Aug. 17, 1895,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



149 



Vigilant- Defender. 



The preliminary contests of the International races of 1895 have re- 

 sulted in a most unforeseen and unfortunate occurrence, one that is 

 likely not only to be lone: remembered by yachtsmen, but to lead to 

 bitter feeling and possibly further troubte between men of national 

 prominence in yachting. It is safe to say that, with the single excep- 

 tion of the illegal and arbitrary tampering with the terms of the deed 

 of gift of the America's Cup in 1687, the present dispute is the most 

 deplorable and serious occurrence in the history of American yacht- 

 ing. The domestic Bide of it is serious enough; but added to this is 

 the effect, on foreign yaohtsmen at a time when all eyes are centered 

 on the great American yachts. All through the last season while 

 Vigilant was abroad the American press devoted itself to attacks 

 upon the methods of yacht racing in vogue in Great Britain ; charges 

 of foul sailing on the part of Britannia and other yachts, of treachery 

 on the part of Vigilantes pilot, and of unsportsmanlike conduct by 

 the Prince of Wales and other yachtsmen were generally made, being 

 supplemented by pointed comparisons with the methods and usages 

 of American yachtsmen. Bight in the face of this there comes the 

 point blank accusation, from one of the leading American yachtsmen 

 against another of even greater prominence, of deliberate foul sailing. 

 Whether the charge be true or false, a great harm has been done— a 

 harm that cannot soon be repaired. 



The incident of the first race between Vigilant and Defender, on 

 Julv SO, is still fresh in mind; how the two yachts met at the line, 

 Vigilant standing along the line on the starboard tack and ready to 

 start while Defender came iown free across Vigilant's bows. The re- 

 sult was a red flag and a subsequent protest in writing to the regatta 

 committee, on the part of Mr. E. A Willard, who has entire charge of 

 Vigilant during the absence of Com. Gould in Europe; the ground of 

 the protest being that Defender violated Bule 16, Sec. 2, "A yacht free 

 shall keep clear of one close hauled." 



In all such cases it is most important that a hearing shall take place 

 at once and a speedy decision be made, but in this case, as is usual, 

 there was a delay in getting at both sides and it was postponed until 

 the cruise began. On one occasion, the first day at Newport, Mr. 

 Willard was unavoidably absent, and the proposed hearing was de- 

 ferred until the fleet reached the Vineyard, and there Mr. Willard 

 requested that the matter be left until the return to Newport. Mean- 

 while the race for the Drexel cups came off on Aug. 6, and the two 

 yachts came together at the western end of the starting line, this time 

 both on the wind, but under generally similar conditions. Again 

 Vigilant claimed that she was unjustly compelled to give way; but 

 this time she set no protest flag, continuing the race as though nothing 

 had happened. The same evening, after returning to harbor, the fol- 

 lowing letter was written and sent by Mr. Willard: 



"Yacht Vigilant, Newport Harbor, Aug 6.— Messrs. S Nicholson 

 Kane, Chester Gri&wold, Irving Qrinnell, Regatta Committee. New 

 York Y. C : Dear Sirs— I hereby withdraw Vigilant's entries for the 

 races on Thursday and Saturday. Da doing so I desire to add a few 

 words of explanation. As you are aware, Mr. Gould, and I as his rep- 

 resentative, fitted out and prepared Vigilant for racing for no purpose 

 in the world except to assist in developing the fastest American yacht, 

 and thus aiding in the defense of the America's Cup. To this end Mr 

 Gould has cheerfully gone to great expense and I have taken much 

 pains and spent much time. 



"I cannot, however, consent to continue racing Vigilant unless the 

 contests are to be conducted according to the rules of yachting. I 

 have now twice given way to Defender at the start of the race, when 

 Vigilaut clearly had the right of way, because I was unwilling to risk 

 a collision which might leave America without a Cup defender. How- 

 ever willing I may have been to waive my rights in the past, I am not 

 willing to go on waiving them indefinitely, and, even if I were, it is 

 quite possible that a situation might be created in which a collision 

 would be inevitable. 



"Mr Gould's sole desire, as well as mine, is that the Cup may be de- 

 fended by the fastest American sloop, which might not be the case if 

 Vigilant and Defender collided. As you know, I have already pro- 

 tested Defender's action at the start on July .32. In to-day's race De- 

 fender again violated the rules and froze Vigilaut out of a position to 

 which she was entitled. In both eases there would have been a col- 

 lision if Vigilant had Dot given way. 



"In each the responsibility of avoiding an accident was cast upon me. 

 It would not be fair either to the yacht or her owner to continue rac- 

 ing under those conditions. Very respectfully yours, 



"E. A. Willard." 



After Mr. Willard had been seen on the following day, a lengthy 

 meeting of the regatta committee was held in the evening, the result 

 being the following letters: 



Flagship Sylvia, Newport Harbor, Aug. 7.— E. A. Willard, Esq.: 

 Dear Sir— ReterriDg to your protest of July 22. asking that Defenaer 

 be disqualified for alleged violation of Section 2, Rule 16, of the racing 

 rules, and referring to your subsequent request at the Vineyard for a 

 postponement of a decision until tne squadron returned to Newport, 

 we beg to say that, after mature consideration, the committee has 

 reached the conclusion that they cannot sustain the protest. Yours 

 respectfully, S. Nicholson Kane, 



Chester Griswold, 

 Irving Grinnell. 



Flagship Sylvia, Newport Harbor, Aug. 7.—E. A. Willard, Esq : 

 Dear Sir— We beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yester- 

 day, wherein you notify us of Vigilant's withdrawal from Thursday 

 and Saturday races of this week and that you cannot continue racing 

 unless the contests are to be conducted according to the rules of 

 yachting. Our committee regrets your decision to retire from the 

 racing. We also regret your published statement that racing rules 

 are not being properly enforced. For this statement we consider there 

 is no warrant. Yours respectfully, S Nicholson Kane, 



Chester Oriswold, 

 ;Ihvi g Grinnell. 



As we are ignorant of the evidence offered by Mr. Willard in support 

 of his protest and that of the other side in opposition, the committee 

 giving no reasons for its decision, it is impossible to discuss the merits 

 of the first letter. 



In our opinion Mr. Willard's letter is in no way intended as a reflec- 

 tion upon the regatta committee, but at the same time it is capable of 

 the interpretation that the violations of the rules of yachting which 

 he complains of were so flagrant that the committee must have 

 noticed them, and should have taken action under Rule 17, Section 

 3. Without discussing this point, we may say in passing that the 

 committee was in a poor position to see either allegtd foul, being on 

 the flagship at the other end of the line (the yachts in each case being 

 close to the lightship), and not in a position to judge of the exact 

 distance. It is plain from the second letter of the committee that it 

 has interpreted Mr. Willard's letter in this way, and promptly resented 

 what it considers an implication of unfairness on its part. 



On Wednesday afternoon Mr. Willard made a public statement of 

 his side of the case to the representatives of the New York and Boston 

 papers as follows: 



"Mr. Willard was asked why he had not protested against Defender 

 yesterday. In reply, Mr. Willard turned to Rule 19 of the New York 

 Y. C, which reads as follows: A yacht which shall be disqualified 

 twice in one season shall be debarred from sailing in club races for 

 the remainder of the season. Mr. Willard explained that he felt con- 

 fident that if he had protested, his protest must be allowed, and that 

 he felt equally confident as to the result of the protest of July 22. He 

 said: 'If Derender should be disqualified in both these races, the 

 owner of Valkyrie might claim that the C U P races were club events, 

 being sailed for a trophy held by the club under the direction of the 

 New York Y 0. officers, and subject to its rules, and hence that De- 

 fender, even if selected to defend the Cup, was disqualified. 



" 'I wrote to the regatta committee on July 28, calling attention to 

 Rule 19, and expressing willingness that if the regatta committee 

 deemed best, the decision in the protest of July 22 should be post- 

 poned until the end of the yachting season. Vigilant has been put in 

 commission and raced solely to help Defender. We want to make De- 

 fender as fast as possible, so that she may successfully defend the 

 America's Cup, If the protest was allowed then, the question of eligi- 

 bility to sail against Valkyrie mifcht be raised. Mind you, I don't say 

 that rule applies for the America's Cup races. The Cuo committee 

 might select one of those fishing sloops to sail against Valkyrie if it 

 thought fit, but it would give an opportunity for the point to be 

 raised, and we are not trying to put any obstacles in the way of 

 Defender. 



" 'We want to make Defender go as fast as possible. If, when we 

 have attained a good position at the starting line, we are compelled 

 to give it up or damage the new boat, then we can't help her much. 

 Take yesterday's start, for instance. Vigilant was going fast, but we 

 were compelled to bear away, then luff under Defender's stem and 

 lose all headway. It meant two or three minutes before we were sail- 

 ing properly again, and it would have made some minutes difference 

 in the time if we had crossed the line first and had the weather posi- 

 tion, to which we were entitled. If we are to just sail behind De- 

 fender over the course we cannot give her a fair trial, and it is impos- 

 sible to get a line on her capabilities. 



" 'I am tired of having the responsibility of avoiding a collision put 

 on my shoulders. I am willing to look after Vigilant, but they must 

 look after Defender. There might come a time when I could not give 

 way, and then Defender might be sunk. I have seen the America's 

 Gup committee and have promised to have Vigilant on hand for the 

 trial races on Aug. 20 and 22, and if a third race is necessary on Aug. 

 24 Vigilant will be thoroughly overhauled, her sails retrimmed and 

 Bhe will be faster than she is now.' " 



From the circumstences of the case Mr. Iselin is in a position where " 

 be can afford to say nothing, and he has thus far wisely availed him- 



self of this advantage, though both Gapt. Haff and Capt, Barr have 

 been interviewed. 



The parties in the dispute are all well known . Mr. Willard owned 

 and raced the sloop Eclipse years ago, before sloops had gone out of 

 use, and of late years has been noted as one of the most skillful Corin- 

 thians about New York. He sailed with Gen. Paine in 1886-7 in May- 

 flower and Volunteer, in 1888-9 he steered the 40-footer Nymph ami 

 won many prizes in her, and in 1893 he was intimately associated wi;h 

 Mr. Iselin in the management, of Vigilaut. Mr. C. Oliver Iselin was 

 winning races twenty years ago in the open boats Mary Emma and 

 Dare Devil, when sandbag sailing was in its most prosperous era; later 

 he gave up racing, but reappeared in 1887 with the steel centerboard 

 cutter Titama, which headed the 70ft. class in 1888-9. In 1893 he was 

 the head of the second syndicate which built and raced Vigilant 

 against the second Valkyrie; last year he was in British waters in a 

 chartered steam yacht, sailing on Vigilant in some of her most im- 

 portant races. This year he is one of the three owners of Defender 

 and the master of the yaoht. 



Capt. Haff is one of "the oldest of American skippers, sharing -with 

 Capt. Terry the honor of being the best. He long ago sailed the then 

 sloop Fanny and made a reputation for her. In 1887 he sailed Volun- 

 teer in the Cup races for Gen. Paine; in 1888-9, while still in Gen. 

 Paine's employ, he sailed Titania for Mr. Iselin, making a success of a 

 boat that had promised to be a failure, and in 1893 he sailed Colonia 

 for Mr. Rogers and the first syndicate. 



Capt. Charles Barr, the younger brother of Capt. John Barr, skipper 

 of Clara, Thistle and Jubilee, is one of the youngest, but at the same 

 time ranks among the first of American skippers. Both the Barrs 

 are Scotch by birth, but are now naturalized Americans, residents of 

 Marblebead. Capt Charles Barr came to this country as one of the 

 crew of Clara in 1885, making the ocean passage in her. For the next 

 two years he commanded the little cutter Shona for Mr. 0. H. Tweed, 

 going abroad in 1888 to watch the building of Minerva at Fife's yard, 

 and sailing that yacht, of 40ft. l.w.l., across to Marblehead, acting as 

 captain and navigator. In the two following years he raced Minerva 

 with extraordinary success, no small part of her fame being due to 

 his skillful handling. Since then he has commanded Oweene, Wasp, 

 Gloriana and Navahoe. This spring he was released by Com. Gillig, 

 owner of Gloriana, and took command of Vigilant, fitting her out and 

 navigating her on the Atlantic voyage, and sailing her ever since 



How quickly and fully this incident has been appreciated by British 

 yachtsmen is shown by the comments of the Pall Mall Gazette on 

 Aug. 7, in which Mr. Willard's charges of foul sailing are contrasted 

 with Lord Dunraven's action in a recent race in waiting at the line to 

 start her with Ailsa and Britannia. The Field, of Aug. 10, also com- 

 ments in the same strain, as follows: "When the owner of Vigilant 

 complains of foul sailing and failure to observe racing rules, we rub 

 our eyes and think that things must be very bad indeed on the other 

 side." 



Beverly Y. C. 224th Regatta. 



Marblehead, Aug. 3.— This race was in all but fourth claBS a resail 

 of the race of July 20, which was not made in time and was only open 

 to entries of that date. 



Race was started in a light S E. air, but about three-quarters of an 

 hour after start It came in strong S.W., giving all but first and second 

 classes a free wind all round, the little fellows having all they wanted. 



As in all resailed races half the entries were unable to be present. 



First and second classes sailed a triangle of 10^ miles with a good 

 beat on second leg. Other classes sailed 6J^ miles, and owing to 

 change of wind had no beat. 



With a breeze the Minnetoka boats did well. 



FIRST class. 



Length. Elapsed. Corrected. 



Ida J , F. E. Beckman 26.06 1 55 58 . 1 45 07 



Harbinger, W. F. Bache 27.10 1 57 58 1 48 30 



Tomboy, W. S. Lathrop 28.10 2 04 38 1 56 04 



SECOND CLASS. 



Susie, J. F. Cole '. 23.02 2 33 25 2 19 02 



Marina, D. H. Follett 23.03 2 38 07 2 33 30 



Ariel, J. Barrett 21.03 2 49 17 2 31 38 



THIRD CLASS SLOOPS. 



Exit, A. H. Higginson 19.03 1 20 43 1 08 13 



Reaper, H. P. Benson 20.10 1 26 40 1 15 35 



Apukwa, E. T. Teffts 19.06 1 27 35 1 15 14 



THIRD CLASS CATS, 



Koorali, Com. Robbins 20.00 1 26 24 1 14 51 



Magpie, W. Stevens 19.10 1 28 24 1 16 23 



Egeria, R. F. Tucker 19.11 1 29 00 1 17 04 



KNOCKABOUTS. 



Sally, D. C. Percival 21.00 1 39 23 



Comet. A. A. Lawrence 21.00 1 42 32 



Mala, E. Paine 21.00 1 43 02 



Alruna, O. O. Stearns 21.00 1 45 02 



FOURTH CLASS. 



Evadne, R. M. Benner 15.04 1 24 00 1 06 ol 



Benita, C. O. Hood 15.01 1 24 55 1 07 33 



Alpine. C. J. Blethbn 15.01 1 25 24 1 08 02 



Circe, F. L. Pigeon 15,10 1 H 02 1 15 31 



Carina. R. Boardman 18.00 1 34 02 1 20 07 



Goat, R. M. Horton 18.00 1 34 04 1 20 09 



Pointer, C. P Curtis 16.10 Withdrew. 



Winners of prizes— First class, Ida J.; second class, Susie; third 

 class sloops, Evadne; third class cats, Koorali; fourth class, Evadne 

 first; Bonita second. 



Judge: F. Elliot Cabot. 



The 225th regatta, 2d Buzzard's Bay Championship, was sailed off the 

 club house Aug. 3, in a good southerly breeze, most of the boats 

 starting with single reefs and putting in another during the race. The 

 number of starters was comparatively small, as it always is at this 

 time, owing to the N Y. Y. C. cruise. 



There were do starters in special class and only one each in first and 

 second class sloops, which consequently sailed together, 



In second class cats the old Surprise appeared after an absence from 

 the races of three years. She did well, though hatdicapped by a 

 cracked tiller. 



The fourth class race was the most interesting. Sylph, though not in 

 the club, sailed course and was timed by request. She carried whole 

 sail easily. Grilse started with single reef and ordinary jib as did Qhuzz. 

 The first leg to Abiel's was made without a tack, the wind being well 

 to the south. Ghuzz felt behind, Sylph rounded a trifle ahead of Grilse 

 and set her spinaker, the first time one has been seen in this class in 

 a race. Grilse, however, passed her, and at leeward mark, buoy 5 put 

 in a second reef and shifted to storm jib, and on beat back to starting 

 line held her own and rounded 9s ahead of Sylph and lm 54s. ahead of 

 Ghuzz, who had broken spinaker pole before the race. 



After running some minutes Grilse set a very large spinaker and 

 for the rest of the run to buoy 5 ran away from Sylph; at the buoy 

 the latter got her spinaker in the water and Ghuzz caught her. Grilse 

 gained on both in the baat home. Howard won easily in cat class. 



In fifth class cats Imp won easily. Vif naving too light a crew, while 

 Hilda and Laurel sailed a very pretty race, former winning by two 

 seconds. 



Courses: first and second classes, triangle HVi miles; third and fourth 

 classes, triangle and extra windward leg, 8^3 miles: fifth class, to wind- 

 ward and back, 5J^ miles. 



An error was made on July 4 race: the time given to Weona belongs 

 to Tern; Weona withdrew owing to the blinding rain, the judges mis- 

 took the boats. 



FIRST AND SECOND CLASS SLOOPS. 



Length. Elap«ed. Corrected. 



Little Peter, W. G. Cotton 28.10 1 59 00 1 49 54 



Flirt, W. L Shearer, Jr 23.08 2 14 22 1 59 16 



SECOND CLASS CATS. 



Anonyma. F. L. Dabney 24.09 2 08 18 1 54 36 



Surprise, j. M. Codman St. 01 3 10 10 1 55 22 



Kalama, Cbas. Brewer 26.10 2 13 55 2 02 40 



Bernice, J. G. Young, Jr 25.08 Broke stay. 



THIRD CLASS CATS. 



Melro, D. L. Whittemore 20.03 1 45 00 1 29 38 



Doris, John Parkinson 21.00 1 49 32 1 35 14 



Puzzle, Geo. G. Amory 1 52 12 



Corymbus, Alfred Winsor 21.06 1 58 30 1 44 46 



CV.lt Edge, D, L. Whittemore 21.10 Broke down, 



THIRD CLASS SLOOPS. 



Grilse, W. E. C. Eustis 19.01 1 53 40 1 86 59 



Ghuzz, Lawrence Brooks 17. IX 1 57 36 1 3a 17 



FOURTH CLASS CATS, 



Howard, H. O. Miller 18.00 1 59 55 1 41 33 



Dawdle, R. S. Hardy ,....17.06 a 01 28 1 42 48 



Cinch, H. Parker 17.08 2 04 50 1 46 10 



FIFTH CLASS CATS. 



Imp, Geo. B. Dabney 14.04 1 25 26 1 09 42 



Tern, W. Ti eston 14.05 1 30 00 1 14 22 



Vif, Ralph Winsor... ..14.03 1 38 30 1 22 39 



FIFTH CLASS CATS. . . , . I . 



Hilda, Robert Winsor .13.02. L 32 09 1 1 tf 18 



Laurel,H.&F. Burgess ..,.,,13.11 1 32 11 1 1§ ; 54 



Winners of prizes; Classes 1 and 2, sloops, Little Peter first ; Class 2. 

 cats, Anonyma first, Surprise second; Class 3, Melro first, Doris 

 second: Class 4, sloops. Grilse first; Class 4, cats, Howard first; Class 

 5, sloops, Hilda first; CIbbs 5, cats, Imp first. 



Anonyma, Grilse and Imp win and hold pennants ; Melro and Howard 

 win legs for pennants, tieing Doris and Dawdle, Hilda wins a leg. 



Judges: W. Lloyd Jeffries, A. H. Hardy. 



The Accident to Yampa. 



From The Yachtsman. 



A shocking accident, which, unhappily, was attended with immedi- 

 ate fatal results to one poor man and serious injuries to three others, 

 occurred at the well-known yacht yard of Messrs. Fay & Co., South- 

 ampton, about noon on Friday, the 12th inst. It seems that prepara- 

 tions were being made for the launch of the large American schooner - 

 yacbt Yampa, belonging to Mr, Palmer, which arrived there about 

 two months ago from the Mediterranean, and has since been hauled 

 up at Fay's for repairs and refit. High water was timed at 2 o'clock, 

 and all through the morning the ways and cradle were being fixed. 

 Unfortunately, however, one of the chains which held the yacht on 

 an even keel carried a way, and the vessel traveled down the uncom- 

 pleted ways for 2 or 3ft., and then fell over on her port side, her mast 

 falling foul of the schooner-yacht Ursula— hauled up by her side— one 

 of the masts of the latter being carried away. When the vessel moved 

 thus unexpectedly the alarm was given, and most of the men -were 

 able to get away from beneath her, but one, a shipwright, named 

 Alfred Tilling, living in York street, Northam, was caught by the fall- 

 ing hull, and knocked down and crushed beneath her, being, without 

 doubt, immediately killed, Two American sailors, named Augusta 

 Gaston and William Shurbert, who were working aloft, were thrown 

 from the rigging and badly hurt. So, too, was another man who wan 

 on board at tbe time, named Bootyman. The injured men were re- 

 moved to the Royal South Hants Infirmary as speedily as possible, 

 and happily the report, widely circulated in the town, that two of 

 them died soon after admission proved to be untrue, and at 

 the lime of writing all are progressing favorably. Booty- 

 man has returned to his home. In the first excitement- 

 attending the disaster, Tilling was not missed, but a cap which was 

 found floating in the Itchen close bv was identified as his, and the in- 

 quiries made proved, beyond doubt, that he was buried under the 

 Yampa. Very little could be done before low water except to take 

 precautions to prevent further damage to the vessel, but when the 

 tide fell the search for Tilling began, and before nightfall the opera- 

 tions disclosed his head and hand. Digging was continued without 

 cessation, the efforts to recover the body being assisted by the rising 

 of the stern of the yacht on the next tide, and late in the night the 

 body was got out. The right leg was smashed to pulp, the left arm 

 was clenched over the chest, and the right arm was bent forward, 

 showing that the poor man was knocked down and buried in trying 

 to escape from beneath the vessel. 



He leaves a young widow and two little children, the youngest of 

 which is only twelve weeks old. The inquest on the remains was 

 opened on Saturday, when evidence of identification was given by 

 Alfred James Whettingtall, brother-in-law of deceased. Mr. Randall, 

 solicitor, expressed, on behalf of Messrs. Fay & Co., their utmost 

 sorrow at the occurrence, and their sympathy with the bereaved fam- 

 ily, adding that tbe firm at once undertook to bear the expenses of the 

 funeral. The inquiry was then adjourned till Wednesday (yesterday). 

 On Saturday the Isle of Wight Company's powerful tug Ajax made 

 an ineffectual attempt to tow off the vessel, which, of course, win 

 have to be hauled up again. The owner of the Yampa was in the 

 South of France at the time, but one of his friends boarded the yacht 

 on Saturday evening, and in creeping along the almost perpendicular 

 deck slipped and cut his leg, and he was treated for the injury at the 

 Royal South Hants Infirmary. The vessel was got upright on Suaday 

 evening. Poor Tilling was buried quietly on Monday. Mr. Palmer, 

 owner of the yacht, generously contributed £200 to the fund being 

 raised for the widow; Fay & Co. gave another £100, and lists have 

 been opened at the local banks. 



[As noted elsewhere, the yacht has since been hauled off and re- 

 paired.] 



FIXTURES. 



AUGUST. 



9-23. A. C. A., 16th annual meeting, Bluff Point, Lake Champlain. 



SEPTEMBER. 



Red Dragon fall regatta, Delaware River. 



Mr. Howard and the R. C. C. Cup. 



We have already mentioned that Mr. William Willard Howard, of 

 New York, did not start in the race of the Royal C. C. on July 13 for 

 the reason that his canoe Yankee, shipped last winter from England 

 to Clayton, N. Y., for alterations, had not been returned to England. 

 This fact evoked the following comment from the Field: 



' Up to Wednesday it is evident that the international race will not 

 take place; no doubt the absence of the American canoe may be 

 plausibly explained away, but we fear we are again about to have to 

 face a dry fact— that an international challenge is made a consider- 

 able time before the date of the challenge cup race; that members of- 

 the Royal C. C. patriotically thereupon come forward, at considerable 

 expense and inconvenience, to defend the cup; that members of other 

 clubs also come up from various parts of the country to assist in such 

 defense, and then, at the last moment, no 'Stars and Stripes' appear 

 upon the course. This state of thiDgs the club experienced last year 

 at Bourne End on the upper Thames, and the same state of things ap- 

 pears highly probable now on the lower Thames. 



"To be careless of or unprepared for defense would be clearly wrong 

 in the senior club, and yet, after two years' fiasco as to international 

 competition, is it reasonable to expect the best men to come forward 

 and build and race canoes, up to aate in all points, with tbe high prob- 

 ability that the international element will be wanting in the race, 

 though possible up to tbe last moment? Experience will now per- 

 haps dictate to the club that an individual is not a nation, and that 

 it would be well in future to accept no foreign challenge, unless it be 

 that of a duly recogDized club, where the competitor will be repre- 

 sentative of bis club, and not of his own personal fame, and a compet- 

 itor representative of his club and flag will certainly appear at the 

 starting line." 



These comments have brought out from Mr. Howard a reply, 

 published at his request in the Field, the Yachtsman and the Yachting 

 World. We reprint the Field letters with comments in full: 



"We publish the following correspondence merely because Mr. 

 Howard is an American, who had challenged for the Royal Canoe Club 

 Sailing Cup. We regret the uncalled-for language contained in the 

 letters of Mr. Howard and his agents, and we reprint the 'Note' of last 

 week which is supoosed to hold the 'scandalous imputation:' 



"Messrs. Charlus Atkins and Nisbkt, 1 Water-laDe, Great Tower 

 street, London, E. C — Dear Sirs— My attention has been called to an 

 article in last Saturday *s Field, containing an insinuation that my 

 canoe Yankee was purposely kept in America in order that I might 

 not sail in the Royal Canoe Club's Challenge Cup race. 



"As this canoe has been in your hands since last February, I should 

 be glad if you would make public the facts in the case; not that I care 

 what the canoeing editor of the Fitld may take it upon himself to say, 

 but that the sport of canoe sailing may not rest under such a scanda- 

 lous imputation. Yours truly, Wm. Willard Howard." 

 "London, July 15." 



"W. Willard Howard, Esq., 9 Weymouth street, Portland place.— 

 Dear Sir— We are in receipt ot your favor of even date, and regret to 

 hear that any such insinuation as you mention should have appeared in 

 tbe Field. The facts of the case as regards your ca'tioe Yankee are as 

 follows: We received your wri ten instructions, dated Tifnis, Jan. 15, 

 to ship this canoe to Mr. Fry, of Clayton, New York, for certain 

 alterations to be carried out, and we forwarded her by first available 

 steamer, and, in accordance with your desire, we requested Mr. Fry to 

 return the canoe no later than the end of May. We did not hear from 

 Mr. Fry in return to our letter advising dispatch of canoe, but con- 

 cluded he would return her in good time. 



' On June 21 we received a telegram from you dated Erivan, June 

 18: 'If Yankee not returned, telegraph Fry seud instantly; telegraph 

 me Batum.' To which we replied: 'Yankee not arrived; have cabled 

 Fry to send immediately,' and we cabled Mr. Fry the following: 'Ship 

 immediately canoe Yankee,' which cablegram we duly confirmed, and 

 stated that it was most important the carioe should arrive in ttme to 

 enable you to compete in her for the Royal Canoe Club Challenge Cup 

 race on July 12 Bad Mr. Fry even shipped her on receipt of our wire 

 she could have arrived in time for the race in question; therefore, the 

 only person who is responsible for the delay is Mr. Fry. It is, there- 

 fore; in our opinion, as untrue as it is absurd for anyone to insinuate 

 that you arranged for the canoe to be kept back in order not to race 

 her. 



"As you request us to make these facts public, we send copies of 

 your letter and thi3 reply to the Field, Yachtsman and Yachting 

 World. We are, dear sir, yours faithfully, 



"Charles Atkins and Nisbbt." 



"July 15." 



"[The above letters (dated July 15) show that the builder in America 

 was communicated with tweuty-otie days before the race day to send 

 the canoe to Englaud. We are not concerned as to whose fault it may 

 be, but the fact remains that, after a duly lodged challenge of over 

 two mouths' standing, no appearance was made of the challenger at 



