488 



[Jan. 8, 1869. 



A CRUISE ON SUPERIOR. 



S a theSi^ s^ste^Ontario ^OttawaT T 

 way was bought 

 chants engaged 



Zav^^tf^^tecv^Wt oi\h* main line The me r- 

 , I lanis engaged in hotel keeping, in selling stores to the eontrac- 



Mnce Arthur's Landing Jeapen suaaeniy imo fu— . »» » 

 ival for Dnluth, and became a flourishing: town ot 5,000 inhabit- 

 ants, with a mayor and corporation and all the usual machinery 



It was in the early days of Port Arthur when this growth was 

 h int; ftromise, hut had not actually been consummated, that the 



three sailing shifts, and had even made an essay, which ended ta 

 disgust and nausea, in the direction of catamarans. His soul 

 hank, red lo own a perfect boat, one which could he trusted not to 

 eansize even should the helmsman take his eyes off the lee gun- 

 wale for a minute or two to light his pipe; one which would go 

 through a heavy sea without pounding and thumping; one which 

 could he slept "in with some decent: approach to comfort and 

 warmth- and last but not least one which was not practically cut 

 in halves by a beast of a centerboard always getting jammed and 

 frozen us in l'rostv weather, and combining with aforesaid pound- 

 ing and thumping to pull the boat to pieces, and make a shaky, 

 lfcakv old basket of her by the time her owner had got used to her 

 little eccentricities and peculiarities of character, and had 

 worked her into her best sailing form. 



In conjunction with a friend he had built a good wholesome 

 full-bodied compromise yawl of 5 tons and had got a lot of 

 amusement and satisfaction out of her„hut the friend and he had 



much for him to handle alone. Then again the friend, inclined 

 to luxurv and ease, inserted elegant cushions and curtains which 

 the writer wetted and spoiled in the first blow he was caught in. 

 Lastly the friend and he did not agree on the subject of ballast, 

 the former wanted headroom in cabin and to lower the floor and 

 the latter wanted to raise the floor so as to concentrate and in- 

 crease the ballast and "bring her down to the turn of her bilge." 

 The disagreement weut so far that the two began to look coldly 

 on one another when they met and to talk at onf another at the 

 yacht cluh meetings, and the writer joyfully assented to take a 

 little less than what he had put into the Lurlme for his interest, 

 and go his deep draft, heavily ballasted way alone. Here he was 

 then high and drv in the spring of the year, with the ice on the 

 bay showing signs of weakness and no boat. What was to be 

 done? Build again, of course, and he was soon in the agonies of 

 designing His purse was short, so Ms boat must be small and 

 cheap 20ft. waterline, by 5ft. beam was decided on, she must be 

 eminently handy, so he stuck to his favorite yawl rig. She must 

 be a good' sea boat and carry her sail well and claw off any lee 

 shore no matter how hard it blew. So he gave her a flush 

 deck a good draft of water and both fore gripe and drag 

 to excess. Here was her great;fault, the longitudinal plane was 

 so great and the frictional resistance engendered so excessive that 

 in lto-ht winds and especially down wind she was simply no- 

 where: but otherwise, considering that Winnie was designed and 

 built by amateurs, that she was ballasted with wrought iron 

 scrip mostly inside and piled as we best could, that her bottom 

 and keel was studded with projecting rivet and bolt heads and 

 merely paid over with tar, she was a mighty good boat, could 

 stand out in anything, and when it fairly howled could hold her 

 own with the big center-boards and the Lurline to windward, in 

 spite of her small size. < 



Winnie came down the mam street on rollers and was dumped 

 into the drink from the wharf in very unceremonious fashion, 

 and immediately began to leak like an old basket. She was 

 raised, a nail hole discovered and plugged, and she went back into 

 the water to leak no more. She was quickly masted and rigged, 

 and contentment began to overspread the hitherto worried coun- 

 tenance of her owner. A few trials on the bay merely wetted his 

 •it) petite for cruising, and be longed for an extended trip, to 

 plow the waters of the unsalted sea outside the capes of the bay, 

 and to explore the long stretch of broken, almost unknown, coast 

 to the east of him. 



The opportunity came at last, and with a boon companion, a 

 lawyer, and the office boy as crew, the Winnie stole gently out 

 one 'evening in midsummer from her moorings. A gale from the 

 south had been blowing all day, and a great ground swell was 

 rolling in, hut the wind had dropped almost to a calm and pro- 

 gress was slow for the first hour, but as soon as the land was 

 Shaken off the breeze freshened to a Si tfl blow, and darkness com- 

 ing down with every propect of a dirty night, the skipper got. hold 

 of the range lights in the Raministiquia River and ran in to a 

 snug berth for the night. . . 



On deck at daylight next morning he finds the glass nowhere, 

 •md a few rays of clouds traveling eastward at a rate which said 

 much for the velocity of the wind behind them, but all was quiet 

 on the water and there, was plenty of shelter ahead for some dis- 

 tance, so we boldly put to sea. No sooner across the bar than 

 down came the gale, with a shriek, and down comes our mainsail 

 just about as quickly, and away we go under the tiny foresail for 

 the harbor at Welcome Islands. The sea gets up in a tumbling 

 confused conflict between last night's southerly swell and this 

 mdrnihg'S Westerly blow, and between the two our dingy (a long 

 Racine canoe) sheers wildly about, fills, upsets and breaks the 

 painter. To pick her up in this turmoil is almost out of the ques- 

 tion, so we scud on to leeward with the little foresail threatening 

 to blow to ribbons every moment.; double in between the two 

 islands and let go in the snug little harbor among the fishing 

 boats. Breakfast over the crew and cabin boy clamber across the 

 island to look for the canoe, and there, sure enough, she is coming 

 bottom up right for the island. "Will she come ashore V" Our 

 entnuslaBlic lawyer gets ready for a struggle with wind and wave; 

 but no, she drifts by just out of reach into the smooth water under 

 the lee of the island. The envoys come back and report to the 

 skipper. It is blowing a hurricane now, and if we, lose our hold 

 of the island and get blown off there is no other harbor for a long 

 distance to leeward, but our dingy must not be sacrificed without 

 an effort. So the mainsail is double-reefed and the staysa il single 

 and out we go— through the foam and spindrift. The canoe is 

 sighted without much search, and we bear down to leeward of it. 

 "Steady now, boys," down goes the helm and we come up to the 

 wind w'ith canvas slatting and snapping about our ears. Slowly 

 she loses her way and approaches the canoe. We have gauged 

 the distance to a nicety, and she is scarcely moving as she comes 

 alongside. "Now, then, look alive/" Munroe leans over the side 

 and grasps the bow and lifts it inside the riggings, the skipper 

 gets hold of the stern and the cabin boy is ready with a rope, and 

 in a trice the canoe is on board and securely lashed— but we are 

 too anxious yet to chuckle or exult. 



The island is a mile to windward, and the little break it makes 

 to the sea is getting less and less effective every moment. "Fill 

 away!" the. ship heels to the cockpit coaming, and the cabin boy 

 tries to get under the canoe in his efforts to keep as far on top of 

 the hoat as possible. " "Bout ship!" and she is up in the wind and 

 aft' on the other tack under her rag of canvas with a steadiness and 

 precision which astonish the skipper, and he begins to smile at 

 once and enjoy the sail. No question about climbing to windward 

 when she stays as readily as that, and he begins to speculate upon 

 the feasibility of continuing the voyage. What to do with the 

 canoe is the great trouble. In comparatively smooth water it is 

 all very well to have her turned up on deck; hut how will it be 

 outside? We abandoned t he idea of putting to sea again, and 

 settled down to dry blankets, read, and put in time generally, but 

 not for long. 



After noon the wind shifted a little and brought, the rollers 

 sweeping into the mouth of the little harbor, and started Winnie 

 jumping and straining at her cable in an alarming manner. So 

 up comes the anchor and the double-reefed mainsail again, and 

 we beat up for the lee of the weather island. The wind com- 

 mences to fall almost as soon as we get the hook in the mud again 

 and after a hearty supper and a chat and pipe over a camp-fire on 

 shore we turn in, thoroughly tired and with a full confidence that 



we are perfectly safe for the night and shall have fine weather on 

 the morrow. , . , 



Nor are we disappointed. Morning shows us only a fresh 

 pleasant breeze blowing and scarcely any sea running, and no 

 time is lost in getting the anchor apeak and proceeding on our 

 voyage. A light, fair wind wafts us gently out to Thunder Cape, 

 and we slide slowly from the back of one long swell to another 

 and realize what must, have been out hero yesterday, with a 200- 

 mile sweep for the sea to get up in, and the giant cliffs ot Thunder 

 Cape towering 1,300ft. into the air for it to break against, and we 

 all feel a little hit relieved that prudence triumphed over daring 

 and kept us in port. At Silver Inlet we stop an hour to buy some 

 stores and get further posted as to the severity of yesterday's 

 gale, and find the natives as deeply impressed with its force as 

 ourselves. Every one of your readers, 1 fancy, has heard of this 

 curious mine discovered on a little rocky island so small that the 

 waves broke over it at every gale, and that it had to be artificially 

 enlarged by crib work before it would furnish room enough to 

 stand the pumping and hoisting machinery upon. The workmen's 

 houses, etc., and the company's stores and offices had to be located 

 on the mainland a mile away, and at the time i '•write of the mine 

 had been sunk to a depth of 1,000ft. below lake level, and the 

 crust between the drifts and the wafer was often so thin that the 

 water oozed through and t he surf could be heard roaring over 

 head. A year or two after the mine became so leajcv and the 

 pumping so expensive that it was abandoned as unprofitable, and 

 the village and works are now rotting away. 



Off again we drifted slowly down to the mouth of Black Bay, a 

 huge fiord in the coast line thirty miles deep and six or seven 

 wide. The breeze ia almost dead and Muuro amuses himself 

 trolling from the canoe and is soon rewarded by catching a mag- 

 nificent salmon trout of about 151bs. A little later the Kate 

 Marks, a small propeller, is hailed, hound for Prince Arthur's 

 Landing, and reports us in due course. 



"All aboard, Munro, here's a breeze coming." And in another 

 minute we are lying well down to a stiff norther and bowling 

 aloug for the narrow's behind Point Porphyry. It is evening and 

 getting dusk when we round to at last in the snuggest of snug 

 fit He anchorages and turn in with the satisfaction of knowing 

 that howl as it likes from any quarter it will scarcely ruffle the 

 water in here. Another good night's rest and we arc off again 

 with a fresh northerly off-shore brocze, the best sailing weather 

 we have yet had, and we romp merrily along through the 

 Amygdaloid and Roche de Baut islands, but lose time and wind 

 by not keeping out to sea. And evening is drawing on and the 

 breeze dying by the time we have threaded the last of the intri- 

 cate channels and come out in the open opposite Lamb Island 

 light. The balf-breed lightkeeper pulled off to us here undfroze 

 the very marrow in our bones by tales of the starvation aiuTlonely 

 watches he had endured by reason of the supply boat, from 

 Nipigon being behind time. And as our marrow froze our hearts 

 melted, and we bestowed on him all we could spare of hard lack, 

 bacon and tea, and sent him on his way rejoicing. The half- 

 breed who has his stomach full of these three staples is indeed a 

 happy man, and a king should be glad to exchange sensations 

 with him. A stretch over to the point of the imposing Fluor 

 Island and back to the mainland brought us into the Nipigon 

 Straits, and a few shorter boards to a good anchorage inside. 

 Then comes the sunset, the supper, the pipe, the gathoring 

 shadows, the starlight and intense stillness of the Northern wilds, 

 a combination of the pleasures of the yachtsman and the canoeist 

 and camper that it would be hard to find otherwise than on 

 Superior or the Georgian Bay. 



Morning brought with it a fresh southerly breeze, before 

 which we went bowling through the straits aud across Nipigon 

 Bay at a great rate and entered the mouth of the river. And 

 here for the first and last time on the cruise the ma n at the wheel 

 was at fault. The charts were on too small a scale to show the 

 channel, and we stood boldly up tho center of the estuary, when 

 bump! thud! bnmp! the Winnie careens over and comes to a stand- 

 still pi. a mnd^bank. Thanks to her rockered keel, we can turn 

 her head for the chanuel with a pole, even when fast aground 

 amidships, and getting her broadside to the. wind and ail hanging 

 out to leeward, we reduce her draft sufficiently to enable her to 

 flounder into the channel. Then we sweep up the river past the 

 house of our good friend John Watt, and come to beside the once 

 noble wharf of the Hudson's Bay Company, built in anticipation 

 of this point becoming the Lake Superior terminus of the Cana- 

 dian Pacific Railway, aud now falling into decay. Munro is an 

 enthusiastic sportsman and canoeist, and one of his dreams has 

 been a trip up this famous river to the fishing grounds, and we 

 accordingly spent the balance of the day in planning and prepar- 

 ing, with the aid of the company's courteous officer, Mr. Flana- 

 gan, for the expedition; and evening found us with a bark canoe 

 engaged and everything ready for a start on the morrow. 



Sketches of fishing trips up the ri ver have been too often printed 

 in your columns to make an account of this one particularly in- 

 teresting to your readers. Suffice it to say that we ascended 

 with a southerly gale at our backs to Camp Alexander, portaged 

 over the rock and fished the rapids ahead with very poor success, 

 and returning we ran successfully in a two fathom birch bark 

 the famous chute, a. feat which, as far as I know, had not been 

 successfully performed before, though large canoes run it almost 

 daily. The. surge at the bottom certainly was terrific, and with 

 the strong southerly gale blowing we had no little trouble in 

 keeping her head on. Darkness overtook us on the way back, 

 and the gale blew great guns, so we crossed Lake Helen when we 

 got to it to the camp of a- friend, whom we had met the day before 

 on the river, and which we readily made out by the brilliant 

 camp-lire he had burning, and who entertained us so royally and 

 hospitably that we were constrained to pass the night with him 

 and do the remaining live or six miles in the morning. A wild 

 night that was, between wind and rain, and we thanked our stars 

 that both oursolves and tho cabin boy on the Winnie were in snug 

 quarters and safe from harm. 



At 11 A. M. our friend Walker started us off with a good break- 

 fast inside us, for it was Sunday, and the gale still blew from the 

 southward, aud there was no need for hurry. The. paddle down 

 the lake was a tough one with the gale right ahead, but we stuck 

 to it, and in a couple of hours entered the river again, ran the 

 rapid and came down alongside the Winnie to the intense de- 

 light of the caoin boy, who had been quite lonely and frightened 

 the night before. 



Too late to put to sea to-night even could we work out of the 

 river against this gale. But morning brings a change, and with a 

 piping nor'west behind her Winnie gets out of the river, and 

 down past the frowning blufl's of LaGrange and Isle Perte in very 

 short order. Hero, however, the breeze dies out, and we work 

 backward and forward with shifting and baffling airs all the 

 afternoon, letting go at last in Pays Plat Bay, forty miles from 

 our starting point, in a beautiful harhor between two islands, and 

 here the real novelty aud excitement of the trip commences. 

 From this point east uot one of us has ever beon, and the rough 

 chart will be our only guide. The skipper's nerves fairly tingle 

 with excitement and impatience for the morrow, and a good 

 breeze. The morrow breaks and, pshaw, what a disrppointment! 

 A fine misty rain and not a breath of wind. The skipper retires 

 to the cabi n to read and meditate, but the indefatigable Munro 

 gets the Racine out and trolls piously up and down the harbor. 

 His diligence, is rewarded by catching a couple of magnificent 

 brook trout. About noon we get a little air, and run down among 

 the islands in the entrance to Nipigon Bay, some ten miles 

 further up; but it fails us again, too soon for us even to reach a 

 good anchorage, aud we have to let go behind a rocky island in 

 rather an exposed position. Muuro lights a great bonfire, and 

 dries sundry damp garments, and cooks the evening meal on 

 shore, and at 9 we turn in hoping for better things on the morrow. 



H. K. WlCKSTBBl). 



[TO BE COKXINCJSD.l 



YACHTING ON THE PACIFIC. 



WHEN my last communication to the Forest And STRBAil, 

 entitled "A Split Jib ou a Lee Shore," was published (Jan. 

 17, 1884), I had no idea of the changes that time had in store, or 

 that four years more would find me on the Pacific coast enjoying 

 tt trip on a yacht which is, in all respects, the oppositeof the deep- 

 keeled Gem which I owned then. 



Last June, while living at Sierra Madre, a pretty village high 

 up among the foothills somo thirty miles from the coast, I felt 

 such an intense louging for a glimpse of old ocean as only one can 

 feel who has been reared in sight of it. While having one of my 

 worst attacks of seasickness, or sea-homesickness, I received the 

 following dispatch from my good friend Chas. J. Ellis, of Los 

 Angeles; "Be on board the Aggie next Friday uight; everything 

 provided," 



On the day named, Jnue 8, 1 was one of a party of eight gentle- 

 men, including Mr. McFarland, the owner of the yacht, who took 

 the train from this city for San Pedro, a safe harbor where the 

 schooner Aggie lay at anchor. She is in all respects a beauty, in- 

 side and out. ner dimensions are as follows: 83ft. l.w.l.; 23ft. 

 Sin. beam; 6ft. lOin. draft with centerboard up, and 10ft. when 

 down, and she is without doubt the fastest yacht on the Pacific 

 coast. 



Arriving at San Pedro at 6 o'clock P. M. w© immediately set 

 sail so as to make the most of the trade wind, which, in summer, 

 usually dies ayvay T about 7 o'clock. On getting outside our course 

 was laid for San Diego, distant 100 miles. The wind dropped 

 away early in the evening, and our progress was, consequently 

 slow' until the following morning. On Saturday morning, upon 

 going on deck, we found ourselves about thirty-five miles from 

 San Diego harbor. After a delicious breakfast, served in ex- 

 cellent style by the steward of the Aggie, we awaited eagerly the 

 coming of the breeze. 



The trade wind makes yachting on this coast a particular 

 pleasure, for this reason, one always knows when it will blow 

 and when it will cease. It comes with a gradually increasing 

 pressure with no flaws or unexpected squalls. 



We soon began to bowl through the water, and then came our 

 first experience with the fish, which was very exciting. Lines 

 were thrown over, and we soon had fast fish almost as gamy as 

 our bluefishof the Atlantic; bonifca, albicore, barracoota, all large 

 fish, Spanish mackerel, and, last but not least, yollowtail. The 

 yellowtail is one of the finest fish on this coast. We caught one 

 weighing 271bs. This one we had baked for dinner, and the firm- 

 ness and sweetness of its flesh suggested Eastern trout. 



Our best fishing was along the outside edge of the immense 

 fields of kelp, which lie just outside tho harhor of San Diego. I 

 was amazed at the extraordinary size of this kelp. While ours in 

 the East would average about %in. in diameter, some of these 

 were six or eight times as large and 00ft. in length. 



Here in California it seems as if the fish vied with the vegeta- 

 ta bit's in point of size. I noticed crabs measuring 9 or lUin. across 

 the hack, and crayfish the size of large lobsters, etc. All hands 

 had a good turn at the lines, and each caught as many as he 

 wished. Most of these were thrown back alive, as we needed hut 

 few for food. 



We arrived at San Diego at 1 o'clock P. M., and went ashore to 

 pav a visit to the Hotel del Colorado. So much lias been said and 

 w ri tten concerning this magnificent establishment that I will not 

 a ttempt a further description than to state that it covers a greater 

 area than anv other hotel in the world, and that, in point ot excel- 

 lence, it is all that its enthusiastic guests have claimed for it. 

 The members ot our party all being musically inclined, we enjoyed 

 a sing in the elegant theater connected with the hotel. 



Having delayed our departure from San Diego Until the early 

 evening, we found that the wind had begun to slacken, and a 

 steam schooner going out took us in tow and dropped us some 

 miles outside, where we lay all night, ready for the morning breeze. 



During this day (Sunday), the wind being rather light, we made 

 slow progress toward our new destination, Cataliua Island; and 

 night finding us still short of it, we lay to. On Monday morning 

 some of the party wished to take the train, and we laid a course 

 for San Pedro. The wind, starting in light, gradually freshened, 

 until the beautiful yacht lay well over, carrying all the sail she 

 could stand, and we had an exciting race to catch the train which 

 left San Fed ro at o o'clock. We went into port in grand style, and 

 rounded up opposite the wharf with five minutes to spare. 



On Aug. 18 the same party made another trip by Mr. McFar- 

 land's invitation. It is true, as stated in Forest and Stream 

 some time ago, t hat yachting is not lively on this coast at present; 

 but, so far as the Aggie and her owner are concerned, we must 

 make an exception, for she is hardly out of commission three 

 months in the year, frequent trips along the coast being*made in 



'au easy breeze enabled us to reach anchor off Redondo beach, 

 some thirty miles north, early on the following morning. This 

 place is situated to the north of a prominent headland, and seems 

 to be ou one side of an immense eddy, several miles in extent. Tt 

 is a natural feeding ground for fish of all kinds. 



A long pier extends from the beach out into the ocean, and this 

 was lined with fishermen of all ages, who were pulling up fish at 

 a lively rate. 



The wives of the yachtsmen were taken on hoard the Aggie 

 from this pier and we sailed for Santa Monica, some ten miles 

 north. The breeze throughout the day was strong, arid the free- 

 dom of this shore from all rocks and shoals allowed us to run 

 quite near land. 4 . . > • ■ v 



Arriving at Santa Monica we turned about for San Pedro. A 

 magnificent sailing breeze enabled us to make this point in time 

 for the 5 o'clock train to bear us back to the "city of the angels," 



J. A. Osgood. 



Los Angeles, Cal., Dec, 6. 



BEVERLY Y. C. 



A 



NEW YORK Y. 0.— The nominating committee of the New 

 York Y. C. have announced the nomination of the following 

 officers and standing committees to serve for tho ensuing year: 

 Com., Elbridge T. Gerry; Vice-Corn., Latham A. Fish: Rear-Corn., 

 Archibald Rogers; Sec, John H. Bird; Treas.. F.W.J. Hurst; 

 Meas., John Hyslop; Meet Surgeon, Morris J. Asch; Regatta Com- 

 mittee, S. N. Kane, Chester Griswold and Wm, E. Iselin. The 

 election will not be held uutil the first general meeting of the 

 club in February. 



CHELSEA Y. C— At the annual meeting of the Chelsea Y. C. 

 the following officers were elected: Com., W. H, Wedger; Vice- 

 Corn., Wm. Marshall; Secy., T. J. Parsons; Treas., Chas. P. Long; 

 Meas., ChaB. R. Fisher; Fleet Capt., C. L. Smith. The club is in a 

 prosperous condition and has a membership of over 125 members. 

 The annual ball under the auspices of the C. Y. C. will take place 

 Jan. 7. 



COOPER'S POINT CORINTHIAN Y. C.-The Cooper's Point 

 Corinthians sailed their last and 31st race of the season on Dec. 9. 

 The Item won, beating the Allmond by 4ft., with Cook a short 

 distance behind. The Item made, the fastest time over the club 

 course in 52m., breaking the Wilkins's record by lm. 13s.— R. G. 

 Wilkins. 



A NEW 40-FOOTER.— Mr. Burgess is at work on a keel 40-f ooter 

 for Mr. Seymour of Washington, k 



S usual, the Beverly Y\ C. is the first in the field with its list 

 of fixtures, the following dates being already set for 1889. 

 The officers of the club for the year are as fallows: Com., John 

 B. Paine, Swordfish, cutter; Vice-Corn., George H. Richards, 

 Petrel, cat; Sec'y and Treas., W. Lloyd Jeffries, Kiowa, cat: 

 Meas., R. C. Robbius, Dolphin, cat. Regatta Committee— Robert 

 Saltonstali, Nerina, cat; B. B. Crowninshield, Witch, cutter; 

 Patrick Grant, Jr., W. Lloyd Jeffries. One vacancy to be filled. 

 Following are the fixtures for the coming season: 

 June 22.— Mist race, Marblehead, first championship. 

 June 29. — 143d race. Monument Beach, first open sweepstake. 

 July 4.— 143d race, Monument Beach, first Buzzard's Bay cham- 

 pionship. 



July 4.— 144th race, Marblehead, first cup race. 



July 6.— 145th race, Marblehead, second championship. 



July 13.— 146th race. Monument Beach, second open sweepstake. 



July 20.— 147th race, Marblehead, second cup race. 



July 27.— 148th race. Monument Beach, second Buzzard's Bay 

 championship. , . 



Au". 3.— 149th race, Marblehead, first club sweepstake. 



Aug. 17.— 150th raee. Marblehead, third championship. 



Aug. 24.— 151 st race, Monument Beach, third open sweepstake. 



Aug. 31.— 152d race, Marblehead, first open. 



Sept. 2.— 153d race, Monument Beach, second open. 



Sept. 7.— 154th race, Marblehead, third cup race. 



Sept. 14.— 155th race, Monument Beach, third Buzzard's Bay 

 championship. 



Sept. 21.— 155th race, Marblehead, sail off. 



The open raee, Aug. 31, is probable, not certain; possibly a club 

 sweep will be substituted. 



A RACING ASSOCIATION FOR NEW YORK. 



THOUGH it is evident that there is no immediate prospect of a 

 National Yacht Racing Association, and though the large 

 clubs show no desire to further such an organization, it is some- 

 what encouraging to see that the small clubs are preparing the 

 way by the formation of local organizations. Boston has its New 

 England Y. R. A., which has done a good deal and is in a wav to 

 do much more for the advancement "of yachting in the smaller 

 classes. On Lake Ontario the L. Y. R. A. has become a strong and 

 powerful body, embracing all the yacht clubs on the lake; and 

 further west is the Interlake Y. R. A. 



A movement has lately been started by some of the clubs about 

 New York, the Columbia, Yonkers and Sing Sing clubs being the 

 leaders, to form an association of a similar nature which shall 

 include all the clubs in the vicinity of New York. The objects 

 will be to secure uniformity in racing rules, to avoid the clashing 

 of dates, and to promote the interests of racing in general. The 

 movement is mainly confined to the clubs racing yachts of 40ft. 

 aud under. A meeting yvill be held at the Gilsey House, New 

 York, on Jan, 31, at 8 P. M. Clubs interested are requested to send 

 three delegates each to the meeting. 



Considering the extent of the waterfront on the bay, the Hud- 

 son, East River and its junction with the Sound, and also the 

 large number of clubs and yachts, it seems strange that similar 

 efforts in the past have not been successful, but yachtsmen have 

 of late given more thought to the subject of rules and organiza- 

 tion, and there is good reason to hope that the present attempt 



