, This 
measurement was taken from the New York Y. C., who were 
using ital the time. Madge won her races, however. without nsing 
the time allowed her, beating Schemer by min, 4isec.; Wave, 1Imin, 
disec.; Mistral overpowered and gave up; Schemer again 5min. 7sec. ; 
Schemer forfeited the fifth race; Shadow, 9min. 3sec., and Wave 
again 2min.; while on the other side Shadow took one race by 22min, 
All of these times are *‘flat,’’ the elapsed time from start to finish, in- 
dependent of any system of measurement, and by them Madge won 
7 oub of 8 races, most of them from larger boats. As to the rating of 
Wive and Sehemer, they had always been prize winners, and consid- 
ered fast boats, and were sparred, canvassed, ballasted and sailed in 
the same manner asallour sloops, Thesource of these misstate- 
ments concerning Madge is betrayed by the continual allusion to 
mean length which always appears in connection with them, showing 
the handiwork of a certain clique whose ideal of measurement seems 
to be to measure overhang only, to the exclusion of everything else. 
As to the perfect fairness of Madge’s victories, we need only quote 
from the New York World of Oct. 1, 1881, the bitterest opponent that 
the cutter has ever had. ““The last of the chib races between the 
feotch cutter Madge and the sloops of the Seawanhaka Y. C. was 
sailed yesterday, and was as fait and square & contest as was ever 
witnessed. The weather and wind were as favorable for the Schemer 
as they could have been,and shewas beaten Smin. fsec, without 
allowance of time, To-day the Madge will race again with the 
Schemer, under the rulesof the New York Y. O0., by which itis said 
the Madge has to allow the American boat about two minutes,’ The 
effect of the present rule of the Seawanhaka C. Y. C. on the measnre- 
ments of Madge, Wave and Schemer, would be to increase the leneth 
on waterline 11 per cent. 104 per cent, and 14 per cent. respectivey, 
making Maoge the larger of the three. 
After the Madge races it was deemed advisable to alter the rule 
so long in use, a8 it favored too much the narrow deep yacht, and 
another was adopted, being practically length, including one-fifth 
overhang, muliplied by sail area, with such a divisor as would make 
the nominal tennage nearly approximate to that under the old rule. 
The following year, 1885, the New York and Seawanhaka clubs both 
took up the subject again and discu>sed itthoronghly, with the result 
that both changed their rules, adopted new onés of nearly similar 
tenor. The bulk rule of the New York Y. C, was abandoned in favor 
of twice the waterline length plus the square root of sail area, divided 
by three, or practically a length measurement with a correct tive in 
the case of extreme oversparriog. This rule is harder onthe cutter 
than the aliernative length and sail area rule proposed by Mr, Kemp 
and adopted by the Yacht Racing Association Gength*sail area 
divided ty 6,000) and under it, the cutters would receive less time 
than yonder the Er glish rule. 
The Seawanhaka Y. ©. was desirous of adopting a rule which 
would find favor with other clubs, as they realized the importance 
of a uniform system of measurement, and to this end they settled 
onlength multiplied by square root of sail area, divided by two, thus 
iying the latter a greater value than under the New York rule. 
oth of these rules were adop ed af the time when there was no im- 
Mmeliate prospect of a challenge for the Cup, and in consequence of 
the demand for a reform in the ratings then in use, and bhe changes 
made have been approy d of generally by the most intelligent 
yachtsmen, both here and abroad. While the rule proposed by Mr. 
Kemp bad long been known here, ib was not copied, but so altered as 
to favor American yachts, and that Mr, Kemp himself has never con- 
sidered thatit was “‘cribhed,” ‘pillaged’ or stolen, is proved by his 
comments in the Field at the time of the adoption of both of the 
new rules, as follows: “By 4 singular comecidence the committee of 
the American yacht clubs called together by the New Youk Y. 0, 
haye decided to recommend the adoption of a rule for the rating of 
yachts which is practically identical with the alternative rule +e- 
cently put iuto the appendix of Ine ¥, KR. A. code, * * * * + # 
Weare bound to take into consideration the fact that the commit- 
tee of the New York Y. C. was composed of men of svientifie iram- 
ing as uaval architects, and of picked men who haye tweated yacht 
racing as a scientific pursuit. With an exception or two, we liave no 
men on this side of the Atlantic who have handled the subject in 
an equally comprehensive manner, and feeling this. as betore said, 
We Ought to pay a liberal respect to the work of the New York ¥, U. 
coninitlee. This we tiink has already undesignedly been done by 
the ¥. RK. A, in bringing the rule forward for disecretional use: and it 
is to be hoped that suilig committees will boldly use the rule when 
opportunities permit, id order to justify the closing words of the re- 
port of the New York Y. GC, committee.” 
This commendation, coniing from the source it does, is a suffieient 
answer to the charges of theft, as wellas to the aitacks on the pro- 
féssional standing of the gentlemen concerned. 
As noticed last week, Gracie’s waterline is increased ift. 9in,. while 
Bedouin's is made 2ft, longer, In the case of Mischief, 6'tt., and 
Leen, 65.4f1,, the former is comp+lled to pay for an area of canvas 
admitted both by her owner and designer to be foo much for her, 
though she has raced successfully for five seasons with ib, and with 
reduced sails she would receive time from Ileen and still he as fast a 
boat. Of the effect on length of the New York rule, the Wield spealrs 
as follows: “The tendency of the New York Y.C. rule, it caw be 
Seen, as againstthe &. C. ¥. O, rule or the Y¥. R. A. rule, would be to 
check the building of extremely long vessels judged in relation to a 
function of ihe sail spread,” and again, speaking of a clause. in the 
report, “The meaning of this apparently is that the committee would 
nob recommend 2 rating, which, in their opinion, treated length as 
favorably as sail area x length, or ;/sail area X length does,” “We 
mus recollect that the Americans are still wedded to the beamy 
type of boat, and any rule thatapparently puts a narrow type ona 
much better fanting than itis at present in America, ought not to be 
encouraged,” Again, in the last issue of the same paper we find the 
following statements: “The New York Y. C. rule was avowedly 
framed for the purpose of penalizing length more than the Y¥. R, A. 
rule dors. <Atter the pertormances of Madge and Maggie, some 
change in the New York Y. C. rule seemed necessary, as their whole 
bulk rule (outside measurement) favored yachts of the Hneglish type, 
with small aboye water bulk compared with the under water bulk, 
The ¥.R A. sail area rule apparently met the difficulty, but was 
still considered too favorable to yachts of the English type. Hence, 
length was used twice.” ; 
These extracts clearly show the opinion abroad concerning the 
action of th» New York Y.C in adopting the rule, and also of its 
probable effect on English yacht-, and should of themselves be suf- 
ficient answer to the style of defense we have noted. Another point 
in favur of the Ameri¢an yacht, if one be built, is that the challeng- 
ing boat is already built under certain rules, and must come bre to 
race under conditions she was never degizned for, while a boat com- 
menced now to defend the Cup may be planned to obtain the great- 
est possible advaniage under the rule, If, as many contend, cutters 
of the Bedoum type are better than the narrow ones necessitated by 
the ¥. R, A, rule, then Genesta is deprived of certain advantages to 
be had by extra beam, for which she would have had to pay nothing 
here under the N, ¥, ¥. C. rule, while her opponent can use those 
advantages to the fullést extent. 
[tis 100 late now for any such tactics to avail, Our yachtsmen as 
a body understand too well the points involved to have their eyes 
blinded by any such dust. The battle must be fought afloat next 
summer, and must be won or lost squarely, and without any erying 
over any unfair rules of measurement, 
SASSACUS, 
npBis little sloop, the property of Commodore Bennett Griffin, of 
Jape Ann Y. C,, for whom she was built, by Messrs. Higgins & 
Gifford, has made a most successiul record, haying sailed in 23 races, 
winnme 22, or 13 first, 3secoud and 6 third prizes, besides one not 
placed. The full list is as follows: 
Date. Where Sailed. Tithe Prizes. 
July 4, 1878. .|* Gloucester Harbor.,........,...| 9 |First. 
Aug. 10 1878. /** Hssex River and Ispwich Bay..| 18 |Second. 
June 23, 1879 |** "Squam Riyerand Ipswich Bay.| 9 (First. 
July 4, 1879. ..** Ipswich Bay @ (\Wirst. 
Aug. 25, 1879. )** Ipswich Bay 10 | First. 
July 4, 1880. .|** Gloucester Harbor ............ 6 |Third, 
Aug. 5,1880../** Newburyport................... 18 |Second. 
May 30, 1881,./*** Gloucester Harbor............ 10 |Hirst, 
June 30, 1581, |*** Gloucester Harbor ........-.. 8 |Tbird boat in. 
July 4, 1881... /** Ipswich Bay... as 6 |Third. 
Sept. 9,1881..|** Ipswich Bay..............2...-- | 6 |ifirst. 
July 16, 1882..)** Ipswich Bay...-........... 4. | 1 | Third. 
Aug..2, 1882...|** Gloucester Harbor,...,...-.... 10 | First. 
Aug. 11, 1882.|** Annisquam River..........-... 5 |First. 
Aug. 27,1882.) = Marblehead. ...02. 22.2222... ee 27 \Second. 
July 4, 1888..|** Ipswich Bay.................... Third. 
July 27, 1883,,)** Ipswich Bay.... 2... 0... cs ee eee § |First. 
Aug, 18, 1843. /a** Marblehead .-.............. _.| 47 
Aug, 81, 1883.|** Gloucester Harbor ............ 6 | First. 
June 16, 1884. |** Rockport............. 005. eee oe | 9 |First; 
July 4, 1884. .|** Ipswich Bay. 15 | Third. 
Aug, 30, 1884. \}e** Marblehead li |First, 
Sept. 13, 1884, |/b* Rockport. .......2.. 0.0.0.0... ee 3 |First. 
* Gloucester Y. C, and Gloncester boats only. ** Open regatta to 
any boats, *** Champion regatta of Cape Aun Y. OC. (pennant for 
prize), ¢ Grand Union regatia, ¢ In this race the famous yacht 
Criuser, of New York, sailed over the same course (bul in a higher 
class), and was only a few seconds ahead of the Sassacus. 6 The 
other two boats competing, one was 26ft, and the other 23ft. a** 
Was one of the leading boats, bub was run into and disabled. 
The Sassacus is sloop rigged; length over all, 18ft. 4in.; beam, 7ff.; 
area of sails, 390 sq. ft.; ballasted with lead; Gaffney & Norwood’s 
patent reef attached to the mainsail, reefing and setting the sail in 
five seconds, 
SCIENCE AND RULE OF THUMB. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
T see in your paper of last week my letter to you is headed as above, 
why I cannot imagine. 
As Earas science in yacht designing in thie country is concerned, 
whatis it? We hear of wave displacement theories (cribbed from 
“Archer”) upon which something wonderful, betterand faster than 
anything afloat is tobe produced. Not having the model of a fast 
yacht on hand, this theory develops itself into a disappointed owner 
whose mouey has been put intoa yessel in which everything has 
heen sacrificed to speed, but which laiter, nnfortunately, has been 
left out, This theory, however. may be further developed when some- 
thing exceedingly good is wanted to go tu England for America’s Cup, 
Other designers tell of what can be done by ascicntific vessel, com- 
pletely finished, of course, scientifically, from keel to truck. This 
science, after many opportunities, produces vessels which have the 
disagreeable habit when in good company of bringing up the rear. in 
fact, science as Tar as speed is concerned isleft ont. These so-called 
scientific designers, however, bave exceedingly buoyant, qualities 
within themselves, and will almost immediately after a distnal failure 
tell of the wonderful and beautiful vessel of mild steel or composite 
build they have in their scientific eyes, whieh they will design for 
speed only, and astonish the yachting public, 
The fact is gradually dawning upon yachtsmen that these designers 
either display too much scientific, ¢. ¢., ‘Dixon Kemp” theory, or that 
their scientific attainments were acquired foo late in life, and will 
perhaps be only ceyeloped by a future generation. As regards the 
so-called rule of thumb, can you mention a prominent American 
yessel noted for its speed designed by a s0-called scientiflic designer? 
The America, Julia, Magic, Sappho and Vixen were built from whittl- 
ings, so was the Comet, Montauk, Grayling, Fanita, Crocodile and 
Hiepbant. The last six vessels have no rivals upon any fair measure- 
ment in these waters, a fact, I believe, acknowleaged by all yachts- 
men about New York. These vessels,to my mind, from their per- 
formance, are the ouly ones produced of late years by any American 
designer which attain the end intended in their conception. Itseems 
to me that owners cf vessels care butlitile how much so called science 
has entered into their design, since the chief end of science is 
attained, Not that I consider these by any means perfect vessels 
(since perfectinn is rarely altained), but only by comparison with 
so called scientific vessels cau they be compared. They certainly by 
no means equal the yachts which will probably be designed in his eye 
by some of our scientific or amateur yavht designers, which will 
always leave the Elsworth boats and tlum diggers out of sight 
behind, have large seagome accommodations, yery little sail, cost 
little or nothing to buitd. and amateur erews will man them. 
NEw YorK, Jan. 3, 1585. JOHN G. PRAGUE. 
(Mr. Prague’s statement that the wave-form theory was ‘‘cribbed 
from Archer’ is totally at variance with well known facts. The 
credit for its discovery and practical Bp ieancy belongs to Mr. John 
Hyslop, who fifteen vea's ago made a thorough investigation of the 
subject, as the result of which he propounded the theory 1m its present 
form and built successful boats in accordance with it long before Mr, 
Aveher’s researches were made public. While the main points of 
both are the same and corroborate each other, the minor details 
differ sufficiently to show that neither is a mere copy of the other, 
Scientific designing, by which we understand not merely fanciful 
theories or elaborate calculations, but the planning m advance of all 
the details ot a yacht, aided by a careful study of the elements of 
known yachts and che knowledge and researchés of others, has only 
wi hin afew years been recognized in America, and as yet we have 
but two or three designers who follow it. The contrary method has 
heen, as all Jmow, to whittle a model by the eye, give her plenty of 
sail, fo be eut down afterward, toss in rocks, iron or lead, as the case 
inay be (no one knows or cares how much), and then by dint of change 
after change to Secure some result in two orthree Seasons As ex- 
amples of this class of work are Sappho, widenéd Idin,, as she would 
notstand upat first; Montauk, 18in, out from her estimated loadline on 
launching, and with a ton of lead afterward cast in her after dead- 
woods, to litt her bow; Gracie, altered season afler season; Vixen, 
built up 9in. amidships before she attained her present excellence; 
Grayling, with 7 tons of lead more than was first estimated necessary 
to keep her right side up. and all spars and iron work reduced; 
Wizard, slow and sluggish and radically altered in her first season; 
and Wanita that jould not steer at first, but was alterad to 
make her de so, and whose rigging and sails had to he replaced 
entirely by heavier wire and canvas. Both Mr. Prague and Mr. Fish 
could give us instructive figures of the cosh if not the value of rule 
of thumb” work, after the amounts they have spent on Wanita and 
Grayling to make them sail, after they were delivered by their 
builders. Of the comparatively few American yachts designed 
on the opposite plan, the first, of course, is Mischief, head of 
our sloop fleet, and wuw, after her fifth season, substantialiy what. 
she was in her first; Madcap has also been a very successful 
sloop; Fortuna, whether or no she is quite as fast as Montaulc, has 
certainly proved a firstrale boat; the Shadow, fastest sloop of her size, 
and the little Petrel, a practical demonstration of Mr. Hyslop’s theories, 
has nob yet met her eqital of the same size, If further illustrations 
are needed, there are the Harvey cutters, Bedonin, Wenonah, Oriva, 
all at the head of theirclasses. while abroad the ‘rule of thumb” is 
entirely a thing of the pet aS far as yachts are concerned. One 
American modeler, Mr. Philip Elsworth, has certainly a wonderful 
appreciation of the qualities that so to make a successful boat, and 
in his case the successes far outnumber the failures, but of how 
many more can the same be said? Here and there a Vixen or Gracie, 
successful only after years of tinkering and alteration, stands out 
beside a host of forgotten failures. Because Mr, Blsworrh turns outa 
fast boat by his peculiar method, does not prove that athers can do 
80, or that with such a thorough scientific trainime as is now consid- 
ered necessary in any pursuit, his yachts would not haye heen much 
better craft. ‘The elements of scientific yacht desizn are the same as 
those followed inall other trades to-day. A knowledge of the natural 
laws governiug the subject, a thorough understanding of all its pris- 
ciples, a familiarity with the materials used and their qualities, a 
knowledge of what others have done, comparisons of results in 
known cases, and a careful planning in advance of all, downto th: 
minutest detail, These are the tools employéd by the successful 
engineer in all departments of engineering, shipbuilding, bridge and 
engine building, and papell in Mr. Pragne’s own profession of 
architecture. Certainly he will not contend that the problem of pro- 
ducing a suecesstul yachtis any less difficult than that of building a 
store, church or dwelling, but the architect ayails himself of care- 
fully worked out plans, calculations of strength of materials, and of 
the vast aid extended to him by the literature of his profession, in 
the form not only of tables and treatises, bub of nuolished desipus, 
while Mr. Prague denies to the poor yacht designer all similar aids 
in his no less difficult task.] 
THE NARROWEST THE BEST. 
goun people think my letter in your paper two weeks ago perhaps 
a little rash, and my unreserved predilection for narrow boats 
taken a little “out of hand.’ That I am correct in my estimate of the 
superior power and ability of narrow beam in rough water is substan- 
tiated by the following extract from a letter written by Captain H. EB. 
Bayly to the London Meld, of Dec. 20. Ib runs as under: 
“Now if ‘L. W.’ will turn to the Held of the 14th of June, of this 
year, he will find in the report of the Dover Regatta, of the 10tb of 
that month, an account of the respective performances of the 3-ton 
OCurrytush, and the 30ft. Eclipse, far and away the best boat of the 
length classes yet built, when racing together to wimdward in what 
was to craft of their size a heavy swell. The latter host has 10ft. 
beam, the former, besides being ift. bin. shorter, is what ‘W.L. 
would probably term Huclid’s definition of a line, and yet the result 
of the bout to windward was not altogether to the adyantage of the 
wider and far bigger boat.” 
Testimony like this is good, as it retails facts, not flights of fancy 
or play upon sympathetic prejudice. The Eclipse measures, aceard- 
ing to Lioyd’s Register. 36x10,2x7.4, and the Currytush 41,7x4,6x5, 
consider this enormous difference. In point of size the two boats 
compare as 2,264 and 655 or roughly as 444 and 1, Yet the narrow 
eutter, but 4ft. fin. beam, proved more than a match fora boat oyer 
twice the beam and probably three times the size. Anideais current 
herein America that the wide Itehen length boats are superior, 
length for length, to the narrow cutters in heavy weather. The race 
in question seems to prove the contrary. It may be added that the 
narrow cutter has practically the same available or useful stowaze 
room inside and is as smart in a breeze upon little more than half the 
first cost and also with much smaller rig to work, Giye me the nar- 
row boat every time. OVP. Ky 
IN TROUBLE. 
UR Canadian neighbors haye evidently not yet forgotten the Ata- 
lanta races, and now are looking across the lakes with 4 broad 
prin at the alarm of the sloop men over the coming of Genesta, Un- 
der the above heading the Belleville Intelligencer sums up the matter 
as follows; 
Our neighbors of the United States arein trouble. Their supremacy 
in yachting is“threatened. Two of those “consarued Britishers,” 
namely Sir Richard Sutton and Lieut. Henn, owners respectively of 
the cutters Genesta of 80 tons and Galatea of 100 tons, haye chal- 
lenged for the America’s Cup—that bauble which the Yankee 
schooner America won from thé British thirty-three years azo, and 
which was for many years emblematic of the yachung championship 
of the world, but ig now typical of the championship of salt water, 
These challenges bave sent the hearts of our usually plueky neigh- 
hors down into their boots, because, as they have been driven to ac- 
knowledge, the New York Y. C. have not a vessel in their fleet which 
would have any chance of defeating either of the cutters whese 
owners have thrown down the gauntlet, 
Alas ! how have the mighty fallen! Buta little more than three 
years ago, our neighbors would have been hugely delighted by the 
receipt of a challenge on behalf of a cutter. That type of vessel was 
by them considered slow in all kinds of weather and totally unfit to 
compete with the skimming dish, She was derided as a “plank on 
edge,” a lead mine,” * with no bottom for to sail on,’ * totally un- 
suited for our wind and waters,’ and one self opmniated genius even 
made himself so ridiculous as to assert, in face of all received experi- 
ence elsewhere, that if a certain narrow cutter then building in New 
York from a design by an Hoglish naval architect proved fast, he 
would eat her, The cutter did prove to be a good one, but this apostle 
of an almost defunct faith has not as yet either acknowledged his 
error or attempted to make his boast good, The advent of the littie 
Scotch cutter Matge in American waters and her easy yictories over 
the pick of the centerboarders somewhat larger than herself, opened 
the eyes of the more intelligent of Ameérican yachtsmen to the fach 
that their day of supremacy had passed. The -ubsequent defeat of 
their larger sloops by two cutters of cruising dimentions builtin their 
own yards from English designs, showed to the great body of them 
that the cutter is the fastest type of yacht taking all sorts of weather 
into account, and to-day there are oly afew—a very few—amonge 
the yachtsmen of America, and those of the “spread eagle stamp, 
who still glorify the sloop and refuse to accept as correct the results 
which have been achieved under their very noses, Hence we have 
the candid acknowledgment from leaders in yachting circles in the 
United States that the sloopsof the New York Yacht Club, which, be- 
fore the coming of the Madge, and even long after, their admirers 
thought could * whip all creation,” that they could have no hops of 
success against the much abused “lead mines” with their former 
idols as their representatives in the forthcoming contests. 
Under the circumstances it is creditable to those of the American 
yachtsmen who were interviewed on the subject, that not one of 
them expressed himself in favor of building a cutter to match the 
challengers. AJ] seemed resolved, as a point of honor, to ight the 
battle of the types out to the bitter end, by constructing a sloop 
larger than any vessel of the kind afloat to represent the United 
States in the contest, provided the new craft proves faster than the 
old ones. and in case she proves 4 failure to fall back upon one of 
those now in existence, This may be more chivalrous than wise, but 
our neighbors deserve credit for the spirit they have shown in cir- 
cumstances so untoward. +, 
Wetrust that the New York Y, C. will prove equally fair in refus- 
ing to accede to the ¢lamorings of tho-e sea lawyers who are urging 
them to so alter their rule of measurement as to discriminate against 
the challengers. Heretofore the club bas been tolerably fair in their 
dealings with contestants for the Cup, and we cannot believe that 
they will now stoop Lo anything which that portion of the community 
who admire manly sports would consider mean or dishonorable, 
THE AMERICA OUP.—'The longer the discussion as to the chal- 
lenge for the Cup proceeds, the more evident does it become that 
our yachtsmen are utterly unable to retain the trophy in this coun- 
try. All of the makeshifts proposed, such as the altering of the 
Grayling or the Comet to enable an American vessel to meet English 
invaders are useless. American yachtsmen must bear this in mind— 
that yachting in Mogland bas undergone a complete revolution, The 
racing craft there is an entirely different structure from the pleasure 
boat. Here we try to ecombine both. Yachting bas got to be con- 
ducted on the same principle as horse-rating. A man would no more 
atbempb to use a saddlehorse is a racehorse, or vice versa, than wear 
his dress stub by day, and if yachtsmen in this country want to be up 
with the times and hold their own in aquatic spurt, the sooner they 
renlize this the better for them. Uniler existing circumstances, it 
would bea positive benefin to the yachting mterests of the country 
if the America’s Cup were won by a British boat, as then speeial 
efforts would be madé to win it back.”—N. Y. Mail anid Bopress, 
Jan, 9. 
SEAWANHAKA C, Y. C.—The annual meeting of the Seawanhaka 
G, ¥, C. was held at Delmonico’s on Monday, Jan. 12, with Com, 
Rogers in the chair. The following otficers were elected: Uommio- 
dore, Archibald Rogers; Vice Commodore, W. A, Stewart; Kear 
Commodore, A, Bryan Alley; Secretary, L. F. D'Oremieulx; Meas- 
uret, John Hyslop; Fleet Surgeon, J. M. Woodbury, M, D.; Chap‘ain, 
Rev. Geo. H. Vandewater; Sailing Committee, L. P. Bayard, f O- 
De Luze, §, Nelsen White, Robert Centre, J. W. Beekman; Foanes, 
J,¥. Tams. A molion was mMiade fo eg yachts by loadline 
length, of course retaining the same system of time allowance as at 
present. It was also proposed to grant discretionary powers to sail- 
ing committees, allowing them) to class different rigs together to 
avoid sailing over, with an allowance of time to the schooners or 
yawils. ‘The Seawanbaka Q. Y, ©, has now a Steph se Seae eoantt “a 
more yachts than éyer before, and is second only tothe New York 
Y. C, in these waters, " 
