Jan. 12, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



495 



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ICEBOATING ON THE HUDSON. 



FOR many a year I have been devoted to the regal pastime of 

 iceboating. At all times and in all weathers 1 have been out 

 on the old North River, and the results I have to tell may interest 

 the readers of Forest and Stream. I shall touch upon the 

 lighter and pleasantor features of this most fascinating sport, its 

 haps and mishaps, and to show outsiders how we enjoy ourselves 

 in winter upon the Hudson. The cost, the equipment and the 

 construction of these swift flying craft, have all been scientifically 

 treated in various papers. The jib and mainsail, catrig. lateen 

 and all sorts of rigs have been tried and tested by all sorts of men 

 in all sorts of ways. No ends of traps and contrivances "to go 

 close to windward:" single and double runner planks, all have 

 had their admirers. 



Briefly stated, no expense has been spared in their build and 

 equipment, workmanship and sails of the very best material, as 

 strong as wood andiron can be put together, going as fast as we go, 

 we must be well assured of our rig in every shape and way; the 

 principal parts are bowsprit and center timber, crossed by a runner 

 plank, With runners, shod with cast iron, and a skate runner to 

 steer by, with a cockpit large enough to hold two men, which is 

 enough for any boat to carry. The' boats are of all sizes and 

 weights, from a boat put together by a boy, with an old sheet for 

 a sail, 10ft. long and weighing say 251bs., to a boat with 00 odd feet 

 of length, nearly one thousand feet of canvas, and weighing 

 2,301)1 bs. 



Big boats are very costly toys, requiring plenty of wind and 

 muscle to move them and Tin. of ice, while a smaller boat, say 

 about 30ft., can be more easily moved and sail on thinner ice. In 

 any event J. E. Buckhout. of Poughkeepsie, stands head and 

 shoulders above other ice boat builders, and can build anything 

 you want in the line of his profession. 



The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club to-day stands confessedly at 

 the head of the list, with the most members and the finest fleet of 

 ice yachts in the world, and what its highly esteemed commodore 

 does not know about ice boating is not worth knowing. The club 

 station is at Roosevelt's I'oint, just above Poughkeepsie, and the 

 club course is as fine a one as could possibly be desired. Doubts 

 have been expressed as lo whether our favorite craft make 

 the time they do; whether they can go faster than the wind has 

 been questioned by reverend, grave and potent seigniors; can they 

 beat the express trains and is not all the extraordinary time made 

 round the club stove? Oh, no! we old yachtsmen know better; 

 we have beaten the trains many times and hope to do so again; so 

 we do the wind. Our course has been surveyed, and the stop 

 watch will tell you exactly the time. A mile a minute has been 

 frequently made on the river. 



No deception here; where the deception Icomes in is in the 

 extraordinary pictorial representations of our beautiful boats, 

 these look like nothing in the least ever seen on ice, they exist 

 only on paper. Those wonderful cloud and boat pictures emanate 

 from the artist's brain and only serve to amuse the public. 

 Clouds of appalling Egyptian darkness; birds of larger size than 

 the albatross, hovering over our heads as if about to carry us off 

 as the roc did Sinhad the sailor, our yachts cavorting around, 

 careening in the most extraordinary nautical positions, first on 

 one runner, then on the other, like a man on stilts; while perched 

 on the very end is a fair maiden in the very latest of Worth's pro- 

 ductions, her lovely tresses floating on the freeze, while she 

 clings convulsively with one hand to a shroud, the other grasped 

 by a slender, romantic youth, dressed like abanditand reminding 

 you of the susceptible Tupmau and Mrs. Leo. Hunter. Oh no, we 

 don't go out sailing in any such an outre rig as that. 



When the fair ladies honor us with their presence, which is an 

 event of daily occurrence, we give them a snug and cozy couch on 

 the cushion of our boat, cover them up daintily with shawls and 

 wraps, and enjoy their welcome presence and excitement of the 

 sail. But never do we put any one. much less one of them, out 

 on the end of the runner plank, like a- chicken perched up on a 

 roost. 



From north and south, from east and west, visitors drop in on 

 us at the "Point," and one and all are delighted with their exper- 

 ience. Now and then "a mortal funk" seises a man when first he 

 gets aboard, but such cases are very rare. Occasionally we get 

 a rise that provokes a smile. 



There came into a certain New York club, heaven knows how 

 or from where, an ingenuous youth, half English and one-fourth 

 American, gorgeously wrapped up in fur and sable, but with such 

 gushing innocence of iceboating as could only be met by 

 prompt and heroic treatment, to whom a sedate member of our 

 ice yacht club, with unmoved countenance, responded: 



"What— ah — is their size— ah?" 



"About 100ft." 



"Cabin— ah— on deck— ah?" 



"Oh, yes, suite of rooms." 



"How many men— ah— do you carry— ah?" 



"Generally twelve before the mast." 



"Sailing mastah?" 



"Of course, and two mates." 



"Cook— ah— and steward— ah?" 



"My dear sir, a chef de cuisine is of prime importance." 

 'Cabins— ah — like a steamah?" 



"Oh, yes, ocean steamer, electric lights and bells." 

 •'Ah— yaas. I should think-ah— you would suffer from the 

 cold— ah.' 



"Rooms are heated by stoves in every room." 



How far— ah— do you sail— ah?" 

 "We frequently make up a little party and run up to Albany, 

 dine at the Pelavan, and home again to tea, 150 miles." 

 "Ah— yaas." 



By this time he was full, chock a block. When, escorted out on 

 the ice that winter, he viewed one of the large boats, his face was 

 as good as a play. He was not afraid to sail, though, and one trial 

 made an enthusiastic convert of him and much more of a man 



But, tremendous as is the velocity with which these boats sail, 

 long as I have boated on the river. I can recall no very serious 

 mishaps. This speaks volumes in itself for the skill and' coolness 

 of its members. For teaching a man promptitude and decision of 

 character, there is nothing to compare to iceboating. It stands 

 to reason there is no time to hem or haw. Whatever your hand 

 finds to do has to be done mighty quickly. Their flight 'is the very 

 poetry of motion— no jar, no noise, nor dust and roar of clanging 

 iron. _ You fly through the air as swiftly and as noiselessly as does 

 the bird. 



A great race is soon coming off, the river is as smooth as glass 

 tor miles away. Countless craft are gliding to and fro, of everv 

 variety of shape and form. Here comes the commodore's vacht 

 the stately Icicle, one of the largest ice yachts in the world. 'What 

 a noble sight as she goes swiftly gliding by! Look at the famous 

 Jack h rost, chief among a thousand, and altogether lovely. What 

 a beauty, what breadth of towering snow-white canvas, sur- 

 mounted by the famous red circlet. "Follow my lead." Yonder 

 flits away the Avalanche, once the queen of latee'ns. Here comes 

 the flyer, tlie Northern Light, always in the van. Look at that 

 boat, not 10ft. long, with an old rag of a bed quilt for a sail and a 

 towel in tatters for a flag, on which is depicted a rooster about the 

 size of a turkey. What is this nondescript coming through the 

 crowd? A shellboat on runners, and a man therein pulling with 

 sculls with iron spikes on the ends, and see him go. What an 

 attractive picture it all makes! What a merry throng of skaters' 

 Do you wonder at the fascination of the sport? See, they are goine- 

 to call the race. 



Some ice yachts are in line, stretching across the river. Each 

 man stauds eager, watchful, his hand resting lightly on the tiller' 

 awaiting the signal gun. "Are you ready? Go!" rings out as the- 

 gun is fired, and in a twinkling they dash off. What a grand! 

 sight it is to see them dash away as they cross and recross undeir 

 the influence of the rising wind. Soon they are lost to sight; soon, 

 they reappear. Reindeer leads! No, 'tis Northern Light. No 

 'tis Jack Frost. There flutters the well-known flag to the fore. 

 Follow my lead, round they dash by the goal amid resounding 

 cheers off and away. It does not seem so long. Here they come 

 on the home run. Old Jack they will never catch you this time. 

 Cheer after cheer goes up, as the famous boat comes in a winner- 

 closely followed by Reindeer, St. Nicholas and Northern Light, 

 Not a bad race by any means. Here were four crack boats that 

 started at 2:47 P. M. over a 24-mile course, which they had to tack 

 over all the way, and the winning boat's time was lh. 6m.; that ' is 

 nearly 60 miles an hour and fast enough if you are not in a hurry. 

 That night with exultant cheers we hung the champion pennant 

 of the world up for the second time "in the halls of the Monte- 

 zumas," while many a kinsman in a generous libation drank the 

 health of the hospitable crew of the famous boat and flag. 



Mishaps, as I before said, seldom if ever occur. Sometimes we 

 get becalmed, then patience becomes a cardinal virtue. Sometimes 

 we run into a crack or snow bank, then "heave and pull" and 

 shoving is the order of the day. Sometimes, though very rarely 

 over she goes; well, "vot of it." If she is a small boat right her up 

 again and go en your way rejoicing you do not own a bigger boat 

 Sometimes you get fired out, and this is worth going up to Pough- 

 keepsie and trying for yourself. You'll never forget it. It has 

 come on to blow hard and you are coming down wind swifter than 

 any canvasback, close-hauled, for so we always sail. Suddenly 

 your boat swerves a little from her course, you try to meet her- 

 all too late. 'Hold hard," shouts the helmsman; next moment 

 round spins yjur boat like a top. Hold on, you might as well try 



