June 30, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



503 



COURSE FOR EASTERN Y. C. REGATTA, OFF MARBLEHEAD. 



The second class started at 11:40 and the fourth at 11:45. While 

 Mayflower held oft shore, Galatea ran in on port tack for the land, 

 and at 11:40 Mayflower cauie about and stood after her. At this 

 time there was just -wind enough to put Galatea fairly planksheer 

 to, while. Mayflower could have carried gafftopsail from the start, 

 as events proved, and saved the time it took to run up topmast and 

 set it a little later. As the Avind was in the morning it was only 

 good judgement to start to windward with the stick down, an-* 

 she was as well off without topsail for the first half hour, but .*t 

 no time was there so much wind that she could not carry ,- all 

 her working sail. As for the sea, there was a very size !."'' ^ tum- 

 ble to it, such as would have been death to the old sloop"- , out that 

 experience proves, does little harm to the more mcle' j. boats. 



As the whole point of the race hinges on tb'- w_»chcr it is well 

 to understand exactly what the conditions we.e The breeze that 

 rustled alv.ut Marblehcad last Thursday has since grown in force 

 as it trailed over the country, by telegraph wires and the daily 

 papers, u '.til now it is a howling gale of unexampled severity; 

 while the >t;a has continued to rise to the same gigantic proportions. 

 Beaufort ; scale is the standard of wind force, and in the slightly 

 modified form necessary to apply it to small vessels instead of 

 large sh: ,>s, a rate of 10 to 15 knots per hour is classed as No. 5 

 fresh br« i ze. in which any good yacht should carry jibheaded top- 

 sail. Pr i m 15 to 20 knots per hour is rated as No. 6 strong breeze, 

 in whicl , one reef would be carried, the intermediate point be- 

 tween t| . i two being at 15 knots, a lower sail breeze with topmast 

 housed. A "gale" is placed at from No. 8, 26 knots, to No. 9, 36 

 knots, f . ' heavier weather than many races have been sailed in for 

 a long t i le here. The wind on Thursday was for the big boats no 

 more tb : a a working breeze in which all plain sail couldbe carried 

 with sa r Sty and advantage, without a thought of reefing or even 

 strikini topsail on either boat after its force was once gauged. 

 The se 1 was a long roll, rough in places but not short and hilly, 

 and ha 1 1 i as they were driven, neither boat took a bit of water on 

 deck. J 1 1 short, there was nothing abnormal in the condition of 

 wind c • .wave, and a boat of 85ft. which would suffer any serious 

 discomfiture from either is not fit to be considered a yach t. 



Taken all through the conditions were only what any yachtmen 

 could fairly ask for a test of the best boat, a true working breeze, 

 an open, deep-water course, and water rough enough to tumble 

 anything in the way of a skimming dish or fair weather racing 

 machine. Such conditions have been reached hut once in all the 

 cup races of '85 and '80, for a half of the last Puritan-Genesta race, 

 and the friends of both Mayflower and Galatea have looked 

 anxiously for their recurrence in a race bet ween the two, the lat- 

 ter believing that the narrow boat would show far better than in 

 the extremely unsatisfactory weather of the cup races of last 

 September. For this both boats waited at Marblehead last year, 

 for this Lieut. Henn went into the races in New York, expecting 

 Mayflower to enter, and for this he went again to Marblehead 

 last week. Now for the performance of the boats: For a time 

 they held pretty evenly, but shortly after Mayflower came on the 

 same tack it was evident that she was more than holding Galatea. 

 On they went, Galatea holding her tack until her bowsprit 

 was almost aboard of Tinker's Island at noon, when she 

 went on starboard tack. M- "flower was nearing her, and a 

 little later crossed her bows, ..gathering her with a good margin, 

 and tacking to windward of Galatea's beam. Now the race began 

 in earnest as the two hurried on, Galatea holding better to wind- 

 ward, but the Avhite boat gaining slowly in distance. The wind 

 had decreased enough since early morning to indicate that it 

 would blow lighter rather than heavier as the day wore on, and 

 now Mayflower felt the need of her topsail, as Galatea's was evi- 

 dently aiding her. Up went the topmast at 12:10, but it was nearly 

 12:30 before the sail was set. At once the gain was more apparent, 

 as Mayflower continued to gain. The road to the second mark 

 was long and rough and there was still a chance for Galatea to 

 make up her loss, but it was soon evident that the other was too 

 much for her. Bravely she kept up the fight, the time had come 

 to show herself, and all on board realized it and no chance was 

 neglected, but still she could not hold the pace. Sailing along 

 boldly she looked higher than Mayflower and worked well out to 

 windward of the latter's course, showing now none of that crab- 

 bing off which was perceptible in light airs last fall, but work out 

 as she would the other was too long in the legs for her, and inch 

 by inch she was left astern, so that there was no hope of her lift- 

 ing far enough to windward to counterbalance Mayflower's speed 

 on end. The leg was a long one, ten miles, and the wind held 

 steady, only coming at times in chunks as they worked more in 



under the land; there was no question of spinaker drill or spar 

 tossing to t jst the training of the crews, but the big spars lay 

 snugly lf> ,ned on deck all day. It was a square bout to windward 

 between the two, and Mayflower won it. A light rain was falling, 

 at ti-_j.es coming down heavily and then ceasing for a little, but in 

 other respects the weather was as good as a yachtsman need want. 



or over an hour the pair held on, Mayflower gaining slowly but 

 unmistakably, until at 1:10 she tacked for the mark. Galatea held 

 on until clear of her lee and then followed her around. The rain 

 and light mist on the water made it very hard to distinguish the 

 mark, and both had overstood a little. 



Mayflower came for it with balloon jibtopsail aloft in stops, and 

 as she rounded it was broken out, the whole maneuver being well 

 executed, but it could not be sheeted close in with such a breeze. 

 As Galatea neared the mark Mayflower flew past her on the 

 second leg, but the black boat swung about quickly, the great 

 boom jibed, and she was off in hot haste at a pace only a little less 

 than her rival, setting a jibtopsail as soon as she was on her 

 course. As May r flower neared the. first mark a bark, the Edna H. 

 May, bound from Boston to Honolulu, luffed up to give her a clear 

 way, dipping her ensign at the same time, a marked contrast to 

 the conduct of the steamer Stamford and the steam yacht Viking, 

 both of which crossed Galatea's bows nearly together, paying no 

 attention to the latter. 



The two leaders were so far ahead that they monopolized all the 

 interest in the race, but astern were one or two battles just as 

 closely fought. Iroquois had started with a good lead while 

 Sachem was handicapped, and the former was third boat for a 

 long time, holding starboard tack to seaward, while, in company 

 with Gitana, Sachem worked along nearer shore. That she was 

 picking up the leader was evident, but it became still more 

 apparent when the two came nearer together off shore and both 

 left Gitana. Mohican and America were sailing astern and 

 troubling nobody, the historic old craft being hopelessly left again 

 in spite of all improvements. Sachem was coming up on Iroquois 

 when the latter set a maintopmast staysail and knocked her head 

 off most effectually, spoiling what chances she had left. Adrienne 

 was sailing a walkover and could afford to take her own time, 

 but Huron and Stranger were making a very close thing of it in 

 the second class, holding together along the shore. At the start 

 and in the rough water Shona had the beat of Shadow, but as soon 

 as the time came to shake out reefs the latter left her for all clay. 

 The little cutter sailed on tb rough what was for her a tremendous 

 sea, but she was nowhere beside the larger and more powerful 

 boat. At first mark the times were : 



Mayflower 1 34 49 Mohican 2 13 30 



Galatea 1 40 07 Stranger 2 13 55 



Sachem 1 55 45 Huron 2 15 30 



Iroquois 1 59 56 America 2 18 25 



Gitana 2 08 18 



Mayflower had thus beaten Galatea 4m. 33s. in the 12-mile beat 

 to windward. 



After jibing the boats brought the wind on the starboard 

 quarter, and for a time the puffs fell heavier than they had yet 

 done. Both of the leaders heeled considerably, Galatea being 

 nearly rail to in the squalls, but never putting her rail under. At 

 this point the deck angle was considerable, as may be imagined, 

 but the speed did not decrease, as Mayflower gained less on this 

 leg than on the former, though she should have outreached the 

 other far more than she heat her to windward. Half of the leg 

 was covered without any material change except that Mayflower 

 was gaining slowly, when her big balloon jibtopsail went to lee- 

 ward like a soap bubble, blowing completely out of the bolt rope, 

 and being hauled in over the stern* ; like a log line, after falling in 

 the water. This cost her some time, but in the end she lost little, 

 as she was better off with the jibtopsail quickly sent up in its 

 place, and the balloon had to be taken in, a troublesome job as the 

 wind was. Sachem, too, tried a ballooner and lost it, and Iroquois 

 fared still worse, as her big maintopmast staysail pulled the top- 

 mast out of her when half over the leg. No official times were 

 taken, as the judges' tug was not at the second mark, but the lead- 

 ers were timed from one of the press boats as follows: 



Mayflower 2 50 55 Sachem. 3 01 30 



Galatea 2 58 22 



Iroquois, Gitana, Mohican, and America followed in order but 

 were not timed. Thus Mayflower had gained 2m. 54s. on a 12-mile 

 reach. 



Another jibe brought the wind on the port beam of the last 

 leg, Mayflower traveling very fast until she struck a soft hole in 



Corrected. 



4 51 07 



5 07 47 

 5 13 34 

 5 31 38 

 5 32 41 



4 33 07 

 4 46 30 



5 52 57 



5 31 



40 



5 52 56 



5 32 



21 



5 19 34 



5 19 



34 



5 34 17 



5 33 



01 



the wind, when her speed lessened. Galatea continued to draw 

 up on her, but at last Mayflower reached past the calm and took 

 the strong oft shore breeze. Now came Galatea's turn, she too 

 *< rurk the calm and with it came a drenching downpour of rain, 

 the heaviest during the day. For a time she made little way 

 while May floAver was steaming home with the shore breeze, but at 

 last she too was free of the doldrums and off for Half-way Rock 

 at a good pace, but too late to make up anything on the 'leader. 

 Following her came Sachem and then the tail, the times being 

 as given in the following official table: 



FIRST CLASS SCHOONERS. 



„ Start. Finish. Actual. 



Sachem 11 35 00 4 35 20 5 00 20 



Iroquois 11 34 35 4 56 27 5 21 52 



Gitana 11 35 00 4 52 42 5 17 42 



Mohican 11 a5 00 5 06 38 5 31 38 



America 11 35 00 5 14 44 5 39 44 



FIBST CLASS SLOOPS. 



Mayflower 11 32 35 4 15 17 4 52 42 



Galatea 11 33 20 4 30 07 4 36 47 



, . SECOND CLASS SCHOONERS. 



Adrienne 11 40 00 Walkover. 



„ SECOND CLASS SLOOPS. 



Huron 11 40 00 5 32 57 



Stranger 11 40 00 5 32 66 



THIRD CLASS SLOOPS. 



Shadow 11 45 00 5 04 34 



Shona 11 45 00 5 19 17 



Of course the event of the day was the match between May- 

 flower and Galatea, but next in importance comes the perform 

 ance of Sachem. In spite of a heavy handicap she made a splen-" 

 did race, and overhauled both of the leaders when off the wind 

 The question between her and Iroquois is still open, as the latter 

 way ba01> sailed by a cruising crew and skipper and also camp tn 

 grief in the middle of the race, but all through the day Sachem 

 Sid theR ;? 1 Baling Of her class. The popular reports of the race 

 overlook the difference m size of the two. Sachem bcine- ftftPt arCa 



Iroquois but 80 on l.w.l. Thw * % aSSfafi 



ment in favor of the uniform classification proposed by the Forest 

 A£o STREAM. Had there been a definite and permanent schooner 

 Class between SOand 90ft., Iroquois as well as Sachem would have 

 been built up to it m all probability, and these two boats, the finest 

 of their class ever built, would have raced on even terms instep 

 of trusting to the chances of weather and measurement rules to 

 show which is the winner. They will no doubt meet often in the 

 future, but how much more exciting would the racing be, and how 

 much more valuable the results, had time allowance been oraeti 

 cally eliminated by a common length of waterline. Gitana won 

 easily among the keels and America was n&ver near enough to he 

 considered in the race, being beaten 45m. by Galatea Shadow 

 beat Shona by 15m., and though in the late races the little cutter 

 has been badly handicapped by a very poor suit of new sails she 

 can never hope to sail on even terms with a boat so much lareer as 

 Shadow, to say nothing of the new Pappoose. 



As to lhe main feature of the day, the result has been a disan- 

 pomtment to the many friends of Galatea who have believed 

 throughout that she was not fairly tested in the previous light 

 weather races and that she would do better in such a dav as was 

 found last week. The fight has been a fair one and there is a 

 certain satisfaction m having it definitely settled however dis- 

 tasteful the conclusion may be to us and to many others After 

 what we have seen of all the performances of Genesta and Gala- 

 tea with the two Burgess boats there is nothing to be said but 

 that the latter are faster in any ordinary racing weather from a 

 drift to a lower sail breeze, than their rivals, and this carries with 

 it the conclusion that Mayflower is faster than Irex under the 

 same conditions, judging, by the relative performances of Irex, 

 (..enesta and Galatea. Ibis means that, in the largest class vet 

 built, the tonnage boats, built under the old Y. R A rule are 

 slower than the best boat of the same length built in this coun 

 try and without regard to the tonnage rule ; and practically the 

 question is settled in favor ot the compromise against the tonnage 

 rule boats in the 80ft. class. 5 

 There may be yet some who decline to accept this conclusion 

 and who may urge that not one of the three is the best possible 

 boat on her dimensions, or further that weather may yet be met 

 in which they will badly distance the Boston boats, but neither of 

 these arguments is admissible. Given certain dimensions, no one 

 can argue over an ideally perfect boat that has never been built 

 but all must accept the, best existing representatives of each class' 

 and base a judgment on the actual performances. As to perform- 

 ance under other conditions than have thus far prevailed it is 

 merely a secondary consideration, and even though a boat mav 

 show great superiority under two reefs, or in a gale and sea it 

 will count but little from a racing standpoint if she cannot stand 

 the test of speed under fair working canvas and normal conditions 

 of weather such as yachtsmen care to race in. We have rejected 

 the results of such races as those of Genesea and Galatea over the 

 New York course as proving of themselves nothing ; but the same 

 cannot be said of a race like the present, when the conditions 

 were thoroughly fair to both types, and such as must commend 

 themselves to all sportsmen as encouraging no tvpe that is 

 radically bad, such as the old skimming dish. ' 



The question of type in the, abstract is not of necessity settled 

 but it is unlikely now that it will be disputed further in the large 

 class. In order to test it thoroughly it would be necessarv to build 

 a Doris or a Clara of Mayflower's length, and there, is no doubt 

 but that such a boat would be far and away the superior of any 

 l! F^ e V?,? nage , &£* SI 6 * ouilt, but the draft would be 17ft. instead 

 of the liy s and 13ft. of Galatea and Genesta. With the enormous 

 gain in stability, the extra sail area and an increased lateral plane 

 the disadvantages apparent in the present boats would disappear 

 and we could confidently expect to see the wonderful work of 

 Clara and Doris repeated in the first class. The difficulties in the 

 way of such a boat, however, are insuperable, eveu if she should 

 prove very much faster than Mayflower and her successors. The 

 first cost of such a vessel would be very great, she would be de- 

 barred from many courses and from mosr. harbors alono- our 

 coast, and there are few docks or railways that could handle her 

 The mechanical difficulties, too, would be great, if one considers 

 the relative size and weight of the average man compared with 

 the spinaker boom or topsail yard of a 52ft, and an 85ft. Clara, and 

 the great difficulty of handling the large spars on so narrow a 

 deck, as well as that of holding the big mast in place. It is highly 

 improbable now that such a boat will ever be built, and while the 

 friends of narrow beam feel not unnaturally a disappointment, 

 that the issue they have defended so long is not to be carried to a 

 decisive end in the hands of such masters as Mr. Watson and 

 Captain Barr, they do not fail to recognize the fact that while a 

 vindication of their position by a big Clara would be very accept- 

 able to them, the gain to yachting at large would be but small, as 

 for the reasons given above such a boat would not be practicable 

 for general use in England or America. 



No doubt the advent, of the Thistle will work good to both sides 

 but while her beam is great for a British racing boat, it must not 

 be taken for granted that all others in the future will be nearly as 

 wide, and in this connection we may quote Mr. Waton himself 

 who in regard to the choice of Thistle's dimensions says. "The 

 point at issue I took to be this: Given the laws of nature and cer- 

 tain lairs laid dmcii by Car New Tofk T. C, who shall most success- 

 fully build a yacht under these laws'r'" 



We have declined thus far to accept the common opinion as to 

 the abilities of Mayflower and Galatea, and the classes they repre- 

 sent until they had raced under more satisfactory conditions than 

 have before prevailed, but without attaching too much import- 

 ance to a single race, making all due allowance for the small rig 

 of Galatea and for the scratch crew with which she sailed last 

 week, recruited partly from local fishermen never before on her 

 deck, with the small margin between Genesta and Puritan in 

 their only decisive race still in view, and the possibility that 

 Galatea may yet in her races here make a better showing than she 

 has yet done, we must concede freely what we have thus far denied 

 —that in the question of speed in racing weather the boats of the 

 first class built m this country are superior to those built under 

 the tonnage rule of the Y. R, A. The conclusion that our op- 

 ponents will draw from this admission is easy to foresee. "The 

 Burgess boats are wide and have centerboards, the cutters are 

 narrow and have keels, ergo, beam is the correct thing and the 

 centerboard is better to windward than the keel." This is the 

 conclusion that will be reached by many, but the truth lies below 

 the surface for those who care to seek for it. As to type and nar- 

 row beam we have shown above that in the size of boat now under 

 consideration the narrow cutter of over 5 beams cannot practi- 

 cally possess the advantages of the smaller sizes, in which the 

 greatest successes have been scored, or in other words, that the 

 extreme type is not the best in these sizes, all the requirements of 

 racing being taken into account. Certainly in the mat ter of beam 

 more will be taken than has been done for a dozen years in Great 

 Britain, while the new boats will have an enormous advantage in 

 ballast over the old ones of the same beam. As to the exact pro- 

 portion, we place it at, about i% beams, or 18ft, absolute beam for 

 the length of Mayflower and Galatea and Thistle, and a little 

 more in the smaller sizes. This, it is true, is a great departure 

 from the 5% beams of Galatea, but it is by no means a "concession 

 to American ideas, or a surrender of the vital principles involved 

 in the original controversy between the British cutter and the 

 late lamented American sloop. 



