March 81, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



213 



scboonor yacht bound t o the westward, whose colors were not 

 made out. We hud hardly passed the light before the wind came 

 out southwest and pined strongly, and sent a tumbling, riotous 

 sea after us. which picked us up and plunged us onward with n 

 swing to starboard or to port, threatening to jibe the mainsail or 

 knock Our stern out with the tender. The wind freshened so much 

 that we took in the gafffcopsail, I relieved my boy, who had found 

 considerable more work steering than he had had any idea of. 

 This channel is considered rather dangerous, but it is well buoyed 

 throughout, and unless one lias to beat through it in the dark, it is 

 clear sailing. 



We went through Owl's Head Bay like a race horse. The wind 

 drew through fiercely, and was so nearly aft that, as the seas 

 caught us under tl\e Uuiff overhang and lifted us onward, thev 

 turned US right and left in spite of the rudder, and gave me as 

 much work as I cared for to handle the tiller and keep from jib- 

 iner. 1 whs laughed at several times Down East for not having a 

 small wheel to give more room in the cockpit, hut it is in just such 

 rough winds and waters that the value of a long tiller is appreci- 

 ated. One can feel just what a boat is going to do and correct her 

 eccentric gyrations very rapidly. One cannot judge of the motion 

 so well by a wheel and cannot watch the lazy turn of the bow as 

 in a large vessel. 1 doubt if in this seuddiug I could have pre- 

 vented a jibe and a probable disaster if 1 had not had a tiller. It 

 is equally valuable upon the wind in any kind of a sea., audi shall 

 stick to the crooked stick in all weathers. It rises above the knees, 

 and does not interfere much with occupants of the cockpit. If 

 there are any other reasons in its favor, I'd like to hear them. I 

 do not wish to pose as an oracle, because I am still an amateur in 

 yachting, but. why does not some Forest and Stream contributor 

 say something upon such practical points? ft strikes me an ex- 

 perienced cruiser might tell us much of value about anchoring in 

 sandy, muddy, or rocky bottoms: about t he best way to manage 

 and heave to a sloop or cutter iu a gale; about trimming sails to 

 get the most propelling force from the wind; about the value of a 

 galftopsail or a jibtopsail upon the wind: and about handling the 

 tiller in all kiuds of weather. 



It piped stronger a fter we had rounded the light and pointed 

 for the steamboat wharf at Rockland, and we had the pleasure of 

 beating a little fishing schooner into the anchorage to the left of 

 the lauding where a little fleet of small yachts was lving un- 

 watehedand deserted. It was 3 P. M. when the anchor' Mas let 

 go and we had concluded another good run.— about 60 miles in 10 

 bouts. 



We might have gone on to Belfast before dark, but mail, cigars, 

 clothes, etc., had been ordered to this place, and we wanted them. 

 Besides, I had made a resolve some time before never to run 

 ahead of the mail. It is such a disappointment to wait for the 

 slow coach who forward uncalled for letters, and it takes so long 

 to get an order one way and the answerback. So I furled up, sent 

 the boat ashore, and started the oil stove for a late dinner and 

 early supper in one square meal. There was so much swell in t his 

 so-called harbor— all open upon side— that the Pilgrim swelled 

 around rather lively and every drop the bow took the flames of 

 the gas stove wicks would shoo! up and send a cloud of smoke 

 against the beams and up the little hatchway, driving the cook 

 aft, and the soot among the dishes, but a fine beefsteak was fried 

 in butter, some boiled potatoes sliced and fried, and a pot of 

 coffee made and, with the bread and milk from the shore, we 

 feasted long and heartily. Then the lamps were lighted, the lan- 

 terns hung up on the stay, the cigars passed round, the letlersand 

 newspapers read, and a jolly evening passed 



Four large steamers lay at the wharf till after 9 o'clock, one 

 bound to Boston, one bound to Eastport, one to Bar Harbor, and 

 one to the islands of Penobscot Bay. A revenue cutter came iu 

 and anchored near us, but did not inquire about our papers and 

 clearance, though they must have noticed our foreign aupea ranee 

 in comparison with the native craft. 



The next morning what was our disgust to find only a faint air 

 from the northeast and dead ahead. It was too provoking, but we 

 got started after breakfast, found the breeze stronger out in the 

 hay and spent the whole day beating about twenty miles to Temple 

 Heights, a summer resort of a dozen cottages, established by 

 spiritualists and called the Spiritualists' Camp Ground. Here wo 

 t ied up at t he end of the wharf and were verv glad to gnat fast be- 

 cause there was no harbor near, the water was very deep and a 

 strong ebb tide was running against us. 



The low tide brought the crosstrees down even with the wltarf 

 and we took advantage of this to put a sheet of brass around the 

 mast where the gaff worked its jaws around and into the wood. A 

 piece of leather was also nailed around the mainboom where it 

 chafed on the backstays. The piles of the wharf were covered 

 with myriads of starfish of all sizes, from that of a piu's head to 

 the Sine of a man's hand, and sea urchins were fixed among them, 

 moving their green bristles slowly, resembliug the little tufts of 

 the pine tr.?es upon the hillside. Jack got out the lines and we 

 fished tor euiiners and sea-perch, but caught nothing but sculpins, 

 true old patuarehs «:t the bay. Some were ten and twelve inches 

 long, hard immense spines, enormous mouths and a devilish ap- 

 pearance. We did not venture to unhook them until thev were 

 smashed against the piles and lifeless; of course we could catch 

 nothing else when these sea-bottom marauders were so plentiful 

 aud after killing many, to give the other poor little fishes a 

 chance, we wound in our lines and took a stroll over the land. 



It was a laborious climb over the foothills of the Lincolnville 

 range, but the paths were good and the main road drv, and the 

 lovely views across the bay fully repaid us. Three or four miles 

 away lay lsleboro. and over the streak of the eastern bay beyond 

 Dyce's Head and Cape Rosier could just be distinguished through 

 the evening mist. The bluff was covered with a heavy growth of 

 spruces, pines and maples, aud roads had been cut and lots laid 

 out and cleared at a great expense of time and labor. A rough 

 board building was the store and post office, and near this were a 



human nature, regardless of the shortness of the season and of 

 life, and oblivious of the necessity to health of the pallid ravs of 

 the sun that seems like reflections from an iceberg in this northern 

 region, these Spiritualists had passed right over a beautiful adjoin- 

 ing grassy slope, fringed by pines, and plunged into the wilderness 

 for a location, only to set to work with axe, mattock, pick axe and 

 spade to destroy it. The cottages were of planed matched boards 

 or clapboards, with bare timbers inside, but they had odd little 

 windows and gables and piazzas, and looked very cosy and home- 

 like. The inexpensive furniture is not molested during the cold 

 season, and the sojourners rough it in a measure in those little 

 homes from three to six weeks in summer. The cost of a lot and 

 house is about $500, so that the owners, who mostlv live inland do 

 not pay very dearly for their annual smell cf sa b water, and the 

 improved health which change of scene, habits and sustenance 

 generally bring. All along the coast of Maiue and upon her 

 islands just such little summer cities are building, and they add 

 greatly to the pleasure of a yachting trip eastward. 



It was calm till 10 A. M. next day, then a light breeze sprang up 

 from the southwest and we pushed off and made nail. The sum- 

 mer cottages of Northport were nearly all tenantless, but the Wav- 

 erly House was still open, and a group of men and women saluted 

 us from the end of the long wharf as we stood past. Belfast bad 

 not grown any since the previous year, and we found the old 

 anchorage and were soon anchored and snugged up again in the 

 home port, where many old-time friends and blood relations, were 

 expecting us. 



It is astonishing how an iron-keeled cutter will forgeahead after 

 the wind is out of her sails. Many a time have I ran far beyond 

 the chosen spot of anchorage and had to make sail and work iVek 

 We were fooled so many times that I tried taking sails off of the 

 Pilgrim in mid stream and letting her creep slowly info the 

 selected place. But this took too much time and she* took cable 

 too slowly, so we finally made a so-called living mooting, tine w 

 the anchor oroad off the bow and let the cable run. as she was 

 brought around head to the wind and tide, and then hauled in to 

 Lhe requisite scope. The cable was less liable to foul ;md wo had 

 things fixed much sooner than by anchoring the other way 



Small cutters have a way of horsing around at anchor that is 

 troublesome and often uncomfortable. The Pilgrim would lie 

 broadside to the wind and sea awhile, swing head on, then back 

 again until the wind was upon the quarter and blew down the 

 eompamonway. '1 hen she would swing around again, ride over 

 her cable, have it upon one bow and the anchor upon the opposite 

 quarter, and play a tune upon the bobstay. I found bv experiment 

 when the tiller was hard over to port with starboard anchor down 

 or vice ■versa, she would lie head to wind and tide. 1 thought at 

 first her restlessness was due to the low ballast, but concluded 

 later it was owing to the peculiar rig, as lowering the furled stav- 

 sail and the spinaker boom improved matters considerably Of 

 course, with tide and wind in dilferent directions, the problem be- 

 come more difficult of solution, Oarerwell 



THE OCEAN RACE. 



FOR the past ten days yachtsmen have watched anxiously for 

 some news of the two yachts from some of the many ocean 

 (steamers that have arrived, but nothing of importance was re- 

 ported, and it was not until last Sunday morning t hat the first 

 reliable news came, that Coronet bad arrived in safety, the win- 

 ner of the race. The steamers British Prince, Kansas, Pavonia, 

 and Saale, each report ed passing one or two schooners bound east- 

 ward, but it was impossible to tell which was the leader, though 

 the opinions were generally in favor of Coronet. On March 27, 

 however, all doubts were set at rest by the news that Coronet had 

 crossed the finish line at Queenstown at 115:40 local time, after a 

 run of 14 days. 28 hours, 33 minutes and 40 seconds apparent time. 

 Dauntless was not heard of until Monday afternoon, finishing at 

 0:45 P. M., after a run of 16 days, 1 hour, 43 minutes. 13 seconds. 

 Both yachts hod bad weather for the entire trip, encountering 

 heavy gales and at times being obliged to heave to. The best 

 day's rim of Coronet was Sid miles, while Dauntless logged 32P 

 miles on March .'Jib. Neither met with any serious mishap, t hough 

 the passage was anythiug but a pleasure trip, and both testify to 

 the value of oil in calming the waters. The weather was an alter- 

 nation of gales with occasional calms, t he yachts being under re- 

 duced canvas the greater part of the time, but at times under full 

 sail. On the third and fourth days out Coronet encountered a 

 heavy gale from S.W., running under jib and close-reefed try- 

 sails. There was at t imes several feet of waf er on the decks, arid 

 on Wednesday night the vessel took a. sea over the stern that 

 nearly swept two men overboard. Next day the squaresail was 

 split and a day later the yacht ran into the. path of a cyclone and 

 was obliged to heave to for an entire night, with tires aud lights 

 out anil the seas coming in the eahin skylights. On the ninth and 

 tenth days another gale was met aud the yacht hove to under 

 close-reefed fore storm trysail. An attempt to tack her failed and 

 she was obliged to wear. From this time out the weather was 

 better and more sail was carried to the finish. Dauntless experi- 

 enced the same sort of weather, though at no time near Coronet, 

 and on the tenth and eleventh days was obliged to heave to. 

 The cockpit was at limes full of water and once two men were 

 washed out of it and only saved by the lifelines. Oil was used dur- 

 ing t his time with excellent results. Some sails were split and 

 some damage done to the standing rigging, but beyond this the 

 old craft came out all right. 

 The distances run each day were as follows: 



Coronet. Dauntless. 

 March. Lat. Lon. Miles. March. Lat. Lou. Miles. 



13 39.55 68.41 246 13 40.03 08.28 232 



14 40.04 03.23 244 14 30.57 04.18 200 



15 40.51 59.29 185 15 40.57 01.28 130 



10 41.25 54.45 210 10 42.03 50.07 200 



17 41.00 50.03 211 17 41.28 52.47 140 



18 44.50 47.04 135 18 42.05 49.39 140 



10 43.47 42.35 225 19 43.&5 43.50 270 



20 45.25 39.04 179 20 44.10 40.50 145 



21 40.18 34.24 202 21 44.41 36.30 195 



22 46.88 33.49 38 22 46.13 37.13 100 



23 47.06 32.47 50 23 46.07 36.07 43 



24 49.04 38.13 218 24 47.05 31.44 205 



25 49.48 22.32 225 25 49.45 24.20 328 



20 50.51 15.00 291 20 50.47 17.45 266 



27. .. . -Off Roche's Point. 240 27 50.16 13.45 143 



28 Off Roche's Point. 100 



THOSE PLANS OF THE THISTLE. 



JUST throe months since, the Forest and Stream had occasion 

 to question the great "scoop" of the Boston Herald, and to 

 prove that in reality it amounted to a very small and insignificant 

 scoopler indeed. Now that the challenge is in the hands of the 

 N. Y, Y. C. and the truth can no longer be concealed, the Herald 

 seeks to save itself by a long and labored explanation, that only 

 serves to show how far it is at sea, or more proxierly ashore, iri 

 matters relating to yachting. On March 20 it published a picture 

 at on " pathetic and comical, no less than a. view of the tightly 

 bait' tea shed in which the Thistle is being built, with a solitary 

 flgu : in the foreground, presumably the Herald's representative 

 iobi ."g for a convenient knothole, or perhaps waiting for the 

 laupch. On the following day it published, under the heading 

 "Plans Changed; the Predictions of the Herald Verified." this 

 cable message : 



„ , "GLASGOW, March 26, 1887. 



'To the hd'dor oj the Herald: Square stem; build carvel, and 

 clincher: 98ft. long. 20 3-10ft. broad, 14 l-10ft. deep; tonnage, with- 

 out deduction, 100% tons ; in cubic metres, 284 9-10." 



Which meagre details were confirmed bv the arrival of the 

 challenge next day. 



In the three-column article in which it seeks to soften the blow 

 of the boomerang which if threw last Christmas, two distinct and 

 contrary lines of defense are introduced, the method of argument 

 being very much like the boy's excuse over the borrowed kettle; 

 the kettle bad a hole in it, and he didn't borrow no kettle anv- 

 how. 



The first plea, outlined in the heading and still further in the 

 following paragraph, is that as soon as it was known that tfie 

 plans had appeared here the owners decided to change them, and 

 at once proceeded to build a boat of 90 instead of 80ft.: 



"The Scotch syndicate evidently took a second thought, aud 

 finally decided to build the Thistle 10ft. longer than she appeared 

 in the estimate plans. * * * The Scotch syndicate has done its 

 work well and has kept all matters secret as long as it could. It 

 probably awaited the views of the American press on the plans 

 published in these columns, and from the hints received, finally 

 decided to build a yacht longer than any of our American sloops. 

 The suggestion thrown out by these gentlemen to the New York 

 y. C, that the yacht would in all probability be a second class 

 yacht, is in accord with all their ennningness regarding the 

 Thistle and her plans." 



In close juxtaposition to this is the following: 



"In regard to the plans the Herald claimed that thev were the 

 working drawings of the Thistle as she was intended to be at the 

 time they were given out to several builders to estimate on. The 

 Herald'* correspondent came into possession of tnem honorably, 

 and Mr. George L. Watson was not an unwilling party to their de- 

 livery. They were not obtained from any of the builders, as has 

 been frequently stated. Mr. Watson well knew how they came 

 into the possession of the Herald, and it is now too late for him to 

 deny the fact that the Herald's Scottish correspondent had every 

 reason to believe that t he plans when presented to him, while they 

 were not the detailed plans, having all the waterlines and the 

 other dimensions, were, to all intents and purposes, the ulans fur- 

 nished the builders of a yacht like what the Thistle was to be, and 

 estimates for the plans were asked for bv Mr. Watson." 



If this means anytlung.it means that Mr. Watson allowed the 

 ZJejCtfd to have the plans for publication and encouraged the belief 

 I hat they were the actual plans of the boat he was building. The 

 full defense of the He raid t hen stands thus: Mr. Watson allowed 

 them to nave, or practically gave them the true plans of the boat; 

 but ween he .round that they had these plans he at once threw 

 aside the design and started a larger boat. The contradictory 

 character of the two statements is sufficient, but it might easily 

 be shown how absurd the second plea is, and that no change in the 

 plans was needed . Still another excuse is tacked on in the follow- 



tins was toe an important. tJnng to be found out. 1 

 doubted that she was to be a large cutter, and to-dav t 

 of 1 he \B,' or second class cutter, nu ruber many in tlie 

 For the information of the Herald we may sta 



NEW ARK Y . C— Messrs. C. H.May hew. E. M. Grover and Wm. 

 Murray have been appointed on the regatta commit tee of the N 

 Y. C, and are making arrangements for the Decoration Day 

 regatta, which will be open to all. Heretofore the annual club 

 regatta for the champion pennants has been held on Decoration 

 Day, but, this year they have decided to make it in addition to the 

 pennant races, an open sweepstake with handsome special prizes 

 added. 



the advocates 

 ie metropolis." 



-e may state what all 



yachtsmen knpw, that there is no such thing as A or B class in 

 the sense m which it is used here, but that the A class includes 

 all racing yachts, the B class all ex-racers, and the C class the 

 cruisers. In commenting on the new boat the Herald falls into 

 some amusing errors when it says: 



"Her beam is immense for a cutter, being 20 3-10ft. extreme. No 

 cutter, either tor cruising or racing, has ever been built with such 

 a wide beam, and this means extra large sail area. Her draught 

 has been altered but slightly from the estimate plans, and she is 

 one-tenth of an inch deeper than in her estimate plans. As the 

 scale on the sheer plan, in the estimate plans, was oue-fourth of 

 an inch to the foot, it can be easily seen how such a slight error 

 might be made, as the width of a pencil mark on such a small 

 scale would make the difference— one-tenth of an inch Her 

 draught is 14ft. and one-tenth of an inch." 



dor go to prove that there is nothing extraordinary about the re- 

 ported dimensions. In regard to the draft f he Herald has fallen 

 into a serious error, in confusing draft and depth. The despatch 

 reads "14 l-10ft. deep," and this statement is lugged in to prove 

 the accuracy of the alleged plans, because the latter showed a 

 boat of 14ft. draft. The depth of the Herald Thistle is 15ft. 6In., 

 that of the real Thistle, as given in the challenge, is 14 l-]0ft„ 

 bearing out exactly what the Forest and Stkeam stated last 

 week, that the plans procured by the Boston Herald represented 

 a boat of about the same cubic contents, and so sufficient for all 

 purposes of estimating. This accounts for the high freeboard, the I 



great depth and the largo area of midship sectiou, which were so 

 generally commented on when the plans 'first, appeared. 



In regard to the waterline length, the only vital point in the 

 whole matter, lhe Herald says: 



"The official announcement that the estimate plans ha v e been 



prise at the announcement being made in these columns prior to 

 their receiving if in official form. The cablegram comes from a 

 trustworthy source, and its accuracy cannot be doubted. The 

 Herald congratulates itself on being able to give its readers the 

 information in advance of the letter sent by the Scotch syndicate 

 to the New York Y. O. While some changes have been "made in 

 the plans as published, the class to which the Thistle belongs has 

 not been changed by her additional length, and she is what it was 

 stated she would be— 'a first-class cutter yacht, built of steel, 

 made from designs of Watson, and built bv Messrs. Henderson, of 

 Partick, Scotland.' " 



The. final conclusion of the Herald is t hat the length is 90ft., but 

 the official challenge to theN. Y. Y. C. brings a fresh disappoint- 

 ment, giving the. length as 85ft. only, while Thistle has a clipper 

 stem and the "plans" showed a totally different boat with a plumb 

 stem. A glance at the plans of Vanduaia on another page will 

 show the correctness of our surmise that thev were the basis for 

 the tracing which the Herald procured, while the midship section 

 ol the latter was evidently cooked, "that same with intent to 

 deceive." 



That the true length of the Thistle is finally known is due in no 

 way to the Herald, -whose course throughout lias only resulted in 

 misleading American yachtsmen. 



The fact is, that in its haste to grasp the Thistle, the Herald was 

 very badly stung, and this last clumsy attempt to conceal its 

 defeat leaves it worse off than before. 



THE CHALLENGE FROM THE CLYDE. 



rpHE designer of the Thistle has kept his secret well, in spite of 

 A the many efforts to discover the length. Even now, with the 

 formal challenge in the hands of the New York Y. C, and the 

 conditions of the deed of gift complied with, the waterline length 

 would not be known had not Mr. Watson chosen to disclose it, 

 which he has done in a letter accompanying the. challenge. The 

 challenge gives the legal dimensions of the yacht, as required, but 

 leaves the all-important question of the waterline length un- 

 answered. From Mr. Watson's letter, however, it is known to be 

 85ft., or the same as the Mayflower. 



The challenge, which arrived on Monday, as predicted by the 

 Foi< est and Stream last week, reads as follows : 



Secretary's Office, / 

 No. 1.50 Hope Street, > 

 Glasgow, March 10, 1887. ) 

 Tit John 11. Bird, K*,., Secretary New York Y. C, New Forte 



Dear Sir— Referring to our correspondence of last autumn, 1 

 have now, on behalf of the Royal Clyde Y. C. and in the name of 

 Mr. James Bell, the vice-commodore of said club, to claim the 

 right cf sailing a match for the America's Cup with the yacht 

 Thistle against any one yacht or vessel constructed in the United 

 States of America, aud i accordingly give vou formal notice of 

 challenge, and name the 4th day of October for the commence- 

 ment of the match. 



The Thietlo has been constructed on the Clyde. She Is cutter- 

 rigged, and her measurement per the inclosed certified official 

 transcript from the Custom House Register, is as follows: 



Length, per register 98ft. Oin. 



Breadth, per register 20ft. 3in. 



Depth, per register 14ft. li n . 



1 send also a statement of her dimensions by Mr. G. L. Watson 

 her designer, giving (although not required by the formalities of 

 the deed of gift) the length on the l.w.l. 



I have already sent you evidence of Mr. Bell's authority to repre- 

 sent our club in this challenge, but in order that von may have 

 herewith all the necessary documents, I send certified extracts 

 from the minutes of a committee meeting authorizing the chal- 

 lenge, and a general meeting of the club confirming the same. A 

 list of the documents sent is annexed. 



I need hardly state that our club is an organized royal vacht 

 club, holding an Admiralty warrant with all the privileges thereto 

 belonging, and that its annual regatta is held on the Firth of 

 Clyde, an arm of the sea practicable to vessels of anv tonnage. 



Having complied with the. formalities of the deed of gift, it may- 

 save time and shorten our correspondence regarding "the details 

 of the race to inform you that Mr. Bell is prepared to accept with 

 some slight modifications the arrangements of the Genesta and 

 Galatea matches, as proposed in the letter from the late secretary 

 of your club to Mr. Beaver Webb, dated 10th Mart h. 1885, and 1 

 shall now take up seriatim these arra ngements as printed on pages 

 9 and in in the report of your Committee of Arrangements 111 re- 

 lation to the above matches, noting the. modifications proposed: 



Dates of the Races.— To be 4th, 6th and 8th of October. 



Number of Races.— The challenger is prepared to accept the con- 

 ditions under this heading, but strongly urges that in order to 

 eliminate as far as maybe the element of chance, the contest 

 shall be decided by the best of five trials, the additional days to be 

 the 10th and 12th of October. 



Courses and Length of Courses.— The courses sailed in the Gala- 

 tea match will be accepted. 



Time of Making Races, Measurement aud Time Allowance and 

 Representative of the New Y/ork Y. C. -The conditions under these 

 three headings will also be accepted, 



Mr. Bell will also accept Mr. George L. Schuyler as the umpire, 

 whose decision shall be final on all questions which may arise on 

 any details in the arrangements for the race requiring ad iust- 

 ment._ 



I will now state some additional arrangements which are 

 thought necessary. First is a point which the challenger con- 

 siders most important, viz.: That two patrol steamers (one for 

 each competing yacht) should be employed to keep the course 

 nerfectly clear during the race, and so avoid the risk of the rare 

 being obstructed by accompanying steamers or cruising yachts 

 Each of the patrol steamers would be under the control of the 

 competitor it represents and a representative of the opposing 

 yacht on board. I trust that this proposal will meet with Your 

 approval. 



There is a second addition to the arrangements, which Mr. Bell 

 suggests and hopes will also be accepted, it is amply an exten- 

 sion of your proviso under the heading of "Representative of the 

 New York Y. C," on page 10 of the printed report before referred 

 to and is as follows: 



That in the event of an accident happening to either of the com- 

 petitors previous to the start, she is to have sufficient time given 

 her to effect repairs. Further, that should a, serious accident 

 happen during the race (that race not being the final one), fair 

 and reasonable time shall be given cither yacht to effect repairs 

 before she be called to race again-/, e., the final race or races 

 shall not be held to have been lost by default through the injured 

 yacht not being in a position to appear on the agreed on dates. 



As Mr. Lloyd Phmnix represented your club at the recent con- 

 test the challenger will be glad if Mr. Phoenix is appointed and 

 consents to act in the same caoacily on board the Thistle. 



May I ask the favor of a cable acknowledgment of this chal- 

 lenge on the day of receipt If possible? 



I remain, sir, yours faithfully, 

 WHiMASi York, Sectretary Royal Clyde Yacht Club. 



Accompanying it is the certificate of the Register of Shipping 

 and Collector of Customs at Glasgow. Mr. .lames Scott, giving the 

 following details: 



of __ 



built ™, 



builders. One deck, one mast, cutter rigged, square stern, carvel 

 and clincher built, thistle head, steel framew ork. From fore part 

 of stem, under bowsprit, to after side of stern post, 98ft,; main 

 breadth to outside of plank, 20 :j-10ft.: depth of hold, from tonnage 

 deck to ceiling at amidships, 14 l-10fu Number of tons, 100.07 ; 

 cubic meters, 284.90. Owner, .lames Bell, 04 shares. 



Mr. Watson's letter gives the waterline length as 85ft. and savs : 

 'As the vessel is not yet afloat it is impossible to give exactly the 

 waterline length. This, however, is her designed length,' and 

 when she is afloat and in racing trim I have no reason to expect 

 that it will be more than an inch or two cither way." 



The Cup Committee, Messrs. J. D. Smith, Wm. Krebs, G. L 

 Haiglit and Vice-Corn. Chas. Haight, met on Tuesday and accepted 

 the challenge, the only clause objected to being that in regard to 

 the number of races, three being deemed sufficient. A letter In 

 reply will be sent at once to the Royal Clyde Y. C, but its con- 

 tents will, of course, be kept secret. 



The dimensions of the Thistle are a surprise to all, not only 

 from the length being greater than was generally expected, but 

 from her great beam, far in excess cf any cutter for the past 15 

 years. Her draft is not given, but of course it will he only moder- 

 ate. She will have a clipper stem, and will undoubtedly be a very 

 handsome as well as a powerful vessel, and one that will be hard 

 to beat. Nothing is yet decided as to the measures to be taken 

 for the defense of the Cup. 



