Sept. 16, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



the stepping of the mast, the two hearlsails, the details of mast- 

 head flttingg, the runners and backstaye and the general propor- 

 tion of the rig. C'aTi any one say that tlicse ate taken from Amer- 

 ican practiceV If, then, we sum up Maytlower or even Puritan on 

 this hasia, the best thai, can he made of her is an Anglo-American 

 centerhoard cutter. 



Now let it be distinctly understood that we do not claim that 

 Mr. Burgess and those associated with him have made a serxale 

 imitation of English yachts, that neither Anglo-phohiac nor Anglo- 

 maniac has any cause to criticise them. TJiey ha\-c set to work 

 carefully and intelligently to select the best features of naval 

 design regardless of political geograplij' or tJie great American 

 eagle, and it is due solely to this liberal feeling that the famous 

 bird has had a chance to flap its Anngs ;ind crow for two seasons 

 in succession. In connection with the two boats il is worthy of 

 note that Mr. Bvirgoss has never built a true centerboard sloop, 

 that his earlier eJlorts were all keel boats, cutters of modi- 

 fled type; and that lately lie has scored an important success, tm- 

 noticed owing to the large boats, in his 20ft. keel cats, their 

 victories tins season and last showing very favorably along- 

 side of the fastest centerboard boats. Also another fact worth 

 considering here: Mr. Burgess, Avhose boats have been so success- 

 ful against the cutters, though a genuine American, has spent more 

 or less time abroad in tlie home of the ctitter. Two other Ameri- 

 cans, botli famous as designers of the old tn>e of American yachts, 

 have produced boats whicli have sailed side by side with Puritan 

 and Mayflower ^vith the resnlis so well known. One is at best only 

 a partial success and the other is laid up, a coirEessed failure, and 

 the latter case is not bettered by the tact that her promoters 

 rtished heedlessly into a field in which they had never trodden, 

 and in trying a lead keel burned their fingers. 



We desire to give every credit to Mr. Burgess, but must protest 

 against the popuhir confusion of terms which may lead some to 

 suppose that two victories in succession were due in any way to 

 the established priTiciples and practice of American yacliling and 

 not his individual skill and judgment, aided by competent associ- 

 ates. The victory is in e\ ery sense an American one, a vietoiT for 

 American enterpi-ise, skill and perseverance, but not for the 

 Atnerican "sloop." Perhaps some excuse may be made, however, 

 for the ni-founded and extravagant claims of the press and a por- 

 tion of tlie yachting world; il is a long time since they have seen 

 a sloop of any size, that venerable relic has fortunatelj- disap- 

 peared from American regatta courses, and their mistakes may 

 C-haiitably be laid to ignorance. 



AAThatever the title by \vhich Piu-itan and Mayflower are desig- 

 nated, there is no doubt but that suflftcient difference exists between 

 them and the two Webb cutters to make a verv interesting and 

 instructive contest. They differ greatly in beam, draft, displace- 

 ment, sail area and in tlie possession of centerboard and keel or 

 keel alone. If we consider them, as must be done in this case, from 

 a racing standpoint it must be admitted that the American yachts 

 are aliead. Contrary to general expectation, considering that 

 they were new yachts and of a size unknown for yeai's, wlnle their 

 rig was one that Americans were not familiar "witli, both have 

 been excellently sailed this season and last; and again to the sur- 

 prise of most yachtsuien neither Genesta nor Galatea have shown 

 up as well in Uiis respect as was expected from their reputations, 

 while Mayflower was sailed especially wcU compared wirh her 

 opponent. 



We have never considered that last year's racinsr proved the 

 enormous supermrity that some of Puritan's aherents claimed, 

 but that, while she was undeniably faster in a drift, the difference 

 was very much less in even a fair breeze, such as held outside the 

 Hook on the inside course race; and while this season Galatea is 

 undeniably beaten, the entire chances of the weather were in 

 favor ot the centerboard boat, and the figures at the end of the 

 race are apt to mislead. Probably Mayflower and Puritan are 

 faster not only In light airs but in a blow that wiUmakea thimble- 

 header look bigger than the largest of clubtopsails did last week; 

 hut as to this year's races, while it may fairly be inferred, it is not 

 yet pri'ven. 



The size and importance of the boats, together with the interna- 

 tional character of a cup contest, lend a degree of weight to the 

 results vviiich ihey may not deserve, and the occasion is seized 

 upon to bai lc up the losing or rather lost side in the battle of 

 sloop and c _ttcr; but is this entirely f,air? Whatever the results 

 of the rac.is may be, are they to be accepted as conclusive to the 

 exclusion ot all other evidence? Size tells always, and it is natural 

 that e\'e)'y ona should overlook Shona in watching Mayflower; but 

 such a course can only mislead. Wlx&t have been the circum- 

 stances in both of the races, 1885-86? Mr. Burgess's two center- 

 board cutters have beaten Mr. Beavor-Webb's two keel cutters; 

 conclusion by the gieat American public, "The cutter must go, we 

 will build Amcricrui sloops." 



How much of the result is due to the peculiarities of each boat 

 and not to the general lypc no one can say, and just now nobody 

 seems to care. Again, tlie F.ritish racing fleet includes three cut- 

 ters of 81 to 86tt., Irux, tialatea and Genesta, while the American 

 fleet possesses "uayfloAvt-r, Puritan, Priscilla and Atlantic. Two 

 of the latter ha\'e l)catcn two of the former, but does this affect 

 the entire question'r 



What Ircx can do is a pleasant matter of spectdation, but just 

 now has nothing to do wiih the case until after an actual trial; it 

 is enough to know now that two of the three British boats in the 

 class ha^'e been beaten by two American yachts, and the evidence 

 goes to show that the new tj-pe is faster than extreme narrow cut- 

 ter. After one is sure of this and has made a note of it for future 

 reference he may be tempted to look a Little further and to find 

 that while 6-beam Galatea ha.? been beaten by 334-beam Mayflower; 

 or if he believes the big head lines "Centerboard beats Keel"," there 

 isB-beam (."lara, as great an extreme as Galatea, with her rm- 

 brokeu strmg of victories in all weathers over every variety of 

 American boat, including the new type, to be accounted for; and 

 little (3-beam Shona, lead keel and all, beating badly the pet cen- 

 terboard Shadow. 



The truth is that no general and conclusive deductions can be 

 drawTi from any one class, but for an insight into the broader 

 principles Involved the whole season and the entire series of races 

 must be considered. The races this year have been more interest- 

 ing than usual, and entries have been fairly large. What is the 

 record? Bedouin lias entered every race and never been beaten 

 in her class, winning from the four large boats in the N. Y. Y. C. 

 regatta, taking first prize in the Seawanhaka, first prize at Mar- 

 blehead and a sweepstakes at Newport. Clara has won everv 

 race she has sailed since she came here, which means every race 

 open to 'her, except the Bennett-Douglas cups last vear and the 

 Goelet cup this year, when she was classed with the big boats; but 

 in each of these she has won a sweepstakes. Ulidia won the 

 sweepstakes at Newport, sailed in the Marblehead race against 

 Clara and Active, far larger boats; arrived at the start too late 

 for the Larchmont race, but cut in and made a good finish -with 

 the fleet. These boats have carried the bulk of the racine outside 

 the large class, and not one of them has been defeated bv a center- 

 board boat, while but a few of the latter have done any racing 

 this season. Without going into figures, which will follow later 

 m our annual summary, it is certain that both in starts and wins 

 the thoroughbred cutters outnumber the sloops hca\iiy. These 

 facts must be weighed before the \'alue of the season's work can 

 be properly estimated, and another important race is to be sailed 

 before the figures are complete. 



If we look solely at the large class, the conclusions must be that 

 in moderate weather the new type is fastei- than the extreme cut- 

 ter; but that the board is necessarilj^ superior to the keel is dis- 

 proved by too much e%ddence in all other sizes to believe it liere, 

 and some further reason must be assigned for the success of the 

 American boats to wind^vard. In a hard weather raci-, muc}i less 

 in^ a long ocean contest, the boats have never been i lioronghly 

 tried, and what they can do is pm-ely a matter of conjecture. It 

 may be that next season one of them will cross for the two chal- 

 lenge cups which Irex has potted in a rather wholesale manner, 

 the ownership of the two being determined bvthe re.sultof a single 

 race, and that a drift, a method not greatly in accordance with 

 the end for which the cups were given. In this event their sea- 

 going powers ai-e apt to be f uUy tested. Galatea has only been 

 considered here as a racing craft, as was natural, considering her 

 mission; but any one who has visited her will recognize that her 

 real merits are very falsely shown by the popular rating which 

 places her half an horn- astern of the Mayflower. Whatever her 

 merits over a regatta course, she still shows to enormous advan- 

 tage as a conif ortable cruising yacht, capable of navigating any 

 waters, and offering such accommodations as are oidy possible 

 -^^uth a boat approaching her t\T:.e. \Yc shall publish shortly her 

 accommodation plans, -which, wilh the interior views already 

 given, ^y\n show the extent of her cabins and hold. 



Had the long and severe struggle in which we have taken part 

 for se Ten years ended in a ^ictorv over (-ialatea by such a boat a^ 

 an enlarged Fanny or Gracie. we should have felt that all our 

 labor had been in vain and that there \vas little hope for better 

 things: but the trininph of the Angio-l'ankee sandwiches— a 

 cutter ng and cutter keel, vrith an .'Vmerican centerboard 

 between— IS in itself a ti-iumph for the essential principles tliat 

 we haA c advocated, the differences being mainly in subordin- 

 ate details. Karther tlian Uiis we kno^v. as do those concerned in 

 Mayflowe.r and Puritan, that they can beat both of these boats 

 with vessels still narrower and deeper than they are, andprobablv 

 without the centerboard; and that some day soon, when British 

 designers are released from the iron vise that has so long restrictea 



them, and allowed to choose their elements as freely as Americans 

 now are, they wiU have to meet the challenging cutter -with a 

 yacht differing but little from her in all particulars. 



SECOND TRIAL, SEP. 9. 



Whether satisfied or othenvise with the result of the races, 

 all yachtsmen -will regret that they were not saded in better 

 weather, and that drifts and flttkes have robbed these ino^t iiu- 

 portant contests of a jiart of their value. While such we.-.tJ.ev as 

 that -winch Genesta and Dauntless sailed in for the Bi-euton s Vu-rf 

 Cup last year would not have been acceptable to the admirers of 

 the American boat, and oven such a day as the Goelet Cup race of 

 ISS.'j niiglit have savored too much of cutter weather, all would 

 have rejoiced to see such a breeze as the tlirce yachts had at Mar- 

 blehead on June 29, or at Newport for the Goelet Cups this vear. 

 The results would in all probability have been the same, but the 

 lessons to be drawn from them would ha^e been of far greater 

 value than in the present case. In neither of the three i-aees was 

 the -wind sucli as to insure a fair trial, and while in c^. ery case 

 Mayflower led both in light airs and drifts, as Puritan did List 

 year, her superiority in not of necessity a howling gale, but a good 

 lower sail breeze, while it may be \'i;v\ safeh' assiiined has not been 

 decisively proven. On neither of the tliree occasion.s has a strong 

 steady wind prevailed for more than a \ ery short time. 



As Tuesday's race resembled closely that over the same course 

 on Sept. 14, 1885, so the failure of Thursday is similar to that of 

 Sept. 11, 1845. As then the course was E. by N. from the Scotland 

 Lightship, the wind was moderate at the start, the Engli.sh boat 

 doing rather better t han previously, but the American boat soon 

 picking up and leaving her. A ealmas they near ed the ■ inter mark, 

 the American yac.lit rounding and finally failint; (o make the course 

 in time, while hei- rival gave up without making the turn. Even 

 the Hide incident of a carrier pigeon on Puritan's gaff was re- 

 peated this year, as two birds lighted for a time on Galatea's 

 spreaders. The weather last year, however, a warm, hazy, lazy 

 September day, ^vt^s far different from the miserable fog ancl 

 drizzle that brought delay and even serious danger to the large 

 fleet in attendance on the yachts. 



Eurl\' in the morning there ^v;ls a light east wind with rain, but 

 rlie Liiekenbach and .Scandinavian, the latter in charge of Mr. 

 Hyslop and Neds Olsen, armed wiOi two patent logs and the 

 large raft vrith flag and red ball, left Pier 3 .and I'an to Bav Ridge, 

 the judges' tug picking up Galatea, wliile the Seandinavian passed 

 her hawser to Mayflower. Down the Bav the v-cather cleared a 

 little, but the breeze lield strong. Evidcntlv anticipating more of 

 it Galatea. lo\vered her jib, alrcadv set in stops, took one reef in hei- 

 bowsprit and sent up No. 3 jih, while off Huo\- 10, also setting 

 -vvorkmg foresail. At h):m the tug was abreast Scotland Lightship, 

 the wind then blowing fresh with rain and a thick haze coming 

 m. About her 'ivas a, large fleet of yachts, tugs and huge excursion 

 steamers, all loaded to their fullest capacitv. Mayflower had set 



also set a jibheader. The course, E. bv N., was eiven and the 

 mark tug sent out into the fog, and at Ih'M the nrstVhistlc blew. 

 During the lO-minute interval Doth, boats were to the south^\■ard of 

 the line, but as the second whistle blew, for the start thev came 

 up on starboard tack, Galatea Avas to leeward, but a little distance 

 ahead. As they crossed the line diagonally, however, it so hap- 

 pened that Mayflower was timed first. 



Mayflower 11 30 30 Galatea 11 30 B?. 



The distance between them was small, and as Galatea had sheets 

 hard in and \\ as jammed close as possible, it was but a short time 

 before ]\Iayflower, with a draught to her can\-as, went bv her to 

 windward. At 11:50 Galatea made tlie first tack. Ma\-flower fol- 

 lowing at once. Lighter and lighter dropped tlie wind, the lead- 

 ing boat still gaining steadily. At 1 P. M. she went (m starboard 

 tack, Imt Galatea did not follow, and at 1:1U she was on her old 

 tack again holding it tmtil 1:38. .lust before this Galatea had 

 shifted to clubtopsail, and at 1:41 Mayflower did the same, going 

 about at the same time. "S^Tiat with rain, fog and calm, theliros- 

 pect was an uninviting one; but it continued to grow worse, until 

 after a feint at clearing, the fog was so dense that the Luckenbach 

 could not make the mark boat. After sounding for a time she 

 came up with it about 4 P. M., Mayflower being dimly seen astern. 

 At 4:26:22 the latter turned the mark, luffing round ^vith spinnaker 

 boom ready to port. Out came her spinnaker from the stops and 

 she started home. The Luckenbach waited for Galatea until the 

 fog grew still thicker and then ran ahead to time Mayflower. 

 No more was seen of the yachts, and v,-hen she finally made 

 the Scotland at G:;iO notliing was -visible in the fog, so she started 

 cautiously home. 



Still out at sea was a large fleet of vessels tr jdug to find their 

 way m, and it is a matter for "'eneral thanksgi-ving tliat no serious 

 calamity marked the day. Many of the steamers were over- 

 crowded, in some the boats at the da-sdts were fidl of men. In the 

 event of a collision or other accident a fatal panic would almost 

 me-vitably have followed. As It was a large number were seasick, 

 all were tired a.nd hungry and utterly miserable, hut wltli few 

 exceptions they reached Ne^v York by 10 or 11 P. M. The most 

 notable exception was the lar.u-e steamer Eniiiire State, with a 

 numerous party of Bostonians on board. Slic ran ashore below 

 the point of Sandy Hook, fortunately in calm water, After some 

 confusion and mismanagement on the part of her otTicers aU her 



shore that would bring them near Long Branch. The ca,pricious 

 Luckenbach had started direct for home and tiie racers were soon 

 left far away and only visible plainly throngli t lie glasses. In the 



Lglit wind 



served th>-i 

 mysteries 

 From t h : 

 much bcttei 

 was now ma. 



l:/y the yachts and ob- 

 lid not is one of those 



udit safely have hei 

 ' - -losely, and uhy she 



1.' re.gMtta committe. . 



I the wind (.Tahit.ea had begun to do 



all nighr. ihe schooner yacht Republic also grounded but came 

 off safely. Mayflower made the Lightship after the time had ex- 

 pired and took a tug for Bay Ridge. Galatea gave up the race in 

 the fog and sailed in, anchoring off shore for the night. The com- 

 mittee on board the Luckenbach decided to make another trial on 

 Saturday. 



SECOND RACE SEPT. 11. 



Friday morning showed little traces of the fog. but was bright 

 and clear, and Saturday followed with the same weather. Tliere 

 was a good breeze from N.W., this time early in the morning, and 

 for once the Luckenbach started on time. Rimning alongside of 

 Galatea, Mr. Pluenix reported that Lieut. Henn was iU and con- 

 flned to his bed and desired tliat the course be shortened to fif te<m 

 miles to insure a race within the time. The vachts were towed 

 put, an-ivmg at tlie start in good time, but the Regatta Commit tee 

 had generously distributed itself over as mauv boats in llie fleet as 

 possible and inucli time was lost in bringing it together and start- 

 ing the bcandina ',ian on a S..E. course. The decision of the com- 

 mittee was that they liad no power to change the distance. Lieut. 

 Henn fanally reQuested that in the event of a calm a tug might be 

 .sent to tow Galatea in, as he wished to consult a physician. Bv 

 the time that the mark boat was far enough awav to make sure 

 that she would outrun the yachts the breeze had fallen perceptildv 

 and It was almost cci-fain that the best part of the day had been 

 wasted. 



At 11:10 the preparatory whistle blew, both yachts then being in 

 toward the beach, with spinnaker booms ready to port and cfub- 

 topsailsset. At 11:20 the starting whistle brought Mavflower to 

 the line, her spinnaker breaking out just above it and carrying 

 her over -with a, good headway. Galatea came dov,m more slowlv 

 with spinnaker at her masthead, and as she cut the line it was 

 sheeted out m a moment, the maneuver being beautifully executed. 

 The tunes were: 



Mayflower 11 22 40 G.alatea 11 24 10 



Mayflower set her balloon jibtopsail in place of liei- working head- 

 sails, and it helped her considerably. Galatea held to jih and bal- 

 loon foresail until ll:o5, when a small jibtopsaU went up. -1 yacht 

 race of this kind is a commonplace, every dav matter, o.ud iiist 

 now the mdges' tug had important work in hand, no less than a 

 race u'ith a rival tug, so her jingle sounded and off she went, 

 lea-sang the two yachts almost out of sight astern, and finally 

 lymg at the mark for half an hour wliile thev came up 



The two yachts held very evenly for a long time, wliile Priscilla 

 who h;ul cro.ssed to leeward of the Lightship at the start with 

 spmnaker set, was doing as well as the leader. All the time the 

 wind was falling light, and as it lessened the big sail area of Mav- 

 flower began to tell, and she ran far ahead of i";ala tea. her gain 

 being mamly m the latter htilf of the run. As she neared the 

 mark at 1:40, her balloon jibtopsail came down, then at 1:45 her 

 spinnaker followed and the boom was stowed on deck, and at 1;54 

 she Jibed some little distance north of I he mark, then luffed neatly 

 around it, and was away on starboai-d tack with jib and staysail 

 set and clubtopsail aloft. The entire business wa,-- well done from 

 the time her balloon jibtopsail came in imtil she was awav on the 

 ^vmd. Priscilla -was not far from Mavflower ihough otiliaed' to 

 keep out of the way. She came for the mark also, leaving it on 

 port instead of starboard , hand, t^alatea. dropped her spinnaker 

 at 2-.t»2 and nbcd at 2;Ui , going off on starboard tack. The times at 

 the loemark were: 



Mayflower 1 55 05 Galatea 3 10 20 



The former had made 1.3m. i^s. on the latter in the 20-rnile run, 

 nearly all the gam bemg made in the latter part. 



At 2:10 Mayflower went on port tack, only holding it for 10 min- 

 utes. At 2:23 she lowered her clubtopsail, the working topsail 

 being set at the time, not because she could not easily carry it in 

 the hght wind, but because it was not sitting properly 

 The three were now heading on a long tack in toward the Jersey 



iiLi liiowed more life than rii; any pre-viotis time. She 

 .. ng up a good pari: of her loss, and though there was 

 no prospect of lier winning, it seemed tliat she would i-iot linish far 

 astern. At 3:20 she sent tip a small jibtopsail, and Mayflower at 

 the same time set her jiijiopsu l and clubtopsail. Tlie'wind was 

 decreasing rapidly, and Sdme doubt \s-as expressed as to the possi- 

 bility of a. race being made. At 4:10 therB was hardiy a breath, 

 .and a little later both yaehts \v--re befalnied, I'vIaA ilowcr being 

 then well in toward the land, wirh Galatea furflier oil shore. 

 ( lose in a light breeze could he seen on the water, while further 

 out, beyond Galatea, Priscilla had a hreatJi, but the racers were 

 lying entirely motionles. At 4:21:30 both suuing about very slowly 

 to port tack, and a minute iatera niee hind breeze struck May- 

 flower and she put her scupper? under and laid up the lieach for 

 the finish. Dead and motionless on t)ie ^y:\ fer, hej- canvas slatting 

 idly, Galatea lay for twenty minutes, wliiU- her rival was rolling 

 along at a good pace, and it was not until 4:10 that she filled away 

 on starboard tack. Beaten she was Vtel'ore tlus, b-,it i>\ire i.)a.d luck 

 stepped in to make a defeat of a few minutes into a rout of half 

 an hour. From the mark in until they struck the cahn Gahatea 

 had done her best sailing in all the races, and had earned a far 

 better place than she finally .got. ' 



Now there seemed some chance of Mayflower finishing in time, 

 l)Ut aboN'o St'alu'ight she strnck a calm slreak and slowed do-wn, 



■eeze held, 

 • and with 

 1 off shore, 



-jv, iiLlriiing 29m. 9s, 



Elapsed. Corrected, 

 6 49 00 e 49 OD 

 r 18 .48 r 18 09 



though she had just set a big jibf oi 

 howe-N'er, and at last brought her to : 

 10 minutes of the 7-hour limit unust 

 stiU had very liglit breezes and came c u 

 later. The full times were: 



Start. Finish. 



Mayflower H 23 40 6 11 40 



Galatea 11 24 10 6 43 .58 



Though not in the race and obliged to keep out of the way all 

 day, Priscilla had done some good sailing and held her o-\vn very 

 well -with M.a.vflower. 



The Luckenbach waited to time Galatea, \vjnle IMayflower held 

 on tliroiigh a lane of saluting -\-essels crowded with a .shouting 

 multitude. Near the Hook the tug Harry Roussel, chartered hy 

 Mr. N. G. Stcbbins, of Boston, came alongside and offered to totw 

 her, which was accepted, and by 8 o'clock she was at her moorings 

 off Bay Ridge, her season's work well ended. 



LIEUT. HENN'S BERMUDA CHALLENGE. 



DURING the past two seasons yachtsmen in both hemispheres 

 have watched carefully the trials of a new type of vessel pro- 

 duced liy the necessity- cf building a yacht to meet the narrow 

 cutter in the races for the America's Cup. For this purpose the 

 ne^v yaehts have lieen so well adapted and have proved themselves 

 so fast that the cup remains hei-e yet and bulh of the visitors have 

 been defeated. The ti-ials of the ne^v boats have been completely 

 succes.sful as far as they h:i\e gone, but ilie racing has been done 

 almo.st entirely in light weather and much is still in the dark as 

 to the ultimate possibilities of the type. Tiiat thsy are very fast 

 in hght weather is a great deal, Imt the day has gone by when it 

 is all, and before they can h.iok for aeeeptanee as'a nati'onal type 

 they must undergo a much more severe test. 1,'ufortuna tely none 

 of them accompanied txenesta on the race around Breuton'.s Reef 

 Lightsliip last season, and neither last yea r nor this has any oppor- 

 tunity occurred for a thorough test of their seagoing powers. Such 

 a test is necessarily imposed on a -visitor that crosses the Atlantic 

 t-svice as Genesta did in order to race; and it is not too much 

 to ask that before more of the large yachts are built and more 

 money expended on them a thorough test shall be made of 

 their seagoing qualities. There wus a time when the fact 

 that they could mn races about New York -^votild lun-c been all- 

 aufflcient .and no one would have thought of questioning their 

 abilities any further, but American yachting has reached a 

 much higher plane since then; and the yacht of to-da.s- must 

 not only be capable of defeating any visitor in her home 

 waters, but must be capable of going as far, as fast and as safely 

 as the adventm-ous challenger. Proioably either Mavflower, Pun- 

 tan or Priscilla can do so, possibly they cannot; but the point just 

 now is the necessity of a settlement of this important question by 

 a trial at sea. If they are as safe, comfortable and .speedy as Gen- 

 esta and Galatea, then their position is assured. If they are not, 

 no amount of speed in light weather will justify American yachts- 

 men in adhering to them instead of looking further, and the sooner 

 the test is made the better for all. 



For a month past a n opportunity has been offered by Lieut. 

 Henn's challenge to race around Bermuda and back, a distance of 

 1,200 miles, but tha New York 1 . C. have declined to accept the 

 challenge, the owners of the yacht have taken no action in the 

 matter, and it has finally lieen ^vithdiwvn b,; Lieut. Henn. The 

 reasons advanced for this action lia-\-e nut been very conclusive 

 even here, and will be received still less favorably abroad than at 

 home. A good deal is known liere after two seasons' racing of the 

 build and behavior of tho boats; but abroad much rubbish has 

 already appeared concerning flim.sy build and racing machines 

 which would at once be disposed of Ijy a race: but wJiich, in the 

 event of all our lioats declining an off-shore trial, will carry a cer- 

 tain weight with yachtsmen who have paid no attention'lierct-o- 

 fore to the Satunlau Rcvimv and the others who have decried Puri- 

 tan. 



The -view that the more liberal and fair-minded of British yachts- 

 men will take is well set fortli in the following letter from one who 

 is favorably kno^^^l here through his visit hist year on Genesta: 

 Editor Ftircst and Strcanv 



1 see it stated that Lieut. Henn has challenged any single-masted 

 American yacht to race the (ialatea from Sandy Hook round the 

 Island of Bermuda and back. It is also stated that the challenge 

 will probably be declined on the ground that long distance racing 

 is out of favor, and on account of expense entailed in fitting out a 

 yacht for sue h a race. 



I hope, however, that the challenge will be accepted. The fii'St 

 reason for declining is merel.\' a sentimental one; and as to the 

 second, surely- some of the gentlemen who hare so chivalrously- 

 spent large sums in building such splendid .specimens of naval 

 architecture as the Puritan, the Priscilla, the Atlantic and the 

 Mayflower, in order to defend the America's Cup, -wiU not hesi- 

 tate to come forward with the comparatively tritliiig amount ne- 

 cessary for fitting out one of those 7esscls for an ocean race. Such 

 a race would be watched with much interest bv all vachtsmen. 



No further proof than we ha^'c already ha<l as to tlie great speed 

 of the American single-sticker is required, but no proof lias as yet 

 been given as to their having combiiied ^vith their speed good sea- 

 going qualities. I mean by this that they are vessels upon which 

 people ma;,- make protracted voyages in comfort and safety, and 

 .at the same time maintain a fair rate of speed. 



The Genesta was no doubt decisively beaten by the Puritan, but 

 then the Genesta had to cross and re-cross the Atlantic, there- 

 turn voyage being accomplished in a little over nineteen days, 

 during the equinox, -with a gale of -nund and a hea\ y sea the v. hole 

 time, and jNIr. Saunders, who na-vigated her from New' York, told 

 me that he never -^^^■shed to sail in a better sea boat. 



As to the Galatea, whether she win the America's Cup or not , 

 1 feel sure she will make a good fight and I also feel sure she is 

 every bit as good a sea boat as the Genesta has proved herself to 

 be. 



AVhat 1 claim then for the English cutters sent to race for the 

 America's Cup is that thouirh fast thcA- are no raeintr machines, 

 and I fear should Lieut. Henn's challenge tie. deelined7 mau\- peo- 

 ple -will regard the American single-stickers as only fit to sa 1 

 races in the summer zephyrs on the smootli waters oi' NeN\- York 

 Bay and good for nothing else. I trust therefore, that this oppor- 

 tunity for proving what Amoricaai single-stickers can-do o , er an 

 ocean course wiU be taken advantage of. 'Wini.iAii Le-^-tnqh. 



Royal Victoria Y. C, Rtbe, Aug. 24. 



That Mayflower is a faster racinar vessel than Galatea must be 

 admitted fi-oin the meetings that have taken place, but at the 

 same time it is evident that the light and paltry weather has been 

 against the cutler, and while the races iiave. been perfeetlv fair, 

 the chances of war have favored her rival. All have sympathized 

 with Lieut. Henn in his plucky coafinuance of a losing battle 

 when dis.'ibled by sickness, and all would be glad to see a trij.l 

 under dift'ereut circumstances from those of the Cup races. 'I'ho 

 Newport race will give Galatea another opportimitv yr,,!,: i ,i y m 

 very light weather, but in any event all yaclitsmen - ' i ,jr 



satisfied if she goes home, whether victor orlos;. :i a 



long and thorough trial ai sea as will gauge accur. . . nc 

 of the latest efforts of American yacht designers, it clcln-r of i lio 

 yachts are capable of holding Gtaiatea in the oiien sea. so mncii the 

 better tor American yachtsmen. Though the Bermuda match has 

 fallen through, another has been proposed iu its pho-c by (ten, 

 Paine, that both yachts should lie at Proviucetov.-n un!;il a N w" 

 gale strikes in, and then race across Massachusetts Ba\- to Mar- 

 blehead. This proposition has not yet been accepted by Lieut. 

 Henn, pending a final decision on his Bermuda challenge. Now 

 that the latter Is off, it is probable that a shorter match will be 

 arranged. 



