Oct. 12, 1895.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



325 



SPRUCE IV. IK PHILIP'S YARD, SHOWING LIFTING BULB PIN AS ORIGINALLY PITTED. 



The Huguenot fleet has done splendid service during the season. 

 Among its boats that have carried the red cross to the fore may be 

 mentioned Dragoon, Kittie, Question, Houri, Angora, Punch, and last 

 but not least, Arethusa, which valiantly captured the cruising schooner 

 cup, defeating Vif. 



The Huguenots are now preparing plans for the defense of the Sea- 

 wanhaka half-rater cup, several of its members having placed orders 

 for wee racers At the last meeting of the trustees, Oom. Charles 

 Whann, Vice-Corn. Connolly and Rear-Corn. Gorham were appointed 

 a committee to select candidates for office for 1896. 



International Racing. 



On Oct. 2 Mr. G. L. Watson sailed ou the Teutonic with Lord Dun- 

 raven's two daughters, Capt. Cranfleld, Capt. Sycamore and the re- 

 mainder of the Valkyrie's crew sailing on the same vessel. The yacht 

 is now snugly berthed at Tebo's, the exact plans of her owner being 

 unknown. From what has been said by Mr. Smith, it is probable that 

 Lord Dunraven would like to race here again next year if such a thing 

 is possible. It is doubtful whether this can be done. Whatever Lord 

 Dunraven's views may be, and whatever his intention was, there is no 

 question that many American yachtsmen look upon his action on the 

 last day as an affront to the New York Y. C. ; and it is quite possible 

 that the club may not care to go out of its way to give him another 

 race. There is on» course open to him, however, which, in our opinion, 

 he will do well to follow. If we are not greatly mistaken. Lord Dun- 

 raven's prestige at home has received a severe blow, and as matters 

 now are he cannot resume next season the position which he has held 

 for several years— very close to the head of British yachting. There 

 is still a chance to retrieve himself on this side, in doing which he will 

 regain the respect of his own countrymen. Leaving the America's 

 Cup out of the question, he cannot do better than to fit out Valkyrie 

 as early as possible at New York and to start her in all of the regular 

 open events of the season and in any private matches should the 

 occasion offer. If he abandons all technicalities and letter writing, 

 and puts his boat into as many races as possible, taking the sam« con- 

 ditions as are served out alike to all other yachts, he may regain the 

 respect of yachtsmen here and at home. It is impossible to say what 

 the prospects of the class are for next season, but a certainty of Val- 

 kyrie's entry would hardly fail to bring out Vigilant and also De- 

 fender. . „ 



The answer of Lord Dunraven to the letter of the America's Cup 

 committee of Sept. 17 was made public on Oct. 8. It was delivered 

 to ex-Com. James D. Smith, chairman of the Cup committee, by mes- 

 senger, at hiB office in this city, on Sept 26. 



Newport, R I., Sept. 21, 1895. 



Gentlemen: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 

 letter dated the 17th inst., and must apologize for not sooner replying, 

 but I was obliged to send to New York for a copy of my previous 

 correspondence. 



I cannot accept as entirely accurate your account of a short conver- 

 sation at the Waldorf between Mr. Csmfield. Mr. Busk and myself, but 

 I hope you will excuse me for not entering upon a discussion of mat- 

 ters dependent upon memory and which do not appear to me to be of 

 any great importance, and also for not further commenting upon 

 certain points m your letter, which have, in my opinion, been suffi- 

 ciently dealt with in former letters of mine. 



But it is due to you tbat I should endeavor to satisfy you on one or 

 two matters. 



Yon express surprise that I could have been in doubt as to whether 

 Mr. Canfleld and Mr. Busk were officially representing the committee. 

 In my letter of the 13th I said, "I do not know whether Mr. Canfleld 

 and Mr. Busk were officially representing the committee when they 

 came to see me at the Waldorf. I judged by the conversation that 

 they were not, and I understood from them that the committee had 

 not come to definite conclusions upon my letter." I fear T am unable 

 to add much to that. Mr. Busk assured me that if the third race was 

 sailed the dates and times of starting any further races would not be 

 published I understood Mr. Canfleld at first to demur but afterwards 

 to acquiesce with Mr. Busk's opinion. I can only repeat what I said 

 In my letter of the 13th. that I understood the verbal proposal made 

 to me to be "that I should withdraw from my determination expressed 

 in my letter of the 10th, and shou'd sail the third, and possibly the 

 final race, on the condition that sufficient room was secured at the 

 start, and that in any further races my suggestion that, the dates of 

 races and times of sailing should not be made public should be carried 

 out." That understanding, had I agreed to it. would obviously not 

 have been binding on the committee, as you now inform me that "the 

 committee did not consider practicable your suggestion to keep secret 

 the dates and times of starting any further races " I may be permit- 

 ted to observe that your expression "to keep secret" somewhat 

 exaggerates the intention of my letter of the 10th, in which I speak of 

 the difficulty of keeping a clear course "If the dates of races and times 

 of starting are known and adverti°ed." 



In furnishing you with details of the times of delivery of certain 

 letters, I most certainly never intended to imply any neglect or 

 discourtesy on the part of the committee, and on reading my letter of 

 the I3th I am puzzled to see bow It can have given rise to an impres- 

 sion so far from my thought. I gave the exact times of the delivery 

 of letters because the times mentioned in your letter of the 12th were 

 inaccurate, and I was anxious that you should understand that I sent 

 Mr. Canfleld a written reply to his writien proposal at the earliest 

 possible moment, and d d my best to minimize any Inconvenience to 

 the committee, the Detendar or the public. 



I do not in the least dispute the accuracy of your account of what 

 took place on the 11th at the New York Yacht Club, nor have I ever 

 done so. As I have previously stated, when, on leaving the club, I 

 tasked that my letter of the lOch should be given to Mr. Canfleld. I 

 meant that he should be at liberty then to open it. If any inconve- 

 nience was caused to any one, I can only express my regret; but as I 

 had asked Mr. Catfield some time before to call a meeting of the Cup 

 committee at the earliest possible moment, and as you say In your 

 letter of the 12th that the letter was handed to Mr. Canfleld at half- 

 past twelve and was opened at half -past two, I trust that the delay, if 

 any, was immaterial. 



As some mi-understanding appears to exist on the part of the public 

 as to my motives in Intrusting my letter of the 10th to a third party, 

 with instructions not to deliver it until the protest had been heard, 

 J may repeat that I was anxious to avoid the possibility of any one 

 supposing that, in writing the letter, I was in the slightest degree in- 

 fluenced by the fact that the protest had been lodged or desired ia any 

 way to influence the gentlemen hearing that protest. 



I do not quit* Bee the object of calling my attention to public opin- 

 so&5 but m you sJIwdd to it, I may say tbsvtboyjto I b#v» m isteft 



whether my action in withdrawing is considered justifiable by any- 

 body or everybody, I have not the slightest doubt upon that point. 



I have endeavored to avoid controversial matters, and unless I can 

 be of any further service to the committee I should be well content to 

 consider this correspondence closed. 



I have the honor to remain, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 



Dunraven. 



The following reply was delivered to Lord Dunraven at Newport on 

 Sept. 27: 



Newport, R. L, Sept. 27, 1895. 



Mv Lord: 



I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of Pept. 

 21 to the committee. I received the letter this morning from Mr. 

 Smith, who informs me that he received it yesterday. 



I wiM submit your letter to the committee at the earliest oppor- 

 tunity. 



I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant, 



A. Cass Canfielb, 

 Secretary America's Cup Committee. 



Within the past three weeks there has come under our notice an 

 immense mass of criticism of the late races, made up mostly of 

 extreme viev, s from one side or the other. It is evident that much of 

 this is due to the fact that the first reports sent out throughout this 

 country and Europe were the garbled and extravagant stories of the 

 evening papers, these obtaining a far wider circulation than the more 

 accurate and reliable stories of the following morning. As but one 

 instance, the story has been circulated everywhere that Valkyrie's 

 withdrawal was directly due to the interference of tug No. 19 or pilot 

 boat No. 19 on the line on the last eventful day. 



We have no desire to prolong a fruitless and acrimonious discussion 

 tbat may well be relegated to obscurity, but there are a few prints 

 that may be stated now in view of the widespread misunderstanding 

 on the part of those at a distance. 



In the first place, there was no tug or pilot boat near the line on the 

 last day, and no interference with either boat: Valkyrie's intention of 

 not racing was plain to everyone an hour before the start. In the 

 second place, as long as Lord Dunraven was determined not to go over 

 the course, there was no necessity whatever for Defender to go 

 through the formality of a sailover, or for Valkvrie to cross the line. 

 In th° third place, there is no location between Cape May ou the south 

 and Bar Harbor on the north, covering the yachting ground of the 

 Atlantic Coast, where steamers and tugs would not follow the yachts; 

 and no course within this area superior to that outside Sandy Hook, 

 all things considered. The difficulty of interference by an outsider can 

 be met in one of three ways: by the doubtful expedient of concealing 

 the dates of the sailing days, by going to some su<-h location as Halifax, 

 Labrador, or Madeira, or by remaining at New York and restraining 

 the large attendant fleet, by some one of several plans already pro- 

 posed. We are inclined to think that the latter is really the most 

 feasible. 



In regard to the collision between Defender and Valkyrie, of which 

 the British papers are now saying a great deal, it is well to state that 

 in the opinion of at least a dozen competent witnesses on the commit- 

 tee boat, in the best possible position to jud;e, there was over 100ft. — 

 to place the limit low— between Valkyrie and the tug, instead of the 

 6ft claimed by Valkyrie: the former statement being borne out by 

 various photos of the collision. 



The Forest and Stream can certainly not be accused of undue par- 

 tiality toward the New York Y. C in Cup matters in the past or 

 toward the Cup or regatta committees, but in the case of the .collision 

 and Mr. Iselin's protest, from all that we have been able to learn from 

 many sources, the decision of the regatta committee was a perfectly 

 fair one; and the Cup committee certainly did all in its power to 

 satisfy Lord Dunraven. 



The following letter, written by an officer of the British Navy to the 

 London Times, is well worth quoting as a remarkable exception to the 

 strong statements on both sides: 



To the Editor of the Times: 



| ISiR-Aduiral Montagu's letter to the Times of the 17th is a useful 

 contribution from a technical yacht racing point of view toward 

 clearing up the dispute on the above suhject, but when all the argu- 

 ments have been heard on both sides, and all the technicalities 

 discussed and freely commented on by experienced yachtsmen and 

 others, impartial minds willins's' upon loosing at the whola aff tlr in 

 its broades", most general and. in short, in irs international aspect, 

 and there can be little doubt that the judgment of history will be 

 against England. 



Lord Dunraven, as the representative of this country in a friendly 

 international cintest, must expect to have his action criticised freely, 

 not only from a narrow and technical y»c it racing point of view, but 

 from the wider aspect of manly and generous soort m the best sense 

 of the word, and when compared with that of Mr. Iselin I much fear 

 that it will not stand well and that his fair-minded countrymen will 

 havn to regret it. 



BThere is not much difficulty in putting one'a finger on the sore spot, 

 and there can be no do»bt that the real point of irritation, that which 

 turned cordiality into coldness and friendliness into unfriendliness, 

 was the incident < hat occurred at the start for the second race. As 

 Admiral Montagu very truly says, "There ought to exist a certain 

 amount of give and take between competing vesaels on such occa- 

 sions." 



There is the strict law, and there is the etiquette, just as there is at 

 whist, or any other game, and the distinction netween the yacht to lee- 

 ward holding her own or giving a distinct and gratuitous luff so as to 

 cause a collision is in many cases a very narrow one, and may honestly 

 be a matter of opinion Lord Dunraven was evidently of opinion tbat 

 the Defender did not give the Valkyrie room, but luffed into h^r when 

 Bhe could have avoided doing so, and was thus guilty of a breach of 

 etiquette, which, be it rsmembered. is far more serious than a breach 

 of rules, as the latter can be summarily dealt with and the former 

 cannot, but remains and rankles 



The committee decided that the Valkyrie was in the wrong, and 

 their decision should have been loyally accepted without comment. 

 Unfortunately this was not done, and Lord Dunraven in his letter to 

 Mr. Iselin on Sept. 12 permits him«elf to write the following sentence: 

 "The regatta committee have decided according to their best judg- 

 ments/or reasons which I confess are beyond my comprehension, that 

 she (Valkyrie) did break th6 rules." 



Th« words which I have taken the liberty to italicize were, under 

 the circumatanoes, inadmissable, and by using them Lord Duuraven 

 put himself entirely in the wropg. No man ever admits in his heart 

 that he is "out" leg before wicket; be may growl and grumble as 

 »ucb ^ h© likes bp long (» be feeepB ft $o WmVi bUtiQ&prm 



aloud his dissent from the decision of the umpire is not in accordance 

 With the best traditions of cricket, or indeed of any other game. 



There may have been breach of rules or breanh of etiquette, or 

 both or neither, or the Americans may have a different o.o<ie of eti- 

 quette from ours; all this is immaterial; the one broad fact remains 

 that the decision of the umpires was not nccpted loyally and without 

 comment O ice this golden rule ""as broken there w»s no prospect 

 of further friendly racing, and the action of Valkvrie on the day of 

 the third race, although we are told that it was intended to be cour- 

 teous, appears to me to have been exactly the reverse and to have 

 simply made a fool of the Americans, as It virtually forced tbem to 

 retain the Cup on a technicality — a result which their whole action in 

 the matter shows to have been entirely contrary to their wishes; so 

 that it is diffl -ult to see where the courtesy ernes in 



All true lovers of sport will regret that Mr. IseMn's generous offer 

 was not accepted and the second race declared off and resailed. 

 Technically, of course, Lord Dunraven was right in refusing to do so, 

 but I repeat that in such a ce.se technicalities nmv be held in abeyance 

 and the question treated on broader grounds. Yachtsmen of the best 

 class have neve" professed to be either jookevs or flea lawyers: they 

 sail for sport and not for money; and I submit that the Americans 

 have throughout the whole business shown a true sporting Instinct. 

 They wanted the heat, vessel to win, wphout favor of anv kind, and 

 they hnnes'ly did their best to keep a clear oourse In this they 

 failed, bur I know of no power inherent in the Royal Yscht. Squadron 

 or in any other corporation whi".h could have done better in this free- 

 country, where the captains of lobster salad steamers have pretty 

 well aa much of their own way as they have in the other land ofi 

 freedom. 



Lord Dunraven has undoubtedly put the Americans in an uncora-- 

 fortable position, and he will himself come home with a grievance. 

 No one can fail to admire the great pluck and nerseverenee which he 

 has shown in his successive efforts to win baok the famous cup, but 

 in thi9 last case— unless some new and unpublished facts come to 

 light— I fear that theimoartial ve r dict of nautical history will say 

 ttat he has failed to unhold the best tradi'ions of English vacht" 

 racing I am, yours faithfully, C. C. P- Fitzgerald Rear Admiral. 



That there will be a match for the America's Pup next year is highly 

 probable and in every way gratifying after the late disappointing 

 fiasco, but at the same time we cannot share the general enthusiasm 

 over the challenge of Mr. Charles Diy Rose, which is now before the 

 New York Yacht Olub. That Mr. Rose is a Canadian ard not a native 

 of theBriti8h Isles is of no consequence. h= is a British subject and 

 there is nothing more out, of the way in Irs challenging for the Cup 

 than in it being defended for the New York Y C , as it once was. by 

 an Englishman. What is more to the point's that his sole qualifica- 

 tions for this, the greatest achievement in all yaching, seem to bo a 

 knowledge of the turf and a profound ignoraoceof yacht racing. Mr. 

 Rose has never owned a yacht and has never belonged to a yacht club 

 or shown any interest in yachting. Not long since he became the 

 owner of a small cruising yacht and still more recently h» has pur- 

 chased an unsuccessful racing yacht of large size. The name he has 

 chosen for his new challenger is roost absurd, clumsy and inappropri- 

 ate, and the designer whom he has selected, though a man who is de- 

 servedlv held in high esteem, has given no evidence in his existing 

 boats of the ability to make his mark at the topmost point of y«cht 

 designing. All this does not prove that Mr Rose may not make a 

 thorouph yachtsman and that Mr, Soper may not turn out a 90-ft. cut- 

 ter faster than Defende- and Valkyrie, but at the same there is no dis- 

 guising the fact that this venture, which involves a very heavy outlay 

 of money and labor on the part of the defending club, is not, as it cer- 

 tainlv should he, in the hands of a thoroughly experienced and practi- 

 cal racing yachtsman. With the best intentions in the world. Mr. 

 Rose, in his ignorance of yachting, may easily make some blunder 

 which may render the proposed serieB of races as abortive and unsatis- 

 factory as the one just ended. 



Liarchmont Y. C. Races. 



The concluding races of the season at Larchmont have been by no 

 means so well patronized as they deserved, being limited to the schoon- 

 ers Emerald and Amorita, the "34- footers Dragoon and Acushla, and 

 the 21 -footer Vaque.ro I. In spite of a good deal of inexpensive wit- 

 ticism directed at the 34-footers and their coefficients, the class can 

 boast of two good boats, representative respectively of the cutter and 

 centerboard types— Vorant II and Acushla. The former has not been 

 raced steadily or in a way to develop her best points, and it ia prob- 

 able that Acushla will beat her in the majority of races: but at the 

 same time she is a very fine boat, handsome, comfortable and fast. 

 Acushla is the best looking boat that has ever come from the Cape, 

 with very good ends, a sensible and moderate sheer, good freeboard 

 and a wholesome and attractive look about her. She is fast and very 

 handy. The probabilities are that, in view of these practical demon- 

 stations of what may be had in the class in the way of an all-round 

 yacht, morp will be built during the coming winter. The 21ft. clasB- 

 has fallen off very much this year, and without good reason ; the boats 

 are excellent for afternoon pailing and racing, and closely enough 

 matched to give plenty of sport if sailed at t heir ^est. Of late Vaquero- 

 has been left in undisturbed possession of the field. 



The annual race for the Colt memorial cup, presented to the Larch- 

 mont Y. C. by Miss Elizabeth Beach, was sailed on Sept. 21 in connec 

 tion with the special races for the 34 and 21ft. classes. The schooners 

 Amorita and Emerald we'e the only competitors for the Colt cup, 

 while Dragoon and Acushla started for the 34ft. prize. There was 

 hardly any wind, and the 34 footers did not finish. Emerald beat 

 Amorita, and in the 21ft class Vaquero sailed over one round of the- 

 course. The only times taken were: 



SCHOONER CLASS. 



Length. Elapsed. Corrected'. 



Emerald, J Rogers Maxwell 89.51 3 36 30 3 36 30 



Amorita, W. Gould Brokaw 75.07 4 06 57 3 59 57 



On Monday, Sept. 23, there was a moderate westerly breeze, the- 

 same quintette starting, the schooners for the Larchmont cup and the 

 others for the series prizes, the club prize for the greatest numher of 

 points during the season, and Com. Gillig's prize for the greatest 

 number of wins. In response to an offer from the owner of Amorita- 

 nearly $1,000 was put up in private stakes by the owner and those- 

 Corinthians in the crew of Emerald, in addition to the Larchmont cup. 

 Emerald won very easily, th • times being: 



SCHOONER CLASS. 



Start. Finish. Elapsed. Corrected, 



Emerald 11 35 46 3 49 04 4 14 18 4 14 18 



Amorita 11 36 10 4 09 15 4 33 C5 4 22 21 



34-RATER CLASS. 



Dragoon 11 37 40 3 34 30 3 56 50 3 56 50 



Acushla 11 38 00 3 47 55 4 09 55 4 09 55 



21 FT. CLASS. 



Vaquero 11 38 00 2 17 39 2 39 39 2 39 39 



The final mce for the 34ft. and 21ft. classes was sailed on Sept. 24, 

 only the former starting. Acushla won as follows: 

 special 84ft class. 

 1st mark. 2d mark. Finish. Elapsed. 



Acushla 2 04 00 3 44 42 4 33 04 3 10 60 



Dragoon 2 08 14 3 56 54 4 51 38 3 29 05 



Dragoon's record for the s-ason in the Larchmont series stands 4 

 firsts and 4 seconds, or 84 points, while Acushla's star ds 4 firsts and 2 

 seconds, or 20 points. Dragoon wins hoth cups, but can onlv take 

 one, the club cup going to Acushla- Vaquero wins the two cups in 

 her class, having had no competitor of late. Mr. ,T hn F. Lovejoy, 

 who has served very successfully for several years aa chairman of the 

 regatta committee, has just been presented by Com. Gillig and other 

 members of the club whh a life membership as a recognition of hfs 

 services The season was formally closed with the annual clam bake 

 on Oct. 5. 



Columbia Y. C. 



CHICAGO— LAKE MICHIGAN. 



Saturday, Sept. SI, 

 The Columbia Y. C, of Chicago, finished its season on Sept. 31 by a 

 fine race in a very strong S W. wind, the times being: 



SCHOONKRS. 



Start. Finish. Elapsed. Corrected. 



Mistral 1 36 35 4 16 51 2 40 16 2 39 40 



Hawthorne 1 37 37 4 22 56 2 45 19 2 45 19 



Toxteth 137 10 Did not finish. 



first class sloops. 



Druid 1 40 00 4 40 48 3 00 48 3 00 48 



second class. 



Rambler 1 40 00 4 36 46 2 56 46 2 56 46, 



THIRD CLASS SLOOPS. 



Peri 1 39 17 4 39 03 2 59 46 2 51 12 



Valiant 1 36 03 4 33 13 2 57 10 2 57 10 



HattieB 1 39 38 4 40 13 3 00 35 2 57 19 



Nora 1 37 53 4 48 26 3 10 33 3 04 26 



America 1 38 18 4 52 53 



FOURTH CLASS SLOOPS. 



Skate 1 45 00 3 53 35 2 08 55 2 08 55 



Ida K 1 45 00 4 07 38 2 22 88 2 20 68 



Mistral takes a leg for the Steffens cup, to be won twice in succes- 

 sion. The other winners were Druid, Rambler, Peri and Skate, the 

 latter s modification of the Ssarecrow, wfcb more »aij asd bftUagt, 



