264 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 22, 1885. 



played in Genesta and Puritan. The former is six times as long as 

 She is wide, draws 15ft. of water, and would not be capabie of stand- 

 ing erect on ilie water if her ballast were removed; while the latter 

 has about four beams for length, draw.s Si/gft. including- keel, and has 

 suiBcient initial .stability to stand alone without ballast. In other 

 words, the two are in form diametrical opposites. Both areyery good 

 in. their vvay, but the narrow and deep boat is not .suitable for our 

 xises except as a mere racer, arid even in this respect she has been 

 recently and conclusively proven, in both lit?ht and sirone: breezes, to 

 windward and free, inferior to the so-called "typical American 

 sloop. " The designer and the owner of TJenesta appear to admit this 

 as a fact. What more remains to be said on the well-worn subject? 

 Suppose we now take a rest. 



In alluding to old Buccaneer Mr. Bayly assists my argument. Her 

 dime-ibions, as he gives tbem, approach very nearly those of our 

 best sloops, and therefore I should call her a superior ci-aft, both for 

 all-round sailing and for racing, to the modern, cutter. 



KosLYN, L. I., Oct. 9, 1685. Thomas CijApham. 



WHOSE WATERLOO? 



(Continued. ) 



ALTHOUGH all the daily newspapers and innumerable other pub- 

 lications furnished long-winded accounts of the international 

 races, their efforts were directed more to vard the painting of dash- 

 ing "pen pictures" thau toward a technical comparison of the per- 

 formance ot the competitors. Accuracy was about the last thing 

 upon which any stress was laid, nor was there sufiBcient time for the 

 prodiiction of accurate reports upon such short notice, even had the 

 daily papsrs equipped themselves with competent critics .''or the oc- 

 casion. With the iV. T. irorW as the one exception, the comments 

 of the other daily papers can be dismissed at once as utterly worth- 

 ies- and unreliable. The )y"orld has upon its Staff an old sailor, who, 

 if ridiculou I.y at sea on all concerning the mechanics and principles 

 of yacht construction, is at least seaman (.-nough to note and appreci- 

 ace"^the meaning of a shift of wind of four points. Tnis same old sail- 

 oi-raan has all along evinced the orthodox prejudices against cutters 

 common amonL' people having no experience with the British vessel. 

 His partiality for the sloop serves to make quotations from his report 

 all the tuore pointe 1. These I will supplement from the Spirit of the 

 Ti mrs, a not it r journ ill of strong prejudices and lacking totally in famll- 

 ia rity willi tiie ti uth concerning cutters. Surely I could not'handicap 

 my task more lieavily at the outset. 



In the match, Sept. 11, over theN. Y. Y. C. course, my observations 

 were as t'ollow.s: Genesta made her usual wretched start, permitting 

 Puritan to cross the line higher up and blanket the cutter under her 

 lee, us they stood acro.ss to the Long Island shore on the first board 

 of the rac.». Of ootirse the cutter had to be kept away to get out of 

 ihe scalding, and the so-called sloop appeared to the common public 

 and newspaper men to be holding a better wind. Her apparent suc- 

 cess was, howpver, li, matter of skillfid maneuvering at the start, and 

 not due to tlie vesspNi-n-self. I quote in support from the report in 

 the Spirif of tin' T)!in--'i: 



■■Starijijc on Genesta's weather bow, the Puritan forced the British 

 boat to kee]i riff In the first reach across in order to get out from 

 under the white slooirs lee, so that when both tacked again between 

 (JliCt.in and Stapleron landinas the Pm-itan's increased lead was due 

 to (he Bi-itish boat's enforced running off rather thau to any superi- 

 orily in the white boat's soiling." 



My next point is tbi?: The wind hauled to the westward, and when 

 both yachts came up to their course Puritan benefited immensely by 

 t)\e .shift, and her a iditional lead, supposed by the average spectator 

 to l>e due ro faster footmg, was In realitj' due to a caprice in the 

 weather. Asain from tbe Sinrit of the Tiiiien: 



'■Then the wind hauled tbree points to the westward and became 

 due west. Botn yachts came up to their required com'ses and headed 

 dovvnthrotigh the Narrows, so that all the distance between them 

 represented Puritan's lead." 



Going down the Staten Lsland shore, Puritan got a streak of wind 

 which suddenly lifted her clean away from the cutter. She carried a 

 big bone ia her teeth and heeled down to her bearings, while Genesta 

 lay bolt upright almost becalmed. This gave the Ptu-itan a lead of 

 Smm. when abreast of Fort 'VPadsworth in the Narrows. That she 

 could possibly have gained this much in two short miles stands to 

 reason without argument. For bad Puritan accomplished sucth a 

 tbing upon her merits as a boat, she would have shown herself 

 capable of footing two miles to the cutter's one, and m the light of 

 all the racing, such an assertion would not be sane. That it was luck 

 and nothing but luck which gave Puritan her lead through the Nar- 

 rows, can be settled by once more citing my witness, who writes in 

 the same paper: 



' Here is the whole thing in a nut shell. That the Yankee boat, 

 passing Fort Wadwoi-th on the way out and when the race had just 

 begun, was five minutes ahead of the British boat, both havmg 

 started at the same tune, and that this lead was due to the accident 

 of circumstances rather thau to superior sailing * * * "What then 

 becomes of tne great Yankee triumiih;'" 



Could I ask for mote po-itive indorsement of my own observations 

 than the above supplies? But, as if all this were not enough, my 

 witness, with an amount of candor and honesty greatly to his credit, 

 continues amplifying bis own statement in the following siTain ; 



"They both reached in toward the Long Island shore on starboard 

 tack, Wil li wmd southwest by west. The deep cutter tacked first, and 

 t'iirty .seconds later the "V'aukcejsloop went about, retaining her posi- 

 tion on the cut ter's weathei- bow and blanketing her. This was not a 

 pleasant position, and Cayt. Carter let the cutter go off a couple of 

 pomts anrl reach through the white sloop's lee. Of course When over 

 ou the other shore she was mucli further to leeward thau at the 

 stiift Had the wmcl remaiued steady on the next tack the Genesta 

 might have had a chance to eat up across the white sloop's wake to 

 her weal her quarter, but the shift of wind put her directly astern of 

 thi Bost,on boat aud, as stated, she passed thj-ough the Narrows five 

 tnmutes astf-rti of her.'' 



And furl her. listen to this, wMch is very true and a reflex of mv 

 wn opiuion exactly: 



Now. reverse tlaeir positions. Suppose that the cutter had gone 

 ver the Udc on the sloop's weather beam or bow; is there not a 

 strong pro babdity that their positions in the Narrows would also 

 have been reversed and that i he Yankee sloop would have been five 

 minutes behind instead of five minutes ahead?" 



Here I have explained by the tesimony of a third party the begin- 

 ning of this race and shown that fluke had accomplished for Puritan 

 what she could not dream of accomplishing upon her own merit 

 from the Narrows down to the Spit ray observations would describe 

 the whole stretch as a gigantic lot of fluking of the most outrageous 

 sort, in which both yachts had their share aud to decide which not 

 even a Philadelphia lawyer could undertake. Hence no opportunity 

 was afforded for pa-sing judgment upon either yacht. They sailed 

 different water: they had dillerent airs from all "round the compass. 

 This IS my statement. Now for dismterested corroboration. The 

 journal already quoted has the following: 



. ^^'^J* across the lower bav the wind had been fluky. * * 



At No. HVa the mterval of time was but three 

 mmtitcs, showmga gain for the Genesta of ten seconds from buov 

 No. lu, both yachts being nearly clo.se-hauled. The distance was but 



i inV,, ,-,;t f fi r '-''^'^"" " '^'^'^ ^'"^y permit deduc- 



aV,^. ,, -^n f™*"''?'"'^'' my witness even goe.s further than I do 

 and reasons that on a close-haul m light winds Genesta is actually 

 the better boat of the two. So far then, the race tias shown none of 



that sutJeriority assumed by 

 called .sloop Puritan, and n 



jnorant public in uehalf of the .so- 

 ostitriate ttiat her lead was solely a 



matter of tl, Ike i.s setaip be,vond challenge. Now let us accompany 

 he racers from the S|.it to buoy No. 5. off Sandy Hook. This was a 

 broau reach with wind abaft tbe beam and booms well off. Although 

 did not time the hoat'<. approximate time was taken by the judges 

 his gave Puritan a gain of Imin. 30see. in two miles, quite matenal' 

 lid not other brushes of the saine kind durmg tbe races fail to estab- 



fisb any such supenoritv on the part of the so-called sloop as this 

 imm. .jOsec. would indicate. This is equivalentto 45sec. permile and 

 would mean that in a twenty-mile reach Puritan could outrun Genesta 



_ ^ ^. n - "f no importance. 



From starting line to the Narrows the position of the two boats 

 r?r,, "J*xf,^fn''?f°^' s'^f'-imsup my witness, "and from the Narrows 

 to liuoy No. 10 the weather was too fluky, ear^h yacht gettmg her 

 share of luck, the G_'nesta getting the best of it. But now outside 

 the Hook, here was plain sailing, and a breeze that tipped the waves 

 with rulges ot white and heelea the yachts imtil the water foamed 

 and ussed a ong their lee planksheers. * * * Tt was just ttie 

 weather m which we have aU along beheved the Puritan would run 

 awayfromGenesfJwithea.se. * * * A scupper breeze and smooth 

 water.' 



Such were the conditions under which the flist real raeimr of thp 

 day took place My observation was thai on the whole nmout 'to 

 the lightship, the yachts being one point tree or thereabouts both 

 yachi^held then- own, the difference bemg too small for estimate 

 and of no com,jderation in its practical aspect, lu other words the 



cutter showed hei-self qnit« as speedy as the so-called sloop in the 

 latter's special wind, weather and water. Now what has my witness 



to say'/ 



"3Tile aft-er mile of the seven to the lightship was covered, and tbe 

 keenest observer could detect no change in the relative positions of 

 the boats. * * * The figures at the lightship tell the story, and 

 this time tell it truly, for there was no variation of wind and each 

 had it alike, and the lightship figures are: Puritan 2:14:54, Genesta 

 2:19:16, difference 4.22; difl'erence at Sandy Hook buoy No. 5, 4. .3.5; 

 Geuesta's gain ISsec. Bear in mind that' the cutter's gain, under 

 precisely similar circumstances, from buoy No 10 lo was 3sec., 

 and it may be said with pretty certain exactness that at reaching the 

 Genesta is the best. " 



Now then, how much had tbe Puritan, "conclusively proven." the 

 superiority of her type in the first half of tbe race from start to 

 turn? Remember I have not asked any one to accept my oavu ob- 

 servations, but have sustained them b.y quotations from a third 

 party, known to be inimical, and implacably so, to the ini*jests 

 of the cutter. Yet the average spectator upon the steamboats at the 

 turn was convinced in his own conceit that Puritan led round through 

 merit of tyjie, a conclusion utterly at variance witli the truth itud not 

 tenable for a moment by persons viewing the rnati'h v. ilhoutthe 

 petty national prejudice to be expected fiom a ward politician or a 

 blatherskite on the stump. 



The run home will next receive attention. With the wind abaft the 

 beam, both yachts iJractically held their own again and I could detect 

 no difference in their sailing." The tin es taken at the Hook show a 

 gain for the Puritan of IHs., or to all intents and purposes .a balance 

 against the 13s. gained by the Genestji on the run out. Total difference 

 m favor of Puritan on the seven miles out and seven miles in just ."is 

 Surelj; no person in his senses would pretend that 5s. in fourieen 

 miles is to be regarded as "conclusively proving" the superiority of 

 one vessel over another, or as proving anjahing at all, considering the 

 multitude of causes outside the mere fashioning of the hull which con- 

 tribute to the succass or failure of a racing vessel. But even this dif- 

 ference of 5s. in favor of Puritan I can wipe out and much more by 

 simply referring to the quotations from the London Fip.hl printed in 

 my letter last week. They will show that the wasb from the steam- 

 boats was lavished upon Genesta in a reckless ^vay and t ha t several 

 minutes loss are to be attributed to theu- shameful behavior. But 

 for their interference, tbe gain at the Hook upon the return would un- 

 questionably have been heavily in favor of (Jenesta. As it was it re- 

 quires no fiu-ther attention. Even my witness is moved to remark that 

 'we fail to find much encouragement in this." 



From the Hook in to the Spit the wind began to rtatlrcn as the ebb 

 tide increased in strength. The advantage was all with the leading 

 boat in consequence. Puritan got round tbe Spit at 8:3.3, after stand- 

 across shoal ground where Genesta could not follow, and the cutter 

 got round at .1:42, nine minutes later. This rer>re*;eiits a loss ot five 

 minutes from Hook to Spit, a distance of two miles, aud, of course, 

 no one pretends Puritan outsailed the euttei- to that extent, or to any 

 extent in view of what had already been seen during tbe day. BoouTs 

 were theu way oflf for the finish, the leading boat just retchiug across 

 the line as the wind fell to almost a dead calm. The eutter ^'ot'nipped 

 by the ebb and barely drifted up to the end of tbe business, outlucked 

 by some sixteen minutes but not by aiiv means beaten on her merits. 

 Says my witness: "The leading yacht, bv taking up a piece of her 

 centerboard. was able to hold her port reach well on, with the strong 

 ebb on her lee bow horsing her to windward. * * Tbe cutter could not 

 hold her port reach so long, and when she went in toward the Hook 

 she had the ebb out of the Shrewsbury River on her weather bow.* * 

 The wind, paltry for the whole run up, almost entii eh- petered out at 

 the close, and therefore the figures at the finish are illusory. By them 

 the victory of Puritan is Ifjm. Ills., but it must be remembered that 

 with a strong ebb tide and scarce a breath of wind, she was all this 

 time in running an extremely short distance. We should say, from 

 observation, that when the Puritan crossed the line the Genesta was 

 'not over a mile astern of her." 



I may also add that the steamers interfered to such an extent that 

 Genesta gave up all attempts at racing long before the finish was 

 made. The imperative necessity for an outside course, free from 

 shoals and irregular tides for a fair trial is plam, and I hope Galatea 

 will resist an effort to handicap her as Genesta was in these respects 

 This winds up the first match. I have shown that wherever a true 

 wind was found, Genesta got the bett«r of Puritan much oftener tban 

 the latter outtopped the cutter. I have shown that Puritan's victory 

 was the result of very common vulgar fluking, I have shown that 

 the howl about the "superiority of the Puritan type" is absolute bosh, 

 which even a simpleton should hesitate to advance and, which from 

 a sane person is downright disgraceful. I have shown this iiy the 

 testimony of a third party. I claim no superiority for the cutter, nor 

 have I ever done so in all my writings, so far as competition under 

 "normal conditions" is concerned. But I have claimed that the 

 cutter, so far from being a tub iu comparison with our sloops, was 

 entitled to equal rank as a fast sailer. The first race sustains me in 

 ray position. 



In mild weather, smooth water and winds from a calm up to 

 working tap.sail breeze, Genesta was found a full match for ilie 

 Piu-ltan. 



Tbe second race was set for Sept. 16, over a course twenty miles 

 eastward from the Scotland lightship and return. A ruu dovvn wind 

 and a beat back— at least, so it was intended; but a shift in the wind 

 shortly after turning made it a long and short leg work home instead. 

 As there was a nice topsail breeze blowmg, fre.shening int^i lower 

 sail strength for a short while with a slight sea running in obedience 

 to a wind blowing off a shore close aboard, the verdant public has 

 been led to believe by eciuallj^ verdant newspaper reporteis that the 

 match was sailed in a "howling gale," in "Genesta weather," in a 

 "hurricane and Channel sea." I confess nothing caused me so much 

 amusement as this exhibition of a land-sman's fright tbe first time he 

 looks upon the sea stirred up by a moderate summer's breeze from 

 its usual lethargy. And the same feeling of hilarity seems to have 

 seized our cousins abroad who have had a great deal of sport out of 

 the lubberly versions of the seasick haymakers representing the press 

 for the occasion. The London Field cracks its little, .loke over t he 

 "O pilot, 'tis a fearful night" kind of individual who nmnipulated the 

 ocean cables and sent a thrill of horror through the tight little island 

 with the dreadful news that the race had come off in "a howling 

 gale." Visions of housed topmasts, close-reefed bowsprits, trysails 

 and spitfires rose before the public and anxiously they scanned the 

 bulletins for additional particulars, only to breakout in loud guffaws 

 at the announcement that through this howling gale, this terrible or- 

 deal which was supposed to have brought out the hard-weather 

 qualities of Genesta for all they were worth, the cutt«r sported sticks 

 up and topsail all through! And even the Puritan found no need of 

 a reef in her huge mainsail. The wind blew scarce 20 miles on an 

 average and during a fight squall of ten minutes duration, the velocity 

 increased to about 30. At no time was the sea high or troublesome 

 and at worst it could be characterized as a short jump of which an 

 "eighty" in a race would scarce take notice. The run out was sailed 

 in practically smooth water, and two-thirds of the beat home was 

 also in water so smooth that the yachts hardly lifted or fell to its in- 

 fluence. For less than one-sixth of the course they experienced a 

 slight jump. But the press tug, a wretched sea boat at all times, 

 being driven at lO knot speed head on to the sea, dove hke a porpoise 

 as a matter of course, and occasionally sent the drift over her pilot 

 house, giving the tarry spindlcshanks in store clothes representing 

 the press their first taste of salt water. Now beer and salt water 

 don't mix. With heads more or less befuddled, and insides promptly 

 emptied in deference to Old Nep., it was pea-haps natural that to ih"e 

 average reportorial mind the sea assumed portentous dimensions 

 and to that effect they accordingly delivered theuiselves to the great 

 amusement of nautical men and yachting experts in general. Neither 

 sea nor wiiul were reaUy worth mentioning. My wonder is what the 

 pubUc and the newspapers would have to say could thev witness a 

 Ohannel match in really coarse weather which would briiig (.TPiic-KtH 

 two cringles down and No. 4 jib half way out on a reefed bovvs(iilt. 

 It would be a sight and an experience, the existence of which they 

 not even dream of now. 



The New York World hits it about right in the following: "There 

 was a fair sailing breeze for the rtm out, and a lower sail breeze for 

 the beat back. Surely this is no "Genesta weather," and far less is 

 It a regular ■ 'Channel gale and steep sea." The London Field, Oct, -3, 

 .says: There was a nice big topsail breeze blowing, which strength- 

 ened as the tlay drew on. so much so that upon turning the stakeboat 

 tor the beat home Genesta had enough wind for her jibheader." The 

 t^i''^^r^L,t''^?'T% ^^^r- ;"Tbe weather was gloriousb'flae and the 

 sea smooth. And yet there are patriots bv the thousand firmly 

 convinced that our so-caUed sloop has actually met the cutter in th"e 



howling gale ' tor which it is supposed the cutter men had all along 

 flov^oP',"**?''?;?- ^'^^ ^^^'^'^ written anent this race aud the 



^tt^ ^^'eaiher the landsmen believe they have seen is enough to 

 make a stoic split his sides with laughter. If the day is to be 

 characterii^ed at all, it came much neirer being "our weather and 

 our smooth water" than it did to a Channel blow and sea It was 

 more favorable to the sloop, and never once put Genesta to her hard 

 weather metal. Says the Field: "After roundinrthe ctittei was 



A foolish and disingenuous attempt has been made in the Herald to 

 decry the cutter as a good sea boat; My o .iservations vvere mfite to 

 the contrary. At all times tbe Genestl was aS- anTm^^^^^^^ 

 fortable vessel than the Puritan, who made the water fiv a^ro^sh^^ 

 decks at a frightful rate, so iking everythiog fore and aft ' The";, 

 port m the M confirms what I have said on this head tiiid whaUs 

 well enough known to all wlio have saUed in cutters that stK.-b boa s 

 areintmitely drier and better bebaved iu a sea than a sloop of any 



type can ever be. It has been stated in the prints that Genesta ear- 

 ned the water up to her hatches. How this is to be reconciled with 



lirh carries a lisurdity on its face calls for no further refuta-" 

 s ,or the I uritau. she made a wretched display and could not 

 The London Ftfld says: 



with the cutter. 



"Puritan, literally buried in spr.ay, showed a .cfoo'd piece of her bot- 

 torn to wmdward-so much so that it appeared as though a little 

 more and she would reach the vanishing p,.,int of her own .stabilfty 

 -Vetahis was 111 nothing more than a topsail breeze for the Genesta! 

 And again: "The Puritan drove the spray in showers from her lee 

 bow and smothered her deck fore and aft with weather drift." ' 



01 ( be race use f, little need be said. Down wind f saw nothing to 

 hn^^rtl*^. T "'T° '-'■■'ill^'-s I'l-et^-nd Puritan's canvas was not 



handled to advantage, becau:sc she did not shift over spinnaker with 

 ^T^!^^^' 1 ot It was tills. The cutler ha^'ing run away to the 



Se ,1 , I ' P*'-, " 'f "'.1^1' ^ 'J't f'"-- f 0"t<'i- and jibed in con- 



.seque.nte. Puntan h.aviug .steered a straiabtr-r course had no need to 

 jilie. At all eveni;s n is a qnestum whether the delay incident to the 

 l?l^'r?nn'HM''i"^ uot have bccn an ofl'set to the gain from shifting, 

 and on this 1 am content to believe tUat between Capt. .Too Ellsworth 

 Skipper Crocker and the gentlemen aboard the Piiritnn. there was 

 better se-amauship on tap than all the landsmen scribblors "for the 

 press combined could muster in a life time. It is enough that know- 

 ing heads aboard Puritan saw no sufflcient cause to jibe over On the 

 run out Genesta had the best of it by aiiout 3rnin. But in deference 

 to the opposition 1 will coucetle the -Jniiii. to superior seaman.ship 

 aboard tbe cutter. The fact then remains that hoth were alike (or •'() 

 miles square down wind, and all T h:ive ever claimed for the cutter 

 was that she could be made to equal the s1oot.i in .sp-ed. This part of 

 the race demonstrated the corree'tness of mv position. Had there 

 been a sea on, the cutter would lia ve jiad mu'di Ihe best of it for the 

 sloop coifid not have held as stoaily a eou -se. After tbe round both 

 settled down to the windward ivork, Puritan smothered to such a 

 degree that toinnast was housed, «-bile IJenesta readily carried small 

 top,sail. though the .sail did not sit well enough to do her any good It 

 was a drag instead of a benent. How did tlio two eorapate now at 

 the new worl;? My own observation was tha t Genista, svas fast eating 

 out to wiudvvard and maldng far better y,-eather of it than tbe slor.p. 

 The cutter liad the race in hand aecordiug to my judgment, that 18 

 bar accident and duke. Hbe ))oiuted and fetched higher than the 

 sloop which was sagging away under the lee bow of the Genesta. 

 Here is what rn.r witues-ies have tc say: 



The Spirit rif llie Ttmes: "They headed in about north-northwest, 

 the (Jenesta, a, coujde of points a,baft the sioop's weather beam * * 

 The t'untan had taken i'0:-ition under tbe cutter"s lee bow ♦ *^ * 

 The Yankee sloop went otT further and further on the cutter's lee 

 bow. 



Certainly that shows well for (be Oenesta's high pointing. 

 The Field says: ••With sheets aboard, Genesta held her' starboard 

 tack; Puritan foUowing in her wake, was first luffed out on her 

 weather quarter, but finding that the pinching game did not do in the 

 bltle lop there was on, she tried the ranipiutr t;ame, hut all to no pur- 

 pose, as she certainly fell botli astern and to lecvard of the cutter. 

 * * * Puritan was s.agging to iceivard a good deal." 



Is there much comfort in rbis .jii.,ta,i icai for those who thought 

 they detected "va.st superiority'' in tlie type of the Pm-itan, and how 

 much "superior" to the keel did the centerboard show itself in the 

 game of hanging on y 



The IFoj-W, Sept. 17, s&yai "The cutter evidently was holding to 

 windward better." 



Wherein then did the centerboard show any superiority, when all 

 reports agree with my personal observation that the cutter was much 

 the better of the pair ? 



Things went along in this style untH a short squall overtook the 

 racers and the wind veered from W.N.vV. to N.N.W. and plnrnped the 

 so-called sloop high out to windward at a bound, wiping out all the 

 water Genesta had gained bv her high pointing and permitting the 

 Puritan to come down for the finish on a long leg v. ith sheets lifted, 

 while poor Genesta had to pinch to achieve the same end I Here was 

 luck, wholesale luck, Pui itan luck, the biek v.-hich turned inevitable 

 defeat into an accidental victory This luck robbed tbe trcnesta of 

 the second race and turned the giddy heads of the patriots to whom 

 a big shift of four points was a trifle not worth wasting time over, 

 aud the mere offl.dal record at the finish everything that was needed 

 to "prove conclusively" tbe "vast superiority" of ■■ourshoni sloop" 

 over such an incoutinental piece of Immhu'g as the British cutter, 

 which of cour.se, in the light of the official result mast be ■ flll wrong" 

 and totaUy unable to cope with the great gL'uius which in six short 

 months proiluced such a wonderful marvel as the hybrid Puritan I 

 and so forth, nd aauseajii. 



And yet to think, that overlooking tbe four points shift, there was 

 but a slight margin of Irn. 3Ss. iu favor of rhe so-called sloop, a differ- 

 ence that can lie accounted for through a hnndrerl minor reasons 

 apart altogether from ditTerences in type. I saw nothing in this race 

 which could, oven on a pinch, be rccaived as "evident suporiorty" on 

 the iiart of the sloop. On the coutrar.r, all 1 saw in regard to speed 

 and behavior was in favor of the Genesta. Inspeed aud Close winded- 

 ness the difference was but trifling, but in hehavior and dryness the 

 cutter was decidedly the more preferable of the two. Let me again 

 call upon my witnesses in regard to the sldtt which transferred the 

 I'ictor.y to the wrong boat. 



The lVor/(^ says: "The sloop, hoivevei', was fnvored on the return 

 by a shift of some throe or four [loints m the wind, and probably had 

 the breei^e remained steady and the retiiru course been a beat to 

 windward, the result might Jiave been dUIerent. When the.y first 

 tacked to the northward the Puritan was down on the cutter's lee 

 beam. In the squall which, came on soon after the w ind hauled from 

 northwest by west to north-northwest, and as the yachts broke off the 

 Piuitaii was yilaccd more aud more ahead, and. of course, when they 

 tacked for the final reach she was all her distance ahead to windward. 

 Tbis enabled her to conic for tbe mark with sheets a tnfie eased, 

 while the cutter was obliged to pinch all the way in. It is certain that 

 had the shift of three or four points in the wind fn\ ored the cutter 

 instead of the sloop it would have been much more than an equiva- 

 lent for [ihe Ira. and 38s. by which the sloop won the race," 



This is an honest and fau- way of acknowleJging the truth, plain 

 to all who cared to see it, that Genesta bad the race in hand and 

 would have won but for a grand fluke in Puritan's favor. 



The TVoriti repeats its evidence iu behalf of my view, winding up 

 _ 3 follows: "The shift of wind during the first stretch lo the north- 

 ward had been in the Puritan's favor. Had the return been dead to 

 windward the result might have been different," 



The Spirit of the Times says: "Tbe cutter is really a very remark- 

 able lioat. * * * There was a shift of wind during the second 

 reach, when Ihe sloop was down on the cutter's lee beam, and both 

 were headed off. This, of course, brought the sloop some ahead, and 

 when they lacked for the final reach to the Hnisb line she was all the 

 distance setiarating her frotn the cutter to wiudu'ard of her. It is 

 safe, therefore, to say, in view of the very narrow margin of time 

 between them at the finish, that had the sliift of viducl been in favor 

 of the cutter instead ot: the siooji, the, cutter would have won. That 

 the cii]j, therefore, is retained is b.y luck rather tlian 1)^ superiority 

 of sailing is evident so far as the work in from the outer mark is 

 concerned. * * * The net result, therefore, is that, so far as can 

 be jiidced by this race, these two boats are very nearly equal in 

 speed,'" 



All of which coincides to a dot with rov nbserv.atious and fully 

 esiaulishcs wh.at I sot out to prove by evidence from a source hitherto 

 strongly inimical to cutters ;ind all O'-U'cring tlieui. Both races 

 were won by Puritan ou fluke aud not upon merit, fn neit,Uer race 

 did either boat demonstrate the ."lightest advantage in regard to thoJr 

 type. Both performed exactly alike i;o all intents and puipo,=es. 



The claim that the so-called ''American model" possesses any Itl- 

 nate advantage over the so called ••cutter model" turns out to be 

 mythical, without a shadow of a basis upon which the claim can 

 rest, 



On the other hand, the stand I have taken ever since I touched pen 

 to paper on this subject, that the cutter was not one whit ihferior in 

 her type to the type of the sloop, has received thremgh these races 

 th»? iaillest aud niost unequivocal answer in the affirniative. 



C. P. KUNHAROT. 



[TO BE CONTINUED.] 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



Would 3'ou allow an interested reader of Mr. Kuuhardt s discussion 

 of the Puritan-Genesta race, begun in your issue of to-dav, to point 

 out asligbt mistake vvliich Mr. Kunhardt seems to have made? 



Co m menting ou the race around the iTianglo in wliich the Cienesta 

 sailed against the Graeie and other American sloops and schooners, 

 he says: •'The Gene.sta wiped out the sloop Grade far more effect- 

 ively than ever Puritaa accomplished." 



Supposing this to mean that the Genesta beat the Graciebymore 

 time than the Puritan had ever done, or at least by more over this 

 course, and foeliug surprised at th« stateraeat, I consulted the record, 

 which is as follows: 



Over the triangular om-se. trial race ot Aug- v*!, entries PrisciUa, 

 Puritan., Bedouiu and Gracie: 



