76 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 14, 1889. 



Regretting 1 1 sat, his limited time did not allow him even to 

 mention the many other incidents of his month's sl ay in Havana, 

 Mr. Mayden icturned to the subject of the deflection of hurri- 

 canes from iheir normal paths, a subject of infinite importance, 

 both theoretically and practically. To select a case that admira- 

 bly illustrated exoctlj what was meant, how and why the deflec- 

 tion tools place, and the manner in which it was possible to 

 anticipate and predict it, he illustrated by means df sis synchron- 

 ous weather charts, shown upon the screen together, the weather 

 conditions at noon, G. M. T. (7 A. M., lath meridian time ) Oct. 9 to 

 11, inclusive, ls«Sii, during which time out* of the most severe 

 hurricanes ever experienced in the Gulf of Mexico originated 

 south pf Culm and west of Jamaica, recurved in the usual latitude 

 nfl Cape San Antonio; bur then, completely foiling Padre Viiles' 

 published predh tinns. turned to the westward, swept over the 

 entire Gull' of Mexico and up the Mississippi Vallov to Lake 

 tluro a and the St. Lawrence Valley. Only the other day a report 

 was received from Oapt. .los6 Riera, with graphic details regard- 

 ing the li-ss of his vessel, the Spanish bark Ties Auroras, in the 

 very vertex of t his Terrific storm about ISO miles north of Cape 

 San Antonio, an:i the marvellous escape of six of the crew, thir- 

 teen in all, after kissing about for four days on wreckage from 

 his vessel. Toe charts showed that a strong anti-cyclone had 

 prevailed over the Middle Atlantic States, and that it was this 

 that had blocked the track of the advancing cyclone and forced 

 it westward before allowing it to go north, so that it eventually 

 reached the Atlantic by way of the Great Lakes and the St. 

 Lawrence Valley. 



The same considerations were shown to have held good in other 

 caees, notably that of the great Cuhan hurricane of last September, 

 and the comparatively recent hurricane that devastated our At- 

 lantic sea hoard the last few days of November, blocked in its 

 northw ard progress b> an anti-cyclone over the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence, and venting its baffled rage upon the Samana and a dozen 

 other vessels, sent to the bottom with all on board, almost in sight 

 of their homes, firesides and friends. The physical explanation 

 ot Ibis interaction between cyclone and anti-cyclone is simple 

 enough, ane lies in the fact that the fuel of the cyclonic furnace 

 is warm, tuoisi, ocean air, which ascends, precipitates its moisture, 

 and is carried away ill the upper atmospheric currents, to descend 

 again in the anti-cyclone or "high" as cool, dry air. Just as a 

 great forest lire changes its course when it meets a clearing and 

 dies out or runs around it, so a tropical cyclone follows the lines 

 where its fuel is mostabundant, and rages With greatest intensity 

 where the tropical sun and tepid ocean currents load the heavy 

 atmosphere with moisture. In the words of Shakespeare, that 

 immortal painter ol the smiles and passions of nature and man- 

 kind, "The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction robs the 

 vast sea." 



Four synchronous weather charts, prepared from hundreds of 

 reports received from vessels off our coast during the November 

 hurricane. sented at: a glance the most striking features of 

 thai great fttwtti luring the period of greatest intensity, and the 

 progrenB or growth of a hunicane in the direction of heaviest 

 rainfall was illustrated by a weather map for Aug. 21, 1888. 



The March blizzard, one of the most notable storms of the 

 century, and of a very different type from those that had just 

 been considered, was illustrated by means of six lantern slides, 

 in colors, showing the piogrt ss from west to east of a long line or 

 trough of low barometer extending from Hudson Bay to the Guff 

 of Mexico, moving toward the Atlantic at the rate of fiOO miles a 

 day. in the form 01 a great arched squall, whose front was more 

 than a thousand miles in length, in front southeasterly winds 

 c rawing supplies ot warm moist ocean air from far down within 

 the tropics, and in rear a long battalion of cold non heasterly gales, 

 carrying tcmptiatuie below the freezing point far down the line 

 into Louisiana and Mississippi. The speaker dwelt upon the 

 enormous increase in the energy of the storm when it reached 

 the Atlantic, the terrific combat between Arctic and Gulf Stream 

 forces, and the obstruction encountered by the center of the line 

 in the form of a stationary an'i-eyelone about Newfoundland. A 

 track chart, giving the tracks- of vessels and a barometer diagram 

 illustrating the fluctuation of the ban. meter at selected positions 

 ashore and at sea were discussed and it was stated that 138 vessels 

 were blown ashore, sunk or damaged along the coast of the 

 United States north of HaTteras. Otf the coast, west of the 40th 

 meridian, some 20 vessels were sunk or abandoned, among them 

 the gallant New York pilot boats Phantom and Enchantress and 

 the yacht Cythera with all her brave crew, friends and fellow 

 yachtsmen of his present audience and old members of the Sea- 

 wanhaka Club. Among the abandoned vessels was the American 

 schooner VY. L. White, arid this derelict vessel commenced a long 

 aimless voyage across the Atlantic, at the mercy of the winds 

 and currents, with uo hand at the helm by day and no lights at 

 night to warn navigators of their danger. Ten months and ten 

 da^ s later, after wandering more than 5,000 miles, she stranded 

 on one of the little rocky islands of the Hebrides, off the north- 

 west c last of Si inland, and has thus completed the last act of this 

 great, ocean tragedy. 



The follow ing conclusions were quoted from the speaker's mon- 

 ograph description of the great storm, recent ly published by the 

 Hydrographic Office: "it has enforced in most unmistakable 

 terms i lie importance, not only to our extensive, shipping in- 

 terests, but to the people of all our great sea-board cities, of the 

 establishment of telegraphic signal stations at outlying points off 

 the coast; at St. Johns tor Cape Race) and Sable Island, to watch 

 the movement of areas of high barometer upon which that of the 

 succeeding 'low' so largely depends; and at, Bermuda, Nassau, 

 and various points in the West Indies and Windward Islands, that 

 we may be fore warned of the approach and progress of the terrific 

 hurricanes which, summer after summer, bring devastation and 

 destruction along ourGulfand Atlantic coast, and of whose fury 

 this great storm is an approximate example and a timely 

 reminaer. Moreover, there are other important objects to be 

 gained, in addition to the better forecasting of stormy weather 

 off our coasts and along the transatlantic routes. Every 

 edition of the Pilot Chart records tire latest reported posi- 

 tion of numerous derelict vessels and other dangers to naviga- 

 tion—submerged wrecks, buoys adrift, icebergs, and masses of 

 field ice. But at present such reports are necessarily several 

 days old, and the present positions of these dangerous obstruc- 

 tions must be roughly estimated, allowing for their probable 

 drift in the interval of time that has elapsed since the report was 

 made. There are recorded also, the probable limits of frequent 

 fog for the ensuing month and the regions where fog was most 

 frequently reported during the preceding month. But general 

 averages only give the regions where fog is most likely to be en- 

 countered; they do not and cannot attempt to state whether or no 

 there will be a fog at a given place at a given time. Butscientific 

 research and practical inventive genius, advancing hand in hand 

 for the benefit of mankind, have discovered not only the laws 

 governing the formation of the dense hanks of fog that have 

 made the Grand Banks dreaded by navigators, but also the means 

 by which certain facts may be observed, telegraphed, charted, 

 and studied a thousand miles away, and the occurrence of fog pre- 

 dicted with almost unfailing accuracy, even while the very ele- 

 ments themselves arc only preparing for its formation. By 

 means of such predictions the safety of navigation along the 

 greatest highway of ocean traffic in the world will be vastly 

 increased— routes traveled yearly at almost railway speed by ves- 

 sels intrusted with more than a million human lives and property 

 of an aggregate value of fully a billion dollars." 



The lecturer closed his lecture by referring again to the com- 

 mercial importance of the great body of water known as the Bay 

 of North America, exhibiting diagrams that brought out very 

 clearly to t he entire audience the various features of greatest im- 

 portance in connection with a comprehensive and effective sys- 

 tem of telegraphic weather service for the benefit of the com- 

 merce of every nation frequenting these waters, as well as of the 

 inhabitants of its coasts and islands, from Venezuela to New- 

 foundland. A photograph of a superb relief model, the property 

 of E. It. Butler & Co., of Philadelphia, illustrated the general 

 topographic relief— an essential feature in connection with 

 meteorology; a chart of ocean currents indicated their important 

 hearing on the subject , and a map of telegraph lines and cables, 

 existing and proposed, showed that the shore and islands were 

 joined by an almost perfect network, giving the most admirable 

 facilities for an almost perfect system. The conclusion of Mr. 

 Haydeirs paper was as follows: 



"In apology for having detained you so long to-night. I must 

 plead the tremendous importance of the subject you have chosen 

 for my remarks, the vast field it covers, the completeness of the 

 records and data at my command, and my own absorbing interest 

 in the subject. Here, in this great bay of North America commer- 

 cial interests are at stake of vastly greater importance than in 

 any similar body of water in the world — interests involving every 

 commercial nation. To the north are the British Provinces, al- 

 ready cooperating with our Signal Office, descendants of our 

 own forefathers, and linked to ourselves by the strong- 

 est bonds of geographic position and commercial interests. 

 Then comes tins Gn at Republic, just growing into the full 

 strength of manhood, and reaching out the hand of peace 

 and friendship, not of conquest, to all mankind. To the 

 south, the Spanish American republics and the Greater and 

 Lesser Antilles, where almost every European flag is represented, 

 and where the benefits of an efficient weather service, conducted! 

 by means of -united efforts and well-directed co-operation, woulq 



be enormous. The completion of the Nicaragua Canal will soon 

 change the great routes of ocean traffic, and divert into these 

 waters half the tonnage of the world. Coincident with my 

 recent visit, to Havana, a Department of Marine Meteorology, or 

 a Marine Observatory, has been ■ stablished under the direction 

 of my esteemed friend Oapt. Luis Garcia y Carbonell, of the 

 Spanish navy; and the French and Spanish cable companies, with 

 a broad-minded and generous liberality, have granted him the 

 franking privilege for his telegrams over all their lines— will it 

 be too much to hope that our own companies will grant us the 

 same privilege over their lines from Key West to Havana, aud to 

 Tampico, Vera Cruz, and Progrcso? 



"Here at home we have a su perb weather service, the admiration 

 of the world— a fact I would call to the attention of that portion 

 of the press that racks i:s brains to get up cheap jokes about it— 

 but circumstances have compelled it to devote almost its entire 

 attention to the pressing needs of our great inland States, and to 

 almost neglec t commerce, and the seaboard. I was amused the 

 other day to read of tho anxiety shown by Lieut. Maurv. when in 

 the full .flush of the success of his great system of meteorological 

 observation at sea, to have the ay-sty m extended to the land: ' In 

 my humble way," said he, "I have been advocating tho establish- 

 ment of a similar system of weather reports and telegraphic 

 warniugs, not only for the shipping, but for the farmers also of 

 the United States." Shades of Maury, loon down upon ns now, 

 and lend the influence of your great name to help regain for your 

 beloved shipping some small share of the benefits of tho great 

 system that you did so much toward organizing! 



"I want to live to see the day when there is a first-order light at 

 Hatteras Shoal, Matanella Reef and ilillsboro Inlet, in addition to 

 the magnificent lights we have already, and when weather fore- 

 casts at least as good as those signalled off to slopping at Hong 

 Kong or in the Bay of Bengal are available to navigators at, every 

 prominent, lighthouse, and headland of the shores of the great 

 Bay of North America, and I expect, to do it, too. I intended to 

 have read extracts from at least a few hurricane reports from 

 vesselB of our own build, and flying the stars and stripes— the 

 thrilling experience of the S. S. Knickerbocker, or Manhattan 

 (two good old New York names), in these great hurricanes off our 

 coast— but time forbids. I cannot forbear, however, from reiter- 

 ating the fact that it is to an American that we owe the discovery 

 of the law of storms in almost all the perfection and simplicity 

 that we know it to-day — a discovery that has revolutionized 

 meteorology and resulted in tho saving of thousands of lives and 

 millions of dollars worth of property at sea. The empirical laws 

 of Kepler in astronomy, the grand result* in biology of Darwin's 

 vast accumulation of facts, aud trie deduction therefrom in the 

 hands of that great master, find their parallel in the thorough 

 and painstaking work in collecting data, the scientific skill and 

 insight in their consideration and comprehension, and the life- 

 time's devotion to this one subject, of Mr. Redfield, of New York." 



MEASUREMENT QUESTION ON LAKE ONTARIO 



FOR several seasons, in fact since the beginning of the Interna- 

 tional races, yachtsmen have been cent en t to follow the racing, 

 either through sailing their own boats or w atching intently the great 

 contests of the large craft, witbeu am thought of the rules under 

 which races were sailed, or ot their influence on building and racing 

 in the future. Quiie recently, however, a decided change has taken 

 place, and by no means the least promising feature of yachting for 

 the coming :>easou is the strong feeling that has lately manifested 

 itself among yachtsmen in differeht locations in favor of improved 

 methods of measurement. The matter is no* under discussion in 

 New York and the East, and at the same time it has been started on 

 Lake Ontario. For some time past it has been evident that the rule 

 in use by the Lake Y. R A,, length plus V.xjji area divided by 2, 

 did not tux sail heavily enough, and that the yachts built under U 

 would be by no means the best for the use required of them, and the 

 yacatemen of Toronto and Hamilton in particular have been quietly 

 dKcii-sing the question of a change of the rule. The matter has 

 been publicly brorclieo by an editorial in the Toronto Empire, with 

 the result that a whole shipsmith's shop has neen turned loose in 

 print, and a hot controversy is now being waged. The article m 

 question, under the rather comprehensive and ambitious title of 

 -How the Speed of Yachts may be Greatly Increased," icviews first 

 the natural advantages of Toronto and the backward condition of 

 yacht racing, continuing as follows: 



"Oue reason for this is founa simply in the fact that too littleatten- 

 tion has been paid to model, that m-tead of the builders of the yachts 

 which have been turned out during the past few years being supplied 

 with a model from a designer of ability, they have been allowed to 

 woric their own sweet wilts. Another reason for the poor showing 

 of Toronto yachts is the present system of measurement of the Lake 

 Y R. A. A length and sail area rule of measurement will not tend to 

 develop a style of craft suited to the requirements of the lake, and at 

 the same time give a fair shew to a number of the yachts which have 

 done good work in the past A rule should be devised that would 

 meet these ends. That beam sbould not be taxed and waterline 

 length should be taxed so heavily is unfair to the narrow cutter, of 

 which there are a number on the lake, all of them either built here 

 or imported foi racing purposes, and it will also result in great beamy 

 boats, unsightly and unwieldy, although, perhaps fa.-,t through the 

 great sail spread their excessive stability permits theio to carry. It 

 may ba said that sail area is the corelative of beam and that sail 

 area is taxed. This is true, but the tax on sail is not sufficient. A 

 rule should be adopted by the Lake Y. R A. that will tax loaoline 

 length about as much as the present mle does, tax sail area more, 

 and also tax beam This would give the narrow cutters on the lake 

 a chance, and at the same time encourage the building of a nicely- 

 proportioned, fast and servicrab'e type of yacht." 



\V e can agree most heartily with the writer so far as the evils of 

 the present rule, the lack of good design, and the need of a better 

 system of measurement are concerned ; but the remedy proposed is 

 not only unnecessary but impracticable, and the arguments used to 

 support it in this and subsequent articles can only serve to mislead 

 and confuse. Nowhere else in the country has the work of organ- 

 ization been so complete aud rapid as on Lake Outario. During its 

 brief existence the L. Y R. A. has succeeded in uniting all the clubs 

 on the lake m one body, governed by one system of measurement, 

 one classification, and unifoim sailing rules, with a series of annu-il 

 races as part of a cruise from port to port around the whole circuni 

 ferenci of the lake, thus insuring a pleasant cruise of t vo weeks 

 with its scrub races and t ie livelier and more exciting competition of 

 the regular rac s at ea:-b port, and a great deal of social intercourse 

 and good feeling between all lake yachtsmen, whether sailing under 

 the Stars and Stripes or th3 red ensign. This in itself is no small 

 matter; if anything like the same progress has been made by yachts- 

 man in any other locality we have failed to hear of it; and taken all 

 together, Lake Ontario stands to-day ahead in many respects of the 

 Atlantic Coast. It U true that there are a number of serious defects, 

 but they are all matters of detail, and as long as a wide-awake and 

 efficient organization exists to deal with them, there need be no 

 apprehension that they will not be speedily removed. All of these 

 evils are only what must be encountered in the attempt to organiz? 

 into one goo, I Heet a number or boati bi'ftt at Various times aud 

 pla.es and under no rules, bad rules, or rules good in themselves but 

 unsuited to the locality; and also to create out of almost nothing a 

 good and permanent system ot measurement and classification 



The lake fleet to-day is composed of the greatest possible, variety 

 of craft, the old American skimming dish imported from New York, 

 the many modifications of the same type turned out by local builders 

 about the La ice; the strange nondescripts that have drifted in from 

 Lake Brie, the Georgian Bay, the Lower St. Lawrence; the narrow 

 Scotch cutters, imported from across the Atlantic; and the many 

 amateur attempts at the modern typi or craft. In this nauti;al 

 "Happy Family" are the old MetJieh'an boat Cygnet, once known to 

 New York yachtsmen ; the first Verve, Watson's 5-tonner. with her 

 younger sister, Oypris; the new Burgess compromise, Merle; the old 

 iron cutter, Rivet, built at Glasgow in 185(1: the new Smith schooner 

 Oriole; the moderate draft cutter Aileen, designed for the l ike by 

 Walsou; the famous 10-tonner Madge; the little Boston cutter Vel 

 nette, a moderately wide boat; the new Cuthbert sloop White Wings 

 aud her sister Atalanta, once a contestant for the America's Cup; 

 and many yachts of less note built on the Lake, or imported from 

 various places. With such a fleet of all sizes, from 20ft. to 70. it is 

 small wonder that the classification is unsatisfactory, the entries p or 

 m some classes, and that the one rule in general use does not satisfy 

 all. As for the special complaint of the Empire, and the proposed 

 remedy, quoted above, there is nothing to show that the fault lies 

 with the general form of the rule, or that any radical change is 

 necessary, but only that, as on the coast, a heavier penalty must be 

 placed on sail. As for a rule that will make tho narrow cutter, long 

 outbuilt at home and superseded by more modern boats, win from 

 any sort of craft, such a retrogression and clog on the development 

 of yacht design wouIJ not be tolerated for a moment; by any intelli- 

 gent yachtsmen ; and the type of boat that such a rule would en- 

 courage would be entirely unsuited for Lake Ontario, however well 

 adapted for racing in brititsh waters. 



With a warm climate, smooth water, and where even the smallest 

 boats carry a large Corinthian crew in place ot a few picked profes- 

 sionals, the narrow 5-tonner is far inferior to a wider boat for the 

 mixed racing, cruisiug and general sailing that the Lake affords, and 

 the rule of the L. Y. R A. should be framed to encourage the modern 

 cutter of medium beam, and not the obsolete tonnage racer. That 

 the present rule does riot do this is very true, but the remedy, at 



least, as far as can be seen at present, lias in the direction of a 

 heavier tax on sail, rather thin in a resurrection of the old attempts 

 to tax Ihe three dimensions, length, beam aud draft. The strong 

 claim of the length and sail area rule, fun t, through sail area both beain 

 and depth can be effectually taxed, is quietly pa-s-ed over, and the 

 defects of the present rule are laid to its method, rather than to the 

 detahs of its construction. The proposed remedy to include beam in 

 the rule, is not only impracticable but useless, as beam can be reached 

 directly, aud to any extent that may be desirable, by taxing sail. 



Though it is not very clear after reading the Empire's suggestions 

 bow the speed of yachts may be greatly increased ny the passage of 

 a rule that, will aid small and narrow cutters win from larger and 

 more powerful boats; at least one good purpose has been served in 

 arousing a discussion, and a correspondent over the nom deplume of 

 "Shackle" disputes some of the points made, showing at nre same 

 time where there is ample room for improvement in the Late yaent- 

 nig. In commenting on "'Shackle's" letter the Umpire speaks as foi- 

 lows of the present lenglh and sail area rule in use in Great Britain: 



"We predict a failure for the length and sail area measurement, 

 for the following reason : Why should not a Yaranx of :\y £ beams, or 

 I'viui I) licanis, be built, and is there not reason to believe thai, her 

 greatly increased size will give her an advantage which will enable 

 her to heat with ease her narrower rival'/ Now, if this increase in 

 size was equitably taxed, we think the ease w ould be different, and 

 that the boat of rea-onaule beam would prove the faster." 



Certainly, the writer must know that the imaginary Yarana with 

 more beam would not be allowed anymore sail to drive tbe extra 

 beam and size; or if she did take more sail, she must at the same 

 time cut off tbe length. This, in fact, was done in Petronilla, the 

 rival craft. 2ft, wider and 2ft. shorier and entitled to carrv more sail: 

 but she failed sigually to beat Yarana. 



The discussion has awakened much interest about the Lake, and 

 two other writers, "Spanshackle" and "Bobstay," have joined in. 

 We quote the following from the former's letter because it is a 

 sptcially good sample of an argument which comes up whenever the 

 measurement, question is mentioned, ana which has done more than 

 anything else to ninder a correct understanding of the real points in- 

 volved in every rule: 



"We hear a great deal in tbe?e days about, 'taxing. 1 None of the 

 yacht clubs appear to be able to get along comfortably without tax- 

 ing something. If P is not the lenytb, it is the beam, or the draft, or 

 me sail area, and now I havn received a letter from a friend in 

 Buffalo, a member of tbe yacht club there, saying that their club 

 considers stability ought to be -taxed' instead of sail area, and ask- 

 ing me to frame an appropriate rule for the measurement of stability. 

 Those conversant with the labor attacned to working out curves of 

 stability can appreciate wna' this involves, and will be inclined to 

 sympathize with any attempt to do away with "taxes' altogether 



'•before anew nils is e-tanlished it will be well first to settle the 

 principle upon which r.he classification is to be made, wlieth^r upon 

 the dimensions, displaci -incur, or other tonnage, sail area, stability or 

 upon what conitination of either or any of them with others, This 

 done, let the ride be framed in such a manner ibat it shall be thor- 

 oughly comprehensive. a<>d at the sam-; tunc afford the designers all 

 possible scope, and noc hamoer him vriih 'galling taxes' on eh her 

 nulls, spars; sails orballnst. Let "size' he the s'nuaard of classifica- 

 tion for speed, and let that 'size' be arrived at in a common sense 

 manner." 



The writer attempts to make a dis'inction which does not really 

 exist between a rule of measuiemei t as a good thing, and a tax as 

 something in every way bad and undesirable. livery rule of meas- 

 urement is simply a tax on certain dimensions or element- w hich 

 eni< r irto the rule: if a "menu lergth" rule, then length is taxed, 

 overhang is taxed, appearance and utditv nre taxed, and beam, draft, 

 sail nnd ballast are left to run vild. If stutfflity is ihe standard then 

 length is allowed to go free, while beam, ballast, and draft are 

 restricted; it sail area aMne is taken tupn again length is free, white 

 bf am and draff are limited in other - words "l .xr d." The two words 

 I'mtt and tax are synonymous, and the recorirzed fnnction of a rule 

 is to establish just and proper limits in all desirable directions, 

 whether of length, breadth and depth, bulk, sail arc i, or ia some 

 other direction 



To speak of abolishing taxes and making "size" the standard is 

 such un ohvious abs irdity that one is 'einpted to laugh at it, and yet 

 th s same old suag has stood in the way or every proposed improve 

 raent in measurement rules for years and year's. If yacht building 

 and yacht racing are to exi-t. some limit must be put on sizs; not on 

 any oue dimension, leaving the others onen to evasion, nut on enough 

 to restrain anv abnormal development ia draft, length, sail or some 

 other direction. The origin of every lule will be found to be in this 

 idea of taxing size, and so loim as a rule did this it answered per- 

 fectly well. The old length rule practically tixed size in the first 

 instance, as all the boa's racing under it were of one mor'el, and the 

 longer ooat «ai at ihe same tim • pr portiniallv larger and faster. 

 As soon ass line geniu-. di covered th-it by increasing the ueaui he 

 could carry more sail and travel faster on tbe same length, thus 

 measuring* no in re, thp rule (e.ised to measure size, and its value, 

 depait-d. Tne old tonnage rule origin illy measured tbe size, the 

 boat' being all of simil ir proportions, but soon the raking sternp'osfc 

 e>m • in, then the fact that depth wis untaxed be. am° g -ne ally 

 r^eoaniz-d, and finally the introduction of tne lead keel opened the 

 way to a still more extreme evasion of the r.ile. until avery large aiid 

 powe rful boat c. ul 1 be built to measure actually less by the rute than 

 a small craft. It is the same with all ml -s ilius far tested; at first 

 they work well, comp, ti i «i h> c »mes keeni r, men succeed in evading 

 the rule in sorn» way, and finally it becomes as worthless and bad as 

 the old length or the tonnage rules. The oroide n of measuring 

 '•size' - in a yacht is still unsolved, and unfortunately -'Spanshackle" 

 fails to show how it majy be don" in a common sense manner 



It is probable that no thoroughly sat i -factory solution of tho prob- 

 lem will ever be reached, but the most promising method yet devise i 

 seems to be that by length mil sab area combined in some propor- 

 tion yet to he determined. Whar the e proporii ms must he we shall 

 leave to a subsequent time, bur as far as the L. Y. R, A, is concerned 

 Hie next step forward which it must t ike is very plain -a considerable 

 increase of the proportion of sail area in it< presen rule. Such a step 

 will be provisional and experimental rather than final, but it. w ill be 

 followed by a direct imp-ovement of the deer and will also indicate 

 in a shi rt time w-oere a ""urther improvement mat be made One 

 important advantage ot the length and sail area rule over manv 

 others is that tne influence of the "rule on hull or sail m iy be readily 

 changed from time to time with little disturbance, whereas any 

 diange in most other rules means a compl-ie ov.-rturnii g of the 

 est-ibli-hed order of thing?, as of late in Uriiis.'i yaebtinp. when the 

 old rule in its final form was abandoned pnor to the building of 

 Thistle and Yarana. 



In a second letter to the Empire the original critic, "Shackle," 

 offers some suggestions of such practical nature that we quote them 

 in full. 



"i. As to the question of classification, I would suggest that the 

 various classes be called by their maximum w.l, limit: thus, if SOffc. 

 is the largest limit for a diss call it the '30rt. class.' If 35ft., 'the :15ft. 

 class,' etc. The reasou tor this is, that to an outsider tbe present 

 system of numbering tbe classes does noc convey the idea of a classi- 

 fication according to size, but rather of condition and quality. This, 

 to a yachtsman, may appear absurd, but it is, nevertheless', a fact 

 that for this reason a large number of spectators take no interest in 

 any other than the 'first clasi' yachts. The divisions might he as 

 follows: 



30ft, class (new) 20ft. on l.w.l. and under. 

 25ft. class 20 to 25ft. l.w.l. 

 30ft. class (new) 25 to 30ft. J.wl. 

 35ft. class 30 to 35ft. l.w 1. 

 46ft. clas< (new) 35 to 45ft. l.w.l. 

 55ft. cliss 45 to 55ft, l.w.l, 

 75ft. class 55ft. and over. 

 "This is the same classification as the Inter-Lake Yacht Racing 

 Association up to tbe 45ft. class, which is their largest. Let it bs un - 

 derstood that subsequent changes be made at the 5 or 10ft. mark. It 

 may be objected that we cannot afford to sustain this number, but by 

 spending less money in dinners aud suppers, aud devoting the funds 

 more to the encouragement of yat hi iug, there should be no difficulty . 

 As before suggested, the prizes of the larger classes rnitrht be con- 

 siderably reduced, aud by spending no more money than we do at 

 present a be.ter result obtained. Tho prizes might be as follows: 



Class. 1st. 2d. 3d. 4 th. 



20ft $15 $10 $ 5 $ 3 



25ft 25 15 10 5 



30ft 30 20 15 10 



35ft 40 25 15 10 



45ft 50 35 20 10 



65ft 50 35 20 10 



15ft 50 35 



This would make a total of $508. 

 "2. All classes should start together and by a 'one gun start,' i.e., 

 all timed from oue gun. IbU will be a premium on seamanship and 

 promptitude aud reduce the work of the, timekeeper. The hour of 

 starting should be the same for all the races during the cruise, and 

 the mode of finishing uniform 



"3. The first race of the cruise should be on a fixed date, so that 

 our crews (who are mostly Corinthian ones) may know exactly when 

 to arrange their holidays, and it will prevent the clashing of dates 

 with our sister association on Lake Erie. 



"4. The annual meeting of delegates should be held in the autumn, 

 so that any alterations tien made can be acted upon during tbe win- 

 ter, and any person building will do so with the assurance that no 

 alteration can be made for at least one season. 



