2i6 



FOREST ANt) STREAM. 



[Oct. 3, 1889. 



FREDONI A AND HESPER, SEPT. 26. 



AFTER one postponement the match between the yacht-fisher- 

 man .Fredonia and the pilot boat Hesper was successfully 

 sailed on Sept. 26, resulting in a very easy victory for the fisher- 

 man. For some time opinion has been divided as to the probable 

 winner, and a very close race was looked for, but on the contrary 

 the pilot boat was beaten from the start, being badly outsailed to 

 windward in a sea. The latter part of the race was marred by- 

 fog and a shift of wind, the rear boat being very badly left, hut 

 long before this happened she had been beaten on her merits. 

 The boats were ready on Wednesday at an early hour, but after 

 waiting until 11:30, with a foggy day and little wind, the post- 

 ponement flag was hoisted. Next day the tug X. P. Doane, with 

 Mr. W. 8. Eaton, of the Eastern Y. C. regatta committee, on 

 hoard, was off the starting line abreast of Boston Ledge by 9:30 

 with the signals flying for a course from the Ledge around the 

 buoy on Davis Ledge, then around a mark boat off Eastern Point, 

 near Gloucester, and home, 41^ knots. Tne wind was strong 

 from S.E.. making a dead beat to the first mark, knots, with 

 a heavy sea, there being some fog before the start. Fredonia, 

 with Capt. Harty in command, assisted by Capt. Terry, of the 

 Grayling, in charge of the sheets, and with Messrs. Forbes and 

 Burgess on board as well, was carrying lower sails, both workiDg 

 topsails and jibtopsail. Hesper, sailed by Capt. George Lawlor, 

 was carrying the same canvas with the addition of a maintop- 

 maststaysail. 



After a false start by Fredonia, owing to the signals being ob- 

 scured by fog, a second start was given at 10:30, Hesper being then 

 hove-to on starboard tack near the line. Fredonia, better timed, 

 came for the line just before gun-fire, with good way on and ran 

 through Hesper's lee, crossing the weather end of the line at 

 10:31:13 on starboard tack. Hesper crossed a little later, 10:32:08, 

 and stood in Fredonia's wake, pointing higher but not going so 

 fast. Both were heading into the sea on this tack off shore, but 

 Fredonia was sailed freer and traveled proportionately faster. 

 After a little time, as Hesper was dropping steadily astern, her 

 maiatopuiaststaysail was taken in, but still she could not hold 

 the fisherman. The schooner Alert had crossed the line a couple 

 of minutes after the. racers, and was now doing very well with 

 Fredonia, having left Hesper. The off shore tack was held until 

 10;56, when the leader tacked in for Nantaslset Beach, getting the 

 seas on her beam. She was steadily leaving Hesper^the latter 

 being sailed very close, but failing to foot. The next off shore 

 tack was made at 11:22, near Black Rock, and at 11:43 Fredonia 

 made her final tack for the first mark, the times of the two being: 

 Fredonia 11 50 32 Hesper 12 04 25 



Alert did not turn the mark, but was still keeping close to the 

 leader. Thus far, in a beat of knots, Fredonia had beaten 

 Hesper 12m. 58;. With a strong breeze on the starboard quarter 

 and her maintopmaststaysail now set, Fredonia started over the 

 second leg to the markboat. off Eastern Point, 11% knots. Alert 

 ran with her very evenly, while Hesper, though now far astern, 

 ran as fast as the others, losing but 27s. to Fredonia on the leg. 

 The times at the second mark were: 



Fredonia 1 35 50 Hesper 1 49 10 



The last leg, of lf&jj knots, was a reach, with the wind just for- 

 ward of the beam, Fredonia carryiag small jibtopsail but no main- 

 topmaststaysail. After the turn the racers ran into a dense fog 

 and were lost to sight until well across the Graves. When near 

 the buoy the. wind headed Fredonia, coming out nearly S.W., 

 making a beat home, at the same time falling much lighter. 

 Fredonia was so near home that a couple of ta«ks took hoi- over 

 the line, but at the time the wind shifted Hesper was some three 

 miles astern of Fredonia, giving her a beat of some six miles to 

 the finish in a falling wind, so that her beating was much more 

 than it should have been. The full times were: 



Start. Finish. Elapsed. Corrected. 



Fredonia 10 31 13 3 41 50 5 10 37 5 10 37 



Hesper 10 32 08 4 24 40 5 52 38 5 49 16 



The race was sailed under the conditions given last week, the 

 stakes being $3,000 per side. Fredonia was the better handled and 

 had better sails, using Puritan's mainsail. Each boat carried a 

 spinaker and boom, but did not set them. 



We quote from the Boston Globe the following careful analysis 

 of the race, written by Mr. Geo. A. Stewart: 



"The. race between the Hesper and Fredonia has been one of the 

 most significant features of the present season for the men of all 

 classes who pass any portion of their time upon the sea. The 

 difference in the type of the two vessels is nearly as great as that 

 between the combatants in the recent international contests. 

 Narrow beam and depth are the features of the Hesper's model, 

 with easy bilge and a steep angle of dead rise, or, as it is otherwise 

 termed, a 'sharp floor.' Her section is much like that of a cutter. 

 In fact, she was likened to the Minerva in the dock, and her sharp 

 entrance and clean run caused many enthusiasts to back ber, to 

 their sorrow. 



"The Fredonia is built for the fishing trade, in which carrying 

 power and the ability to stand up straight in order to facilitate 

 the work of the men on deck arc the chief factors to be considered. 

 Consequently she is a 'full' vessel, with full bow, comparatively 

 heavy quarters and a powerful, hard blige. She is more of aii 

 American type of recent years in which power has been sought, 

 rather at the expense of fine lines. A year ago it would have been 

 thought that the Fredonia's model tended more in the direction 

 whence speed should bo sought, but the Minerva has proved that 

 great power is not necessary to produce high speed. 



''On the merits of the models, therefore, it was hard to found 

 an opinion as to which would be the winner. It was suggested 

 that the Hesper was too much cut away, and that power had been 

 sacrificed which was not made up for by tne easiness of lines ob- 

 tained. Still, the merits of the models will not explain such a 

 defeat as this, and the explanation must include the other things 

 which help to bring the winner first home to the finish. 



"Among yachtsmen is a well-recognized fact that the model of 

 the vessel does not count for more than one-half the total which 

 makes speed. A good model is a necessity, but beyond this there 

 are an infinite number of things to be looked after in order to 

 bring out the best speed of a vessel. Ballasting, rig, the sit of 

 sails, handling, all bear an important part in the success or fail- 

 ure of a racing yacht, and of course the same features make or 

 mar the fortunes of any vessel entered for a trial of speed. 



"It was in these last-named elements that the pilot boat chiefly 

 fell short. Of course, after the race is over it is easy enough to 

 point out the defects. If the Hesper had won it would have been 

 due to some cause, and the make-up of the Fredonia would have 

 come in for its share of criticism. But the fact stands that the 

 Fredonia won, and some of the causes for her success were plainly 

 evident on the day of the race. 



"To begin with, the handling of the Fredonia was of the very 

 highest order, judged by the yachtsman's standard. Rarely is a 

 schooner yacht handled as well as the Fredonia was in Thurs- 

 day's race. The Grayling, the best handled sehooncrin America, 

 is not usually handled so well, for in his own yacht Capt. Terry 

 has to stand by the wheel, and he cannot give as close attention 

 to the sails as he was able to in the Fredonia. Capt. Harty is 

 naturally a fine helmsman, and his drill this year under such an 

 experienced yachtsman as ex-Com. Forbes, combined with a rac- 

 ing experience in the New York Y. C. cruise, has been of great 

 use to him. Forward everything was excellently managed. The 

 light sails were set and the canvas was handled to the best ad- 

 vantage. All the little schemes for making leaches stand right, 

 and such things drawn from yachting experience, were tried. 

 These things count for minutes in the windward w T ork. 



"The Hesper was at a disadvantage in all these things. To he- 

 gin with, her crew decided before the race that they had no 

 chance against the Fredonia in a light breeze, so they put in ad- 

 ditional ballast, hoping for a heavy wind. On the day of the race 

 the wind, though strong, was not enough to warrant putting ad- 

 ditional weight into a sea-going craft like Hesper. Then the 

 pilot boat's sails were not up to the mark. She had a new suit of 

 sails made expressly for this race, and had not time enough to 

 get them into shape. 



"Added to this, mistakes were made in the sails set. Yachting 

 experience, the constant mbbing up against an opponent as fast 

 as your own craft, has convinced yachtsmen that a maintopmast 

 staysail and a jibtopsail as big as the Hesper's are a detriment in 

 windward work, if there is at ail a decent breeze. The boat will 

 carry them all right, but they drag her to leeward and astern. 



"Pilots are at the same disadvantage in racing that yachtsmen 

 would be if you should put the latter out on the station in the 

 depths of winter looking for steamers. Racing yachtsmen are 

 continually studying out little contrivances by which a few 

 seconds can be added to their vessel's speed. Pilots have no in- 

 centive to look after these minor points. It takes constant 

 racing and constant defeat to spur an owner up to discover all 

 the weak points ol his yacht and rectify them. 



"A good illustration of the importance of the little things was 

 shown by the experience of the Sachem last year. She had a new 

 suit of sails in the spring, and to the careless observer seemed to 

 be fit to win all the mugs that could be offered. She went on to 

 New York, and was beaten by the Grayling 25m. in a true breeze 

 over the New York Yacht Club course. It seemed a hopeless 

 task, but her owners, with rare pluck, went to work to do what 

 could be done to rub out this tremendous lead. A month and a 

 half of hard work, and the Sachem was ready for the New York 

 Yacht Club cruise. On this cruise she met the Grayling repeat- 



edly, divided the honors with her, and in the same breeze in 

 which the. Grayling beat her so badly in the spring she was now 

 more than a. match for her dangerous opponent. 



"As far as Capt. Lawler's steering is concerned no amount of 

 fine steering could have made up the difference between Jthe two 

 vessels. The Hesper being the narrower boat, with fine entrance, 

 ought to point higher into a head sea than the Fredonia. Capt. 

 La wler at first tried her high, but later he let her off. but neither 

 way could she hold the Fredonia. It turned out that she had not 

 enough after sail tor the best windward work. 



"Some people have been misled by the time. The Fredonia beat 

 the Hesper 42m. on the record, but half of this was due to the 

 wind falling light, and heading the Hesper off at the finish. On 

 the merits of the sailing the Fredonia beat the pilot boat about 

 20m. on the course. 



"Some one said after the race. "Every old hooker will now 

 think that she can beat the Hesper." Let no one be deceived. 

 The Hesper is a very fast vessel as man v a presumptuous craft 

 will hnd out this winter. Pilot boat No. 5 goes on the station at 

 Boston light, Monday noon, and in a week she will go on the 

 station at Cape Cod." 



The following rather cool proposal has been made to Mr. Forbes, 

 but he has not accepted it: 

 To the Yachting Editor of the Boston Globe: 



As we understand Com. Forbes has said he did not wish to 

 make money by sailing, and as he has won $3,000 in the match 

 race between the Fredonia and Hesper. and as he seems to be a 

 great lover of testing the sailing qualities of the different types 

 of boats, we think the public and all seafaring men would like to 

 see Com. Forbes come out and offer the money in as many prizes 

 as he saw fit, to be competed for by any fishing or pilot boat 80 

 to 100ft. l.w.l., under working sails, such as they use in their busi- 

 ness, and to sail on time allowance, and not to sail underan 8-knot 

 breez?, and Com. Forbes to make arrangements as he may see fit. 



This, we think, will bring all such fast vessels as the Fredonia, 

 Hesper, Carrie E. Phillips Nellie Dixon, Susan R. Stone, Roulette, 

 Lizzie Maud, Lillie Fernald. Elsie M. Smith, Julia Costa, 1. J. 

 Merritt, Jr., George F. Edmunds. Isaac Collins, Sylvester Whalen 

 in competition. (Signed) Capt. N. F. Blake, 



Capt. Alfred Sorensen, 

 Capt. John Cannon. 



Boston, Sept. 28. 



KATHLEEN AND SHONA. 



TUESDAY last, the wind up of the racing for 1889, was utilized 

 by the clerk of the weather as a sort of closing out sale of 

 samples and remnants, to make room, let us hope, for an entirely 

 new stock next season. Among the bargains that fell to the lot 

 of Kathleen and Shona, the only contestants, were a nice whole- 

 sail breeze with sheets well in, a pretty bit of light wind for a 

 beat to the outer mark, a moderate breeze astern to test spina- 

 kers, and such a rattling squall as only the Staten Island bluffs 

 can furnish. The race was in its way of the allegorical order,likc 

 the dear d ull goody-goody stories of our childhood.a sort of '■youth 

 at the oar and pleasure at the helm " business at the start, with 

 fair tide and topsails, a lazy run under spinaker in smooth water 

 later on, and a wind up in the dark with a hard beat against tide, 

 with two reefs down, to a lively accompaniment of thunder and 

 lightning. The small band of pilgrims who finally reached shore in 

 a damp and disgusted condition after a very hard day's work were 

 bound on the path of progress toward higher and bettor things in 

 the yacht racing line, the immediate object of the race being the 

 collection of data that would throw a needed light on the much- 

 disputed measurement question. There was no lack of data, it 

 was lying all over the lower bay iu chunks, but unfortunately it 

 was all of a meteorological nature, such as might interest Sergt. 

 Dunn or Ensign Hayden, hut of which yachtsmen have had a 

 great deal too much this season. 



The match was arranged by the Corinthian Y. C, of New York, 

 the owners of Kathleen and Shona kindly offering their boats for 

 the purpose of a test race, the object being to learn how much 

 the fat and overgrown American cutter could beat the lean and 

 hungry offspring of the old tonnage rule. The former type was 

 represented by Kathleen, designed by Mr. Gardner and owned 

 by Mr. Whitlock, and the latter by Shona, designed by Mr. Wat- 

 son and owned by Admiral Tweed, Corinthian Y. C. The two 

 compare as follows: 



L.W.L. Beam. Draft. Sail area. Cor. length. 



Kathleen 30 10.6 7 3.036 87 W~ 



Shona 33.5 5.9 6 1,300 34.25 



Kathleen allows Shona about 3m. 



The course was from Buoy 15, below the Narrows, past Buoy 9, 

 then to Buoy 1 off Point Comfort, in Raritan Bay, thence past 

 Buoy 10 on the South West Spit, and home to the start, 18}£ knots. 

 The morning was wet and cloudy, with stray bits of sunshine, the 

 wind being S. W., but by 11 o'clock all was bright and clear. With 

 one delay or another it, was noon before the yachts left the Cor- 

 inthian Basin at Tompkinsville in company with the naphtha 

 launch Bertha, on which were Messrs. Schuyler, Clark and Por- 

 ter, of the club, as well as Mr. Gardner and the representatives of 

 the press. Kathleen left her topsail yards at her mooring, under- 

 standing that topsails were not to be carried, but as events 

 proved Shona had hers in her main saloon in case of emergen- 

 cies. On board of Kathleen was her owner, with Capt. Tom 

 Sloan at the stick, while Shona was sailed by Capt. Little, with 

 Capt. Charles Barr, her old skipper, as mate. Before leaving the 

 moorings topmasts were housed on both, the wind being pretty 

 heavy, having held so all night. Kathleen had come over from 

 Bay Ridge under two reefs and kept them in, Shona carrying 

 whole mainsail. On the way down, in spite of some heavy squalls 

 off tne hills, the wind dropped considerably, and topmasts were 

 sent up, reefs shaken out and jib headers set. 



The start was given at 1:33:10, Kathleen going over to windward 

 of Shona at 1:33:55, the latter being timed at 1:34:37, The wind was 

 well ahead and puffy, while the tide was on the early ebb. Kath- 

 leen, with balloon foresail set, reached off for Buoy 9, gradually 

 dropping her rival. At Buoy 11 the course hauled a little, and at 

 Buoy 9 it became a dead beat of five miles to the outer mark. 

 Kathleen had gained on the reaching, and went away still faster 

 when on the wind, though Shona pointed very high. Kathleen 

 was first to tack, standing in on port tack toward Staten Island 

 when near the Quarantine ship, Shona holding her starboard tack 

 until well down toward the Book. As it proved, the latter was 

 the better course, in spite of a stronger tide to leeward, as when 



the two finally neared, Shona had made up a great deal of her loss 

 from the start to the time when they parted company. 



The wind was now very light and to Kathleen's disgust Shona 

 shifted to clubtopsail. Kathleen came about on tli^ other's weather 

 bow and soon began to walk away from her. When up Raritan 

 Bay the wind strengthened a good deal. Shona finally dousing 

 her clubtopsail. Kathleen gained until at Hie turn she was timed 

 4:00:35, with Shona 4:13:10, a lead of 13m., or over 9m. more than 

 the allowance for the full course. Kathleen made a clean turn 

 and set her spinaker smaitly, running off very fast with boom to 

 port. Shona made a wider sweep and had trouble with her spina- 

 ker, setting it for the third time before the stops finally broke. 

 The turn at Buoy 10 was timed Kathleen 4:80:00, Shona 4:43:45. 

 Kathleen had run the distance, a quarter under 4 knots, in less 

 than 30m., gaining a little over a minute on Shona. 



Thus far the day had been warm and bright enough for June, 

 and with a good breeze on the port quarter, with jibtopsail set, 

 the miles home promised to be as pleasant as the first part of 

 the sail. The weather, however seemed anxious to keep up the 

 reputation it made in the June regattas, every one of wnich was 

 sailed partly in a squall, and when Kathleen was off Buoy 11. only 

 a couple of miles from home, the wind chopped round into the 

 northwest, with thunder in the distance, and bv the time that 

 jibheader, jibtopsail and foresail were off her she was in the 

 midst of one of the wildest squalls of this squally season. 

 When it struck she was under whole mainsail and No. 1 jib, close- 

 hauled along the line of the West Bank. The squall laid 

 her flat on the water for a time, and she refused to do her work 

 until two reefs were tied in, when she looked up to windward and 

 sailed off in fine shape through the gusts which struck her heavily 

 at frequent intervals. Shona was far enough astern to profit a 

 little by Kathleen's experience, and was snugged down in better 

 shape before the squall reached her. It was now very dark, the 

 sky a mass of inky clouds in all quarters, while the lightning bad 

 a peculiar rose tint. The tide was setting out very swiftly but 

 the little ships had wind enough to breast it. L T nder two reefs iu 

 her mainsail and No. 1 jib Kathleen handled beautifully, and the 

 beat up in the teeth of the squalls was the most exciting part of 

 the day's work. 



When near the finish the wind dropped and she was hardly 

 able to make way against the tide, but with some light drafts of 

 air from astern and with topsail and jibtopsail set and the reefs 

 out of her mainsail she finally crossed the line at 6:26:18. Shona, 

 after gaining a little before the squall struck, was now about as 

 far astern as before, and with the light wind she worked up near 

 to the finish, when she was becalmed, drifting down the bay. The 

 launch took her in tow near the line, no time being taken. Kath- 

 leen managed to keep way on until under the fort, when the 

 squalls struck in as heavily and suddenly as before. She was 

 soon under snug canvas and worked through them all right, 

 though on her beam ends at times. It was 8 P. M. before'she 

 reached her moorings off Tompkinsville. 



Had the race finished without the squall she would have beaten 

 Shona by about the lead she had at Buoy 10— 13m. I5s. In connec- 

 tion with this, it is interesting to note that Liris and Kathleen 

 sailed a scrub match of about twenty knots this week, Liris al- 

 lowing 13m. under Seawanhaka rules, and beating Kathleen by 

 30m, Liris has shipped a cruising boom, bowsprit and topmast 

 and winter sails, preparatory to cruise in the Chesapeake. Kath- 

 leen went out of commission on Wednesday, hauling out on Win- 

 tringham's ways for the winter. Captain Sloan sailed on the 

 City of Paris for Queenstown, promising to try America again 

 next season. 



M'INTYRE'S COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION. 



MR. JAMES McINTYRE, a foreman in the City Point Iron 

 Works of South Boston, and the inventor of the skylight 

 and companion slide bearing his name, has lately patented a new • 

 method of constructing composite vessels, by which the wood 

 keel is entirely dispensed with. The keel is a casting in the form 

 of a trough, of any desirable thickness of iron, the sides and bot- 

 tom being strengthened by cross bulkheads. The wooden stem 

 and sternpost are bolted to the keel, fitting into suitable mortices 

 cast to receive them, and the steel frames are riveted through 



the keel. A small yacht is now being built after this method 

 from a design bv Mr. J. Borden, of the Bo-tton Yacht Agency. 

 She is intended for the 16ft. class of the Pleon Y. G, and is 22ft. 

 over all, 16l't, l.w.l., lft. 6in. fore overhang, 6ft. Gin. extreme beam, 

 6ft. Sin. l.w.l. beam, llin. freeboard, 3ft. t:i u. draft. Her mast will 

 he 26ft., bowsprit 8ft. outboard, boom 22ft., gaff 14ft., hoist of 

 mainsail 16ft. Ail the spars will be hollow, made by Mansfield. 

 She will carry three sizes of jib, to set living with clubs on the 

 foot. Her sails of 8oz. duck, with silk spinaker, will be made by 

 A, Wilson. The mainsail will Pave a reefing batten, as in a canoe 



O .8 Q 



BODY PLAN CANOE "FLY," 



