^96 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 5, 1885. 



forestavsail with single, bu<- ordinarily the forestaypail is not reefed; 

 it i'! Jowereil iDsread. and the jib used alone for head sail. The fore 

 staysail is ntted to boom ajid works U-e'f, so that in sailing by the 

 wind tliH "iib fiiiect i:^ the only rope ihat has to be teixled. 



All sheeia jead aft and belay close to the hand of the hehi-istnan, 

 auii one man can litndle her all alone wii h justice to both himself and 

 me boat, even in heavy weati.er. She will steer herself and allow the 

 crew to go forward and set topsail in liKht winds- As the topsad 

 clewH up it can be taken iu by clewing when one is alone, fchould jt 

 come on to blosv too h^nvy to carry it. , . • 



As with all y i wis, "-ail can be reduced in a hiin-y. She has been trien 

 under all combination of her s^ils and she tiims and works well 

 under all. and is by no rai^ans slow either under head^ails and mizzen. 



The woodwork on the Bonita was executed bylMessrs. Rogers & 

 Comstoek. the well known boat builders of New London. Conn , and 

 tiie ii-oa work bv Mr. Higgius. and is a first-clasi .job. Her rigging 

 wa^ fitted hv Cnpt. Burdick, of the yaeht Surprise, and her sails made 

 hv snihnalcer Storry, whose work is to be seen on many New York 

 yachts. She i.s titled with two anchors and a folding hedge, and has 

 all the outfit necessary for cruising by day or night. She also carries 

 a light canvas canoe as a quarttjr boat without any trouble. 



A! 



THE RIG OF SMALL CRUISERS. 



CORRESPONDENT in Quincv, III., who contemplates a cruise to 

 -^.^ Floii laiaa yaehcSSft. oTOrall. and rft. 4iu. beam, drawing about 

 •Sf t with an iron' center iioard, asks some questions as to the best rig. 

 If a'-: we Kiippose, he is going alone, or must be able at times to work 

 th'cY)oat himself, the ?awl rig will be the easiest and safest. We 

 give an example rf a similar boat this week, but would advise a sm- 

 gle jib, as better iu this case than double head rig, as in the yawl the 

 jib will be but small. The question was well summed up iu the For- 

 est AND Stbeam of Oct. 1. The g*-neral proportions of the rig of the 

 Bonita will suit oiu- corre-spoudent'.s boat, but we cannot give full 

 dimnifioiis without more details. He also asks as to iron fastenings 

 for salt wator, as conper is dirjiculi to obtain Thu latter would be 

 much preferable and may be had in New Tork of any size, hut iron, 

 if galvanised and ijrop'^rlv puttied over, will last for an indefinite 

 time. The difference in first cost is not worth considering if the boat 

 is really a good one and copper can be obtained as cheaply as in 

 the larger cities. We clip from the Meld the following suggestions 

 on singlehanded sailing which will be of value to our correspondent 

 and tx) others of our readers: 



Whether an 8 tonner can be sailed by the owner and one man with- 

 out too hard work depends, of com-se, mainly upon the boat, the 

 owner and the man. The boat must be handy, steer easily, carry a 

 steady weather helm, not break oif in the hardest puffs, come about 

 easily iindei- head sails only, also under head sails and a half-set 

 maiiisad or sroi rn trysai', be seaworthy, wol I found, and with hal 

 liards, sheets, and all leads running fair and clear, and conveniently 

 rove; and she should also turn to windward under foresail and main- 

 sail, and lie to with perfect safety in any weather. The owner must 

 of eomse be perfectly at home ac the helm, and be able to handle 

 both head sueets without assistance in going about. But 1 think that 

 is not all. In fairness to the man he ought to be able not only to 

 shii t a small jib or topsail for a larger (which is easy enough), but to 

 strike a big topsail (mine had an 18ft. yard), or shift the largest jib 

 for a smaUi-r in a good stiff breeze while turning to windward, and 

 vnth no assistance, except -'a hand to the sheet," which the helms- 

 man can lend, while halliard and tack are being got up and down. 

 He should also be exceptionally expert in heaving the lead. Of 

 course the man ought to be everything that is admirable; but the 

 qualities lvalue most highly are cheerfulness and willingness, I 

 have had many a pleasant cruise with a lad, whoso want o^ ability 

 as a yachtsman was mere than compensated for by his cheerful- 

 ness, that ''instinct" common to youths brought up at sea (at least 

 on board fore-and-afters), and his other good qualities. Last but not 

 least, owner and man .should each be able to round the vessel to and 

 pick the other up without a shadow of a chance of missing the mark 

 at the first offer.— Handy Billy. 



A TEST FOR ROPE. -the following test for man ilia rope is given 

 in the Meid. and we reproduce it, as it may be of auBicient interest 

 to our yachtsmen to induce some of them to try it. Good cordage is 

 about as imjjoi tant as any part of a yacht's equipment, and it is 

 economy in all cases to use only the best, and the following test may 

 be of use in oeiermming the material: "Some four or fiye years 

 since." the Times says, "'a new fibre known as Sisal hemp was intro- 

 duced into the market, heiug so named from the place where it is 



g reduced, which is Sisai, Yucatan, in the Gulf of Mexico. This fibre 

 as an excellent appearance, closely resembling that of Manilla 

 hemp, but it pos^esses only half the strength and one-thii'd the dura- 

 bility of the latter. Hence it is unsuited for the manufacture of rope 

 for shipping, or, in fact, for any puipose where a sound and reliable 

 rope is required, especially where sudden and excessive strains have 

 to be met The yjrice of Sisal htmp, moreover, is only about half 

 that of Manilla, and hence an inducement is offered to unprincipled 

 rope manufacturers to mix the two Kinds of fibre and supply it as a 

 pure ManiJl ' hemp rope. It is well known that advantage is but too 

 frequently tiken of this inducement, the manufacturer well knowing 

 that there is little or no chance of the purchaser ever detecting the 

 fraud." We do not think ibis "fraud" is much practiced by rope 

 makers, and a statement that hawsers are not tested for the Ad- 

 mu-alty is not correct. The test for pure Manilla or Sisal is said to be 

 as follow.-: "Three pieces of Sin. rope were procured, one made 

 from pure Manilla hemp, one from pure Sisal and one from an equal 

 mixture of Manilla an 1 Sisal, the fibres having been carefully inier- 

 mixeu before the yarns were spun. Each of the ropes was untwi.^ted 

 an 1 from a strand of each was taken a piece of the yarn about Gin. 

 in length. E ich piece of yarn was untwisted and separated into 

 loose tibres. which were separately rolled between the palms of the 

 hands, producing three balls of flore, each about the size of a large 

 walnut. These three balls were then placed on an iron fire shovel 

 and each lighted and thoroughly burned out. There were then three 

 piles of ashes of perfectly dissimilar appearance. The Manilla hemp 

 produced an ash haying a dull grayish-black appearance; the Sisal 

 hemp left an ash of a w^iitish gray coJor. while tne combined Manilla 

 and Sisal fibre gave a grizzly white and black ash, reminding one of 

 nothing so much as a man's beard when turnuig from black to gray. 

 The presence of the two fibres was distinctly apparent by the different 

 coloi'.'? of the a-hes." 



A REPLY TO"H. B.'S" UETTmi.-Editor Forest and mreani: In 

 yom- last issnel read a commuuication from one who signs himself 

 "H. B In which be informs us that the Puritan is like nothing under 

 the e irth. on the earth, in the water or on the water. Then verily she 

 must be oi the air, and what name shall we give this conglomera- 

 tion-' 'i'i'ebstHr is not equal to the emergency. "H B." tells us in 

 one bi eatb that die Puritau resenpiles nothing; in the next breath 

 that she resembles tne Stiadow. Any one who has seen the two 

 yachts' models knows the error of this statement. '-H B " asks for 

 a clear, concisie cieliuition of sloop and cutter. The same definition 

 that held good on ttie aovent of the Saxon (or Kitten) in Eastern 

 waters does not answer at this writing, according to his opinion. 

 There was no diQieulty then in drawing the line between cutter and 

 sloop. He knows ho-v the Saxon was hooted at whenever she entered 

 inaregatia. Not he or any other sloop advocate dreamed that the 

 rig of tUt- !-axon would over be used to keep the Cup in this country, 

 and if any one had told them so he would have been annihilated. All 

 this controversy seems to have been brought about iu order to let 

 the Pui:ran advocates down easy. As to whether the races were for 

 the Cup or to iletermme the difference between cutter and sloop I 

 say that tuey were for the Cup, and that at all hazards, as shown in 

 th - races, t erhaps it would have bei-n as satisfactory to "H B " if 

 he had eocflned himsell; to the class of yachts I admire so mucli in- 

 stead of a co.mpromise. Tnere IB a difference between an American 

 orignial and an American copy. In regard to the skimming dishes 



ining dish and one that has made it about as warm' for the Shadow as 

 any other boat evei- did.— Loyalty. 



A SHOAI.. DRAF f STEAM YAOHT.-Crulsing about Florida is 

 every year becommg more popubr and to it we owe in a great meas- 

 ure the devclopunent of tJie shoal draft typo at this time when the 

 tendency is toward deeper boats. To this is in a great measure due 

 to development of ih.e sharpie and also such yachts as the new 

 schooner Wliiiu. .^^ ue^v steam yacht ol the same class is now build- 

 ing 111 tJreenpoiiit, by Mr. S. H.Pine, for Mr. Pierre Lorillard, who 

 P use her m the south. She will t,e llOft. long, ;iOft. beam, and 4ft. 

 hm draft Her eriguie and boiler will be as ligut as possible and she 

 will have two screws, eaeli :i blailed and 4ft. diameter. The hull will 

 be of woo.l L.ak keels, haekmatack frame, and yellow pine planking, 

 all tasteiieU wiih yt-Wow metal, copper and locust treenails, She will 

 be riiised as a solioouer with pole masts. 



A UlNNER TO CAPTAIN' ELLSWORTH.-The - fellow townsmen 

 of Captain .Joe EUsworth have rejoiced much of late over his success- 



burph pre.'^ented a handsomely engros.-ed and framed ser.es of reso- 

 lutions, passed by theciuz-ius of Bayonne. and also a diamond stud 

 A dinner was then served, after which speeches were made by many 

 Of the i'aclitsaien present. 



THAT FINAL RACE AGAIN.— Ediior Forest and .stream: After 

 reading carefully Mr. Kunha'dt's ar^count of bow a "Huke" won the 

 second Cup race for the Puritan. I am still unable to see it. and write 

 for further information if .you are not weary of the subject, as I be- 

 lieve your readers are not. Many like myself, while in no sense 

 yachtsmen, still have sailed catboats and small sloops sufficiently to 

 take a great interest in all that relates to these races, aod though 

 they are ready to b" convinced that the so-called skimming dish is by 

 no "means an ideal boat, nevertheless beheve the race should he 

 dec'ded strictly on its merits as actually sailed. Now. it .seems to 

 me the situation on the beat home was this: The ^enesta on the short 

 starboard tack to the southwest, starred with a lead of tvo minutes 

 down the course before the Puritan turned the mark— say a quarter 

 to a third of a mile. According to Uenesta ad vocal es, oii this tack 

 she not oply held all she had, but in-n-eased her lead, and at the same 

 time went to windward of the Puritan, so that when both boats came 

 about almost simultaneously at 1:22. Genesta was half a mile to wind- 

 ward, and led on the course N. N. W. by a quarter of a mile. Very 

 soon after this occurred the sg^uall, wind rismg from twenty to thirty- 

 five miles an hour, accompanied with a shift of three or four points 

 to the north, now blowing almost into the e.ves of the yachts, which 

 accordingly fell off to about north by east, and ran thi- course until 

 2:16 P. M., when it was discovered that '.he Puritan, from b ing a 

 quarter of a mile astern at l:ti2, bad drawn ahead all the way from 

 a half mile to a mile, and thereafter, when again on the starhoard 

 tack, was able to come down on the Genesta with a free sheet and -so 

 win the race. I cannot see bow all this bears out the assertiim that 

 the Puritan won by a fluke. The first surprising thing is tuat the 

 Puritan beats back in three minutes thirty seconds less time 

 than the Genesta is able to, and yet the Puritan sails in distance one 

 mile and a half further; or in other words, the Genesta, to have 

 sailed the same distance as the Puritan, would have required, 

 at the speed of both boat.'!, at least tv.-elve minutes more than 

 the I1.iritan actually did it in, and that, too, allow^ing the 

 very high speed of a mile in six minutes, unquestiouably 

 too hiuh a speed for their windward work. Now. I cannot 

 s-e how this result In figures can be gaiiis.aid; and if it cannot 

 be, then is it not preposterous to say that the Pm-itan won by a fluke y 

 To me the fluke appears to be based on a confusion of the position of 

 the yachts at 2:16, when the Gen»sta came about for home, with that 

 which they occupied the better part of an hour previous, when 

 the squall' and shift of wind occurred. It is said that at 

 3:16 the Puritan was about a mile ahead on the port tack. 

 When the yachts came about for home, by the shift of wind 

 occurriug some forty minutes previous this mile was converted into 

 windward advantage, Puritan came down with a full on, pinched Gen- 

 esta, and so won— a palpable flukel But the question is not answered, 

 How came the Puritan to be that mile ahead? And this is the critical 

 question, is it not, on which the whole race depends? If that mile, or 

 a considerable part of it, was due lo honest sailing, then all the Puri- 

 tan gained after it was won not by fluke, but by the speed which had 

 gauied for her the advanta.ge which she afterward used. How was 

 it? Thus: In one hour and ten minutes the Puritan had wiped out 

 the quarter mile lead of the Genesta, gone about a mile to the fore 

 during the heaviest weather of the day and during the stiff'est wind 

 waid sailing. Was this remarkable performance due to a shift of the 

 wind of ihree or four points? Ho^vdid the Puritan perforin? I quote 

 the World, including the remark to Puritan's disadvantage already 

 quoted by Mr. Kunhardt, with the immediately following lines 

 omitted by him: "The white sloop, however, constantly outreached 

 her and drew ahead, her lee bow being at 1:45 full a quarter of a mile 

 away . The cutter evidently was holding to windward better. At 1 :50 

 they got a pi-etty sharp squall from the north northwest, but 

 the British boat carried iier topsail in grand style. It did 

 her more harm than good, however, as it kept shaking, and 

 the Yankee sloop, with topmast snugly housed, made much 

 better weather of it, and drew more and more ahead. 

 The squall passed, but left behind it a strong breeze and Hue 

 weather. The sea soon got up. the water Hying efear over the top of 

 the Luckenbach's pilot house, and this was cutter weather and no 

 mistake. It did not seem to trouble the sloop, however, and the 

 more the sea got up the more she beat the cutter. She not only out- 

 reached her, but she held a better wind, and was gradually eating up 

 into the British boat's course." Thus the World, one of the journals 

 which inclines to the opinion that the Puritan won by a fluke. What 

 was the situation when the wind shifted? If the View of the race 

 taken by Genesta's friends is correct the cutter then had the sloop 

 down to leeward about half a mile (for be it remembered that all the 

 distance on the southwest tack, due to the two ininutes lead round 

 the stake, and all her gain on the tack, became windward advantage 

 as soon as the yachts stood on the port tack, and cutter men are sure 

 Pmitan had not decreased the lead), and a quarter of a mile astern, 

 tmless Puritan reached on the Genesta, which cutter men say she could 

 not. Now tnen,Pnrirau down to leeward and astern, wind hauls up 

 sharp on port bow, practically into the very eyes of the yachts. Boats 

 shift their course to about north by east, and Puritan is still down on 

 Genesta's lee. Unfortunately, also, if the changed angle of the course 

 has helped Puritan any, it is away from theflni-h. and she has got to 

 make it all up again when she comes about. Does not this correctly 

 describe the situation as it then was, from the cutter point of view? 

 And are there in it the elements of a flulte big enough lo give Puritan 

 her lead at the end of this tack, all the way from half a mile to a 

 mile; enable her to beat the twenty miles back in three and a half 

 minutes less than Genesta, covering in so doing a distance which 

 Genesta would take nine to twelve minutes more than herself to do? 

 It is the discussion of these- questions on which this much disputed 

 race depends.— Read EK. Editor Forest and Stream: Mr. Kunhardt 

 was more than half right after all in hisultraisms, and in his repeated 

 warnings that we did not possess a ship able to holci the Cup. It was 

 perhaps due to his badgering and seemingly unpatriotic sentiments, 

 that the Puritan was built and that the Cup remains. What consti- 

 tutes a cuuer or sloop is now of little moment, since the happy 

 medium has been reached in this new type. That the better parts of 

 the extreme wide and narrow boat could be embodied with success 

 in a half-breed was a pet theory of mine now made manifest in the 

 Puritan. The performance of' the compromise under the circum- 

 stances is almost miraculous. The short time allowed for her con- 

 struction, the little opportunities aiforded for practical tests, where 

 the slightest mistake might cause defeat, makes her to-day the boat 

 of all boats. That she could beat the Genesta just as she pleased was 

 manife.st from first to last The Galatea's challenge is an earnest 

 that we must look sharp if we hope to retam the Cup. "Would it not 

 be well to build another Puritan more powerful. One not only able 

 to defend the Cup, but go over to England and bring back what 

 the Genesta has taken away.— R. G. Wilkins (Camden, N. J.). 



AMERICAN Y. 0. RACES.— A race was sailed on Oct. 10 on the 

 Merrimac River, off Newburyport, by the boats of this club. Banneret 

 won the first prize, making a record for her of 10 firsts and 2 seconds 

 for 13 starts, including the championship of the Hull Y. C. in the 

 second class keels. Course for first and second classes, 10 miles; 

 third and fourth, Smiles. The summary of the race is as follow*: 



FIRST CLASS. 



Actual. Corrected 



Torment, G. W. McKay 2 16 14 1 61 14 



Vici. Perkins & Boweu 2 3 I 42 1 &3 53 



Qraeie G 2 25 18 3 01 28 



Naiad Withdrew 



SECOND OLASS. 



Banneret, J. F. Brown 8 19 44 1 51 24 



J. S. Poyen. Jr., D. B. Pierce 8 31 31 1 55 01 



lone, J. S. Poyen Withdrew 



THIRD CLABB. 



White Cloud, N. Rodigrass 1 56 56 1 25 36 



Jumbo, Charles Cobb 2 02 49 1 28 25 



Maud 2 25 31 1 53 39 



Puntan Withdrew 



„ , , „ , FOURTH CLASS. 



Pert, J. Goodwm 2 03 03 1 28 15 



Ivory Soap, S. Goodwm ,9 04 25 1 C9 3r 



:A.melia 2 08 05 1 33 09 



pot. 2 11 20 1 36 10 



Lill'an - 2 16 35 1 41 55 



Mascot 2 89 87 1 59 05 



\ankee Maid Withdrew 



THE SPEED OF SMALL YACHTS.-ThelO-tonner Manola. 38ft. 4in, 

 vvaterline, lately made a good run from Cherbourg to Kingstown. 

 Over 323 knots of the distance thi* average speed was 714 knots, a 

 maximum ot >i% knots being maintained at times. The sea and 

 weather were bad during mostof the run, part ot it being made under 

 Jt!7'^^. . ^^ ^^ persons, two of them amateurs, were on board, 



iiie Satelline. an old-time yawl of 70 tons, also reports an average of 

 8.4 and '.) knots, on two runs of 22 and 17 hours each. 



<„■l^^?^t^ p'^? PURITAN'S OWNERS.-On Oct. 28 a dinner was 

 given at the I arkei- Mouse, Boston, in bono- of Mr. Edward Burgess 

 tin} I- l'^^ Pm-itan, Mr. John J, .led ries presidmg. At the 



^nrt an rh^''J;« 1 "'^v? ^'Vr ^'^^P'"^' '^'^ F'>"una and Puritan, 



fnfn I 1 ^ \ ' Halsairs picture of Puritan. A number of 

 l^'J^'^'iial speeches were made and the occasion was a very pleasant 



ANOTHER BUBBLE BURST.-The steam catamaran Henry W. 

 Longfellow, bmlt by Commodore Voorhis, of Nyaclc, and that was 

 expected to revolutionize river navigation, has gone rhe way of many 

 similar cralt and is now offered for sale. The Nereid, a si'milar ven- 

 ture m the sailing hoe, now ornaments the old basin at Staten Island, 

 an utter wreck. 



YACHTING NOTES.— Little is doing now at Piepgrass's yard. 

 Side by side are the cutters Mona and Muriel, and directly astern of 

 them are Maggie and Madge. All are securely shored up on land 

 and in shape for the winter. Two steam launches, P.-uol and Trifle.* 

 are also laitl up near them. The steam .vacht Tidie i« laid up in the 

 basin and next to her is the Oriema. The latter is having a £;eneral 

 overhauling, iiew^ spars, topsides caulked and painted, and repairs 

 to enK'tnea.' Her two Herroshoff boilers will be removed, and a new 

 one of the same make substituted. . . At Driscoll's yard a new center- 

 board sloop is now in frame, building on speculation. She is about 

 50ft. over all. with moderate beam, a gooil ov^1■bau^. and consider- 

 able depth and rise of floor. The frame is of oak. the keel being a 

 substantial piece l^Iin. deep, with heels of frames well boxetl in, while 

 Oin. of it IS outside. The frame is of sawn hackmatack. The boat 



promises to make a roomy and able crui.ser Electra. steaiu yacht, 



is laid up at Twenty-third street. Brooklyn. A iiahitiug of the yacht 

 was lately presented to the New York' Y. 0. Rarl ha. .steam yacht, 

 lies at the foot of Gouverneur street, E. R., overhauling for a south- 

 ern cruise. Polynia, steam yacht, will be tried by lit-r new owner, 

 Mr. W. H. Starbuck, and afterward will go to Philad; Iphia for repairs 

 and alt'^rations. Vedette, steam rachi.is in Munim's t;asiu, Utowana 

 is at Edgartown, Nooya is at Twenty-fourth street. E, Pi.. She will 

 have a larger boiler and wheel this winter, 



THE CHALLENGE TO THE ATALANTA.-The full text of the 

 challenge sent by Mr. J. B. Uerresholi, in behalf of the Stiletto, to 

 Mr. Jay Gould, is as follows. As it has been accepted by Mr. Gould 

 It IS probable that tin:-, race will take place next year: Bristol. R. I., 

 Oct 28, 1885. Jay Gould, fe^.-Dear Sir: Ihei eby confii iu on verbal 

 challenge of lasi evening, to race your ste .m yacut Alrdautc vvifii the 

 Stiletto, for a %.m champion cup, under the same eomlii ions nnuied 

 in my former challenge. The course to be f'-om Fort Adr.ins wiiniT, 

 at Newport, leaving Fisher's Island cn .starboard band, to the imoy 

 off Sand's Point, at the bead of Long Island Sound, distance being 

 about 150 miles. The race to lake place early next season. I thinlc 

 this will give you as clear a course as you desire, it being on the 

 ocean and Sound I wiU hold this challenge open for thirty days. 

 Respectfully. John B. Herreshoff. 



TYPE AND SPEED.— The views expressed in Mr. Kunhardt's letter 

 concerning the equal possibilities for speed m all types, seem^ to be 

 gaining ground in the yachting world. We find in Le Yaclit of Oct. 

 10 the following among its correspondence: - Flonnaa against Jul- 

 lanar, Arrow against Formosa, Puritan against fjeuesta. constitute 

 proof that the question of speed can be solved in a vaj iefy of forms, 

 when we find the Bentalls, Jessops, Webbs and porgesses'succeeding 

 in solving the problem by different methods; they have recently 

 shown that in vessels constructed upo ■ the principles of naval archi- 

 lectureone can in some way or other invert the induence of chief 

 factors, renlacing beam with depth andarrivinj-atlikeresuils. . . 

 Well applied mechanical laws permit the pruducliou of boats of 

 various forms, but of like power and also like speed." 



THE DRAWBACK ON IMPORTED COAL. -A section of the Cus- 

 tom Laws of the United States reads asfollow^s: ".-1 drawback of 75 

 cents per ton shall be allowed on all bituuiLnous coal impoi- ed into 

 the United States, which is afterward used for fu('l on board of ves- 

 sels propelled by steam engaged iu the coasting trade of the United 

 Stales or in the trade with foreign coimtries " A late decision of the 

 Treasury Department is to the effect that the above clause does not 

 apply to steam pleasure craft, as they are not engaged in domestic 

 or foreign trade. 



YACHTS PHOTOS.-We have lately received a number of hand- 

 some photo,graphs of yachts taken by Mr. N. L, Stehbius. of Boston, 

 the views being selected from a large number taken at all the lead- 

 ing races of the season in New York and Eastern waters, including 

 the Cup races, which Mr. Stebbins followed in his own tug. Within 

 the past year he has taken some 600 pictures of large and small 

 yachts and of other vessels, a full list of which is now ready. 



BUFF VLO Y. C. RACES.— The Buffalo Y. C. sailed a race on Oct 

 10 in a fresh S. W. wind and a heavy sea, four boats starting, the 

 schooners Alarm and Edgar B. Jewett, and the sloops Ripple and 

 Turk. Three prizes were offered, a barometer, yacht ensign, and fog- 

 horn. .Alarm led at the start but finally the eyebolt of ht-r forestay 

 broke, losing topmast and bowsprit and sprin.ging both masts at the 

 deck. Ripple won, with Edgar B. .lewert ten seconds later. 



THE ARRIVAL OF GENESTA — On Ol-L. at i) .V. M., Genesta 

 sailed into Portsmoutn harbor, after a good passage, made in the 

 escellent time of 19 days 19 hours. The news of her safe arrival will 

 be welcome to many here who have watched the brave fight she made 

 in our waters this season, 



BRUNHILDE.— Mr. Phelps's schooner Brunhilde arrived at Malta 

 on Oct. 20. She is bound for the Suez Canal. 



§maeing. 



THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING. 



NEXT Saturday the annual meeting of the Executive Com mittee 

 ot the American Canoe Association will be held at Oswego, the 

 Ijoint determined on by Com. Rathbun. Besides the selection of a 

 meeting place and other loutine business of the Assoetatioi; ihereis 

 little to be done his year, as ttie rules and lavvs previousjY euticted 

 are working well and' no change has been found necessaiy. ' Tiierc is 

 one matter, ho.vever, or the greatest importance, that will come 

 before the tJommittee— the extension of the Association in the West. 

 This matter has engaged the attention of the leading men in the A. 

 0. A. for some time, as the memtiership and active interest m Asso- 

 ciation matters has thus far been mainl.v in the E -isi, and > anada. 

 Several schemes have been suggested for the ori^anizitiou of a 

 Western branch of the A. C. A., and the time has now ai-i-ive i for 

 putting one of them into practice. Ihe detaus of tae i.ilau have been 

 well discu.ssed aod are now determined on. ami all that is needed is 

 the hearty coOp ration of Western canoeists, without which the Asso- 

 ciation can do nothing. Circulars have been s nt to all whose ad- 

 dresses were known, and on the number of replies received will 

 depend the success of the new measure. Next to this the most 

 important change is the estaolishiaent of a senior class, on Mr. 

 Gibson's plan, which will probably i>e carried out, We shall give a 

 full report of the meeting next w eek. 



RACING AND CRUISING CANOES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I am afraid that "Seneca" has put his foot in it, and that the thou- 

 sand or so canoeists wdio, aceorduig to him. are not canoci ts, will be 

 buzzing about his ears for raaldng fun of their pet hobby. Although 

 I am one of the afoi esaid "tnousand or so," and have expended a 

 vast amount of time and patience, to say nothing of the cu s. briuses 

 and puncttu'es 1 have inflicted on my suffering digits in monkeying 

 and tmitermg at my craft to bring ii. to that state of pei-fdctiou wUich 

 is the goal of every canoeist's ambition, 1 must say that t agree with 

 "Seneca." Ttae canoe has been overdont;. instead of tbe plain, 

 serviceable craft iu which McGregor. Bishop, Alden ;ind the founders 

 of the N. Y. C. C. were wont to take their cruises iu, we liave a ciaft, 

 the principal component of which is varnisn and nickel jjlate, held 

 iu position by a bewildering conglomeration of lines and battens and 

 blocks and cleats, and good intentjons to put on tome more as soon 

 as we can flod room for them. I Imow how it is myself, because I 

 have one of the thmgs that "Seneca" says is not a canoe, and I am 

 pretty well inclined to believe bim. 



A few years ago we were satisfied to sit in the bottom of our 

 canoes and jog along comfortably with cute hiile sails, if the wind 

 was fair, and we didn't care so much whether we wt'iM to leeward or 

 not; if it was a head wind we paddled, and our boats being lighter 

 than they are now, we didn't mind it. But now it is ail changed. We 

 have to sit up on a hurricane deck when we want ro saii, and "hike 

 over" to windward at ever.y li.tle pull': our lioats are loadt-d down 

 with metal rudders, tillers a'ud eenterboards till t'ouy are rendered 

 heavy aud useless for inland cruising in swift water; they are too 

 long 'and heavy to Oe handled quickly with the i>aadle, and a. rudder 

 is useless inrnipids; and what kind ot fun is Mn-re in one man making 

 earn s witn a eaooe weighing one hundred poimds or over? for there 

 are more Class H canoes that weigh over one hundred pounds than 

 there are those tnat weigh less t jan ninety. For ci tiisiug on large 

 rivers and canals they are all right; liut where there ai ^ no carrhiS 

 why not have a larger and n ore comforta'.ile oo it- The most delight- 

 ful cruise, are tnose made on small streams, wtiore itieje are many 

 riffles, and oftiiuies a carry around a mill dam, or other obstructiou. 

 and after lugging a big Class B over sucn places all day it is somewhat 

 exasperating to nave the haotlle of the centreboard kneading your 

 backbono all night. 



But the question is can this state of affairs be remedied? Can the 

 A, 0. A. so limit the spread of sail in the races as to abolish the deck 

 seat and tiUer and render reefing uuneces.sary? The size of canoe 

 limited and the .spread of sail also limited, canoeists will cease to 

 evoltite tlie caiioe into <t skigle-breasted tdi;er. aud pay more atten- 

 tion to long cruises, where liie canoe is iuits proper sphere. As it is, 

 the majority of them spieud the greater i).-rt ot rneir r.oir .n 1 1 ir.i; lo 

 balance staggering loads ot canvas, and in makiug iil:' ay 

 for the meet. Wit-i the aboliCi on of large saii area.-: u:y 

 that would attend the meet aud enter tne races chat ii - v.-iy 

 because they do not care to bring up the rear of ihe piouesaiun w u.k 

 such an enormous gap between it and the head; a set of racing sail ^ 



