2S0 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 23, 1890. 



Secretaries of canoe clubs are requested to send to Forest and 

 Stream their addresses, with name, membership, signal, etc., of 

 their clubs, and also notices in advance of meetings and races, and 

 report, of the same. Canoeists and all interested in canoeing are 

 requested to forward to Forest and Stream their addresses, with 

 logs of cruises, maps, and information concerning their local 

 waters, d rawings or descriptions of boats and fittings, and all 

 items relating to the sport, 



STANDING SAILS. 



[From, the Sail ami Paddle of October, 1390.1 



AS the. mover of the resolution adopted by the executive com- 

 mittee to restrict the regular races of the A. C. A. to Cannes 

 whose sails may be readily lowered when afloat. I gladly accept 

 the suggestion that I should present to your readers the views 

 that I hold on the subject as 1 staled them to those who were 

 at the camp. I do not do this with the idea of allowing my- 

 self to be drawn into newspaper discussion with those who hold 

 opposite views, but simply to present the case as it appears to me, 

 leasing it to others to do tbe same. 



In the first place, this motion is no new thing. When I was 

 chairman of the regatta committee in 1889 a resolution for the 

 abolition o£ standing sails, and hiking seats as well, was, on the 

 recommendation of that committee, submitted by the commo- 

 dore for the written vote of the executive committee. With 

 regard to standing sails the vote was nearly unanimous that tbev 

 should be abolished, although some members suggested that as 

 some men might already have their sails rigged for the season, it 

 would be better to postpone action until after the races of 1889. 

 On this the commodore and secretary, on my suggestion, cast 

 Their votes to postpone action, in order that there might not be 

 the slightest chance of doing injustice to anyone. The motion 

 now made is to come in force next year. 



The action taken is in accordance with the rule adopted as to 

 paddling canoes. A limit has been Sxed, and an arbitrary one it 

 may be railed, as to the beam of a canoe. We do not care, as an 

 association, to provide races for canoes of less than 28in. beam, 

 because there is no object to be gained in encouraging a, narrow, 

 unsafe style of canoe; nor do we provide races for canoes over 16ft. 

 long, because we do not, care to build up the raciug machine Which 

 would be clumsy to transport. In the same way we have legis- 

 lated against Keels of over 3?n. in depth, as they were not consid- 

 ered "shipshape" on a light draft canoe, and so with regard to slip 

 keels, which were abolisned long ago. So, too, it is provided that 

 centerboards shall not drop more than lStn. All these rules are 

 more or less arbitrary. The object of all of them is to encourage 

 and develop the best, safest, most serviceable, most shipshape 

 style of canoe, one that we can recommend not only to our own 

 members, but to would-be canoeists throughout the country as 

 well. I* not that one of the objects of the Association, one of the 

 advantages gained by united action? Has anyone suffered by any 

 of these arbitrary rules? 



One objection to the sail that cannot be lowered when afloat is 

 that it is' not a shipshape contrivance, and for this reason it. should 

 be treated as the slip keel was treated. It seems ridiculous on the 

 face, of it that a large Association should have to confess to the 

 world that its highest development, after ten years of experi- 

 menting, is a sail that, in the event of either a violent storm or 

 a dead calm coming on, cannot be lowered without the owner up- 

 setting and going overboard to do it. 



Such a sail is a source of danger and for this reason it seems to 

 me that we should not encourage it by providing races for it. I 

 am aware that, some of the experts of the Association claim that 

 it is safe, or, at all events, as safe as the lowering rig. Granted 

 that the one is as bad as the other after an upset, has occurred, no 

 one surely will deny that where, as in most cases, a. storm can be 

 seen coming on, the sail that can be reefed is safer than one that 

 can neither oe reefed nor lowered, and the sail that can be lowered 

 in time to avoid the danger is safer than the one that must stand 

 until it is knocked down. 



Tt is claimed that the standing sail is faster. This is at least 

 open to question. But if it be so, what then? There is no more 

 advantage in gaining five seconds with an objectionable sail than 

 with an objectionable paddling canoe. 



If the sail had been confined to the modest limits of the Peeow- 

 sic sails— which, by the way, could be lowered and stowed when 

 afloat, mast and all— i'. would have been less objectionable, but it 

 has grown beyond the safe and manageable stage, and the ten- 

 dency is ever upward J 



There need he no difficulty about obliging men to get new sails. 

 It is safe to say that every racer will have new sails for next year 



ai i y claim the privilege of au old member to ask the younger 

 members— racing enthusiasts and others— to remember that the 

 Association was not organized and does not exist, tor the sole 

 purpose of racing, that in taking charge of the development of 

 the canoe on this continent, its object has been to develop both 

 in hull and in rig a useful, ship-shape and safe boat, one that it 

 can safely recommend and hold up as a mode] to the canoeing 

 world. I ask all, old members and new, to look at this matter as 

 one affecting tbe general interests of the Association, and not 

 i'rom any personal standpoint. E. B. Edwards. 



The reasons why the action of the executive committee 

 in relation to the standing sail question should be in- 

 dorsed are good and sufficient and maybe stated briefly. Thev 

 need no argument, for if any one who thinks otherwise will retire 

 to his tent for a few moments, and consider the fact calmly and 

 honestlv, he must surely corn" to the same conclusion. 



The standing or laced sail is unsafe. This fact alone is enough 

 to decide the matter, and the strongest argument in itssupport is, 

 that no one does or can deny it. 



The continued use of the standing sail would discourage the 

 development of the best all-round and most desirable rig, as well 

 as the invention and manufacture of good fittings, smooth 

 running rigging and neat connections. Every canoeist should 

 take pride in having a knowledge of all sorts of knots, splices, 

 grormmts, servings, etc., and it is the duty of the Association to 

 encourage the rigs and races that will make the members expert 

 with the needle, marlin spike and palm. 



The standing rig is unsea manlike, and a. nuisance in a canoe 

 when not under way. What is tnere more interesting or what 

 better test, of a good canoe handler than to have one make a land- 

 ing on a lee shore of a windy day? The man with the smooth 

 hoisting rig lulls into the wind, furls sail, stows everything neatly 

 and makes a comfortable landing, while he with the standing rig 

 makes numerous unsuccessful attempts, and finally waits for bis 

 companion to come and "stop her" as he lands and "hold her" 

 while he removes the sails, both getting thoroughly drenched 

 from the seas that are washing in— helpless creature. 



By retaining the standing sail we would detract entries from 

 one of the best races we have— the combined. It is not so much 

 the sailing and paddling that make this race so interesting to 

 both contestant and onlooker as it is the chauges at each turn. 

 How quickly every defect is noticed, and how pleasing it is and 

 so "ship shape" to see one with a good rig come up to the mark 

 and make the change without a break or jam. 



The most of our sailing races arc short, and consequently the 

 same wind generally prevails throughout, yet many times have 

 we all seen instances where a race has been lost to the best canoe 

 or man because his standing sails would not admit of the shaking 

 out or turning in of a reef. Might not Lacowsic have won the 

 Trophv in 1887 had she been able to have, turned m a reef, and 

 might not Uno have won the first N. Y. C. C. trial race in 1890 bad 

 she been able to have shaken out a reef, and might not the same 

 canoe have won the N. Y. C. O. international cup, regardless of 

 fouls, in 1890, had she been able to have turned in a reef in the 

 last race? There have been many such instances. 



It has been remarked that a man who can sail a canoe can sail 

 anything. Imagine what a "show" au expert canoeist would 

 make of himself by coming to anchor in a cat or sloop and 

 not know how to furl sail, probably never having seen a halliard. 



Presuming that in all races the winds hold steady throughout, 

 and that the standing sail has an advantage in speed over hoisting 

 ■sails of pqual area, there are men who will not use the standing 

 «ail for reasons stated or others as satisfactory to themselves. Is 

 it just that they should be thus handicapped? 



The action taken this year indorses the action of the execu- 

 tive committee of 1889, when the question was first advanced, 

 •since then they permitted tbe retention of the standing sail only 

 hecause they considered it too late to legislate against it for that 



ye Last year the Association made a single class of all canoes for 

 *he purpose of making better and closer races and putting every- 

 body upon the same footing. It is just as reasonable and probably 

 more to the purpose to require everybody to work in the same 

 •direction and for the same result in sails. 



Permit me to venture the opinion that the best racing will be, 

 and the best men and canoes will win, when the one man, one 

 *«noa rale is extended to include the ?if . M> V. Sbo*4,w. 



DANGER IN CANOE SAILING. 



THAT the great changes of the last three or four years have 

 served to make the American decked canoe a faster and more 

 efficient mi chine for sailing, and at the same time rob it of vari- 

 ous important, features, anu to limit materially the wide range of 

 usefulness which first brought popularity to the craft, is a point 

 on which canoeists are well agreed. On the no lees vital point of 

 safety there, is, however, a wide difference of opinion.it being 

 claimed by some that the latest of the bottled up racing craft 

 are far safer than the class of canoe in such general use about, 

 1885. 



While to any one who watches the capsizes which occur in 

 almost every race without causing any very serious delay to the 

 canoeist, and often no more inconvenience thau the wetting of 

 his feet, it would appear that in the new boats the danger of 

 canoe sailing has been reduced to a minimum; there is another 

 side to the question, which is only apparent on a closer study of 

 the subject. Up to a certain point the new boats are undoubtedly 

 Safer than the old; witb the whole interior of the canoe given up 

 to sealed compartments, with hardly space to hold a bucket of 

 water in the tight footbath that has replaced the old open well; 

 with a lighter, less complicated and more effective rig, and with 

 the powerful means of controlling and especially of righting the 

 canoe which the sliding seat affords, the chances of a capsize are 

 now not only much fewer, hut if one does occur the results are 

 likelv to be less serious. As long as boat and gear are intact it is 

 the work of a moment to raise a canoe whose spars lie fiat in the 

 water, to trim sheets and resume one's course, bailing out the 

 water when occasion serves should the well hold enough to be 

 troublesome. This is done again and again in every race; and the 

 fact that a man had capsized in any af the races at the Jate meet 

 failed to awaken any apprehensions as to his safety. Compared 

 with a capsize in the old boats, which involved, as a matter of 

 course, a ducking, a swim and a withdrawal from the race, it 

 would seem that all tbe an vantages on the score of safety were on 

 the side of the newer craft. 



As every old canoeist knows, however, there was comparatively 

 little danger in a total capsize of the old boats; they were amply 

 provided with air spaces, the sails could be lowered or the masts 

 pulled out, allowing the boat, to be easily righted, and in spite of 

 the big well partly filled with water, it was possible even in mod- 

 erately rough water to climo aboard and siton the floor, the water 

 being then bailed out and the boat being under control of the pad- 

 dle if the sails were disabled. With the new craft, however, when 

 once a capsize has gone beyond a certain point it assumes a far 

 more serious aspect than of old. Just as the power and safety of 

 the canoeist are increased by the sliding seat, so long as he remains 

 astride of that useful appliance, so are both diminished as soon as 

 this partnership is rudely dissolved aud the crew is by any means 

 dethroned and tumbled into the "drink." 



As ballast has been discarded and the weight of tbe hull lined 

 down, the initial stability of the canoe has been materially de- 

 creased, and she is far less capable of standing up under the 

 weight of her racing masts, supposing her to have a good lowering 

 rig, but of racing area. While this rig is probably lighter for a 

 given area than the old, at the same time the a.ctual area of sail 

 and accompanying weight of masts is far greater in proportion to 

 the stability of the hull, and the new boat is proportionately more 

 difficult to right and to board than the old. While the big open 

 well in one case gave lodgment to a considerable weight of water, 

 which is excluded in the other, it at least bad the advantage that, 

 a man could seat himself so low as to add greatly to the stability, 

 allowing him to bail out or to take a needed rest with safety. With 

 the latest improved bathtub cockpits, or even the less extreme 

 shown in such cauoes as Canuck, there is no room for the 

 man to sit in the canoe; he must sit high up on the deck, where 

 his weigbt alone is enough to capsize the canoe in a sea unless he 

 is under way aud with sails and seat to balance on. Tbe old canoe, 

 with some weight of hull and perhaps a little ballast, and with its 

 coaming, beading, keel and other projections, offered every facil- 

 ity for boarding from the water; but, as some have found lately in 

 practice, the new canoes, light and corky, without keel, beading, 

 laps or auy projections, and with a deck and bottom polished so 

 that they offer no better bold than an epl, is a very different sort 

 of steed to mount m a bit of sea. It is not merely a question of 

 throwing one's self into the well, to rest there for a time in com- 

 parative safety, if nothing more; but of climbing on to tbe smooth 

 and slippery deck, regaining the deck seat and keeping the boat 

 on her way under sail. 



Even in cases where the canoe docs not capsize, but is disabled 

 for the time in rig or deck seat, and such mishaps have increased 

 greatly in numbers m two years, the modern racing canoe is by 

 no means a safe and comfortable craft to weather but a squall or 

 to buck a sea or a tide rip in. Light and buovant, With little dis- 

 placement and a high center of gravity of hull, of spars, and es- 

 pecially of crew, who must stick to the deck seat, as there is no 

 lower place for him; even if he has a suitable paddle, and if his 

 sails can bo lowered, the crew would find himself in a very un- 

 pleasant plight if compelled to lie to for rest, or to ride out a squall, 

 or to paddle for a few miles against wind and sea. While in the 

 old canoes he would bes> ated low down and in a comparatively safe, 

 and comfortable position, protected by batches or apron, and able 

 to keeo the paddle going and to rest at intervals; in the new style 

 of craft he would be constrained to devote all this time to balanc- 

 ing himself in an uncomfortable and strained position, where the 

 weigtit and windage of his body were doing the least possible to 

 aid Turn. 



We have said nothing thus far about standing sails and equip- 

 ment, but the bad features of the racing machiue are often maoe 

 worse by the use ot standing sails, or even loweriug ones, of exag- 

 gerated size; while at the same time there is an absence of even 

 such an integral part of the canoe as the paddle. The modern 

 sailing machine has been reduced to the simplest possible ele- 

 ments; a light hull, a large suit of sails, a deck seat, board, rudder 

 and tiller, with a well that is rapidly approaching the same pro- 

 portion to the hull that the bung hole has to a barrel. In the 

 development and refinement of the purely racing features, the 

 essentials to safety and comfort have been entirely neglected 

 until they have disappeared entirely, save in so far as they are 

 incidental to the racing. 



This class of canoe has been called into existence lor a specific 

 end, for fast sailing; it is intended only for match racing m com- 

 pany with other craft, over short courses clone to the shore, or for 

 practice sailing in the neighborhood of a club house. When used 

 for such purposes by a skillful sailor, and where the shore can 

 easily be reached in case of a mishap or of the crew being tired 

 out by several hours of hard work in holding up a big rig; it can- 

 not be said that the boat is unsafe, or that there is more danger 

 involved than in the case of most vigorous outdoor sports; in 

 fact, it may be said to be as safe as the old canoe. 



When, however, the racing canoe is used for long runs, at a dis- 

 tance from the shore, with no other cauoes about to give assist- 

 ance if needed, and wit h the. canoeist dependent solely on himself 

 and his boat in the case of any emergency, the new boats cannot 

 compare with the old. Any of the frequent mishaps to seat or 

 Bails that compels a resort to tbe pad die is likely to prove a serious 

 matter if the canoe be kept out for a length of time in bad weather. 

 The reason for this lies not m the standing sail alone, nor even in 

 its size, but in the whole style and outfit of the canoe. It does 

 not alter tbe case that some exceptionally expert canoeists have 

 handled their racing craft with most wonderful skill, aud per- 

 formed feats which would be pronounced impossible, as when Mr. 

 ■Warder capsized in Lake George in 1888: the racing canoe is dan- 

 gerous in the hands of any but an expert, and if used under con- 

 ditions where it may be exposed for an indefinite time with no 

 hope of outside assistance. 



The causes for this are so many and so complex that we see no 

 hope of any successful attempt to remedy the matter to-day; the 

 mere abolition of the standing sail is too trivial a measure to war- 

 rant half of the disturbance, it has created. If it is desired to pre- 

 vent any unnecessary danger from the use of such a craft, and to 

 relieve the Association from, responsibility in case of a fatal mis- 

 hap, both of which points were urged as reasons for the prohibi- 

 tion of tbe standing tail at the recent meeting in camp, the best 

 course is for the Association to recognize officially the present 

 canoes which enter its sailing races as constituting a racing class, 

 intended for expert sailors and match racing, and unfitted for the 

 cruiser or the novice. 



THE CHANGE OF THE RACING RULES. 



THE letters which we reprint elsewhere from the Sail and 

 Paddle are of especial interest, in tbat they were written by 

 tbe two members of the executive committee who were chiefly 

 responsible for tbe passage of the receni motion relating to stand- 

 ing sails, .and it maybe reasonably assumed that, coming from 

 such sources, they present the best poss ble. arguments in support 

 of the action of the committee. Save in the second paragraph of 

 Mr. Edwards's letter, tnere is no attempt to explain or justify the 

 unusual course adopted in passing the motion, but both gentlemen 

 confine themselves to the arguments against the standing sail. 



The points which they raise are two; first, that the standing or 

 laced sail is dangerous. Second, that it is the duty of the Associa* 

 tion, through its rules, to encourage and promote the safest, best 

 and most serviceable type of canoe, in which would naturally be 

 Included nil femurs* aad not raerejy tags* of th.« rig, Tfe»t a 



standing rig, such as is carried on Canuck, is a dangerous and un- 

 desirable, feature, to encourage is hardly likely to lie disputed by 

 any one; but at the same time the assertion that all stand'- 

 ing sails are unsafe, as made by Vice-Commodore Brokaw, is en- 

 tirely too general, and in the absence of the proof is likely to be 

 disputed by many, in fact Mr. Edwards himself, in the latter part 

 of his letter, takes a much less extreme view. While we can 

 indorse the plea for shipshape and serviceable rigs, and while, in 

 accordance with this policy we have long urged the limitation of 

 standing sails of huge size, we recognize fully that for certain 

 uses the standing sail is superior to all others. ' This is especially 

 the case with the racing, or even cruising, mizen; which sail, 

 being within easy reach of the crew, can he quickly lifted out and 

 laid on deck, and in fact can be handled more 'effectively and 

 with much less gear than a hoisting and lowering sail. When 

 used in this way the standing sail is unobjectionable on the score 

 of danger, and can in no way bs classed with a mainsail of 90ft. 

 stepped a few inches from the bow and entirely out of reach from 

 tbe well. 



Even in the case of the latter sail, though it be admitted that 

 it is dangerous and unshipshape, we cannot perceive that it is 

 worse in either respect that three or four other racing features 

 which are found in company with it, or that there is any justifi- 

 cation for the singling out of this one feature as the object of 

 special and extraordinary legislation. To us the huge standing 

 rig has seemed a fitting accompaniment to the bath tub well, the 

 big board in the center of the canoe and the unlimited slide of 

 the deck seat. We have for years urged the necessity of some 

 legislation in these matters, and though we believe that now tbe 

 time has gone by when such work could be done to the best ad- 

 vantage; if the opponents of the standing sail cau make it clear 

 that their main object is to effect by legal means a change of 

 policy on the part of the Association in the direction of the dis- 

 couragement of extreme and special features, and the active de- 

 velopment of better and more serviceable canoes, they can count 

 on our heartiest co-operation. 



It has not yet appeared that any such change of policy was con- 

 templated, nor that either of the gentlemen in question bad any 

 further end in view than a successful crusade against the stand- 

 ing- sail; in fact, in writing on this subject a little over a year ago, 

 Mr. Edwards expressed himself as follows in the Forest and 

 Stream, of Feb, 28, 1889: "The place of a centerboard, whether m 

 the center of the canoe or forward, is to me a matter of compara- 

 tively small importance. I don't use one myself and I do not 

 sleep in my canoe. A tent and a soft side of a rock are good 

 enough forme." In this statement, which is certaioly inconsist- 

 ent with what he describes in bis present letter as the object of 

 the rules, he offers an argument that may with propriety be 

 turned against him by the friends of the standing sail. It is a 

 serious question now whether it would be possible, or even politic, 

 to prohibit all racing features which tend to destroy the general 

 usefulness and safety of the canoe; and if this is the case but lit- 

 tle good can be done by the summary prohibition of one particu- 

 lar feature which has been tacitly recognized and encouraged by 

 the Association for five Beasons. One side point, of Mr. Brokaw's 

 letter is worth a special notice, ho offers an excellent argument 

 in support of the view lately held by many, that tbe real superi- 

 ority of the big standing sail was so slight that the evil would 

 soon correct itself and tbat no legislation was necessary. 



On what has pioved to be the real issue in the case, the mode in 

 which the subject was recently brought up and acted upon by the 

 executive committee; there is nothing in either letter save the 

 allusion of Mr. Edwards to the vote of 1889. We have, since the 

 meet, been able to discuss this question very fully with a number 

 of members ot the Association, men whose opinions on minor- 

 points differ widely; but with one or two exceptions we have. 

 found a general concurrence in the views we have expressed as to 

 the hast" and illegality of the whole proceeding. In contrast to 

 this opinion, which we believe to be quite general, a few have con- 

 demned very severely our course in criticising any acts of the 

 executive committee, claiming that the committee has supreme 

 power to govern the Association as it deems proper, and that the 

 members at large have no right to question its acts; and also, even 

 in cases where the committee might make a mistake, the fact 

 that they acted for the good of the Association should secure them 

 from criticism or blame. We have further been accused of im- 

 pugning the motives aud misrepresenting the acts of the commit- 

 tee, and of abusing such influence as we may have to create a 

 feeling against them. 



It is our office to collect, and publish news, and in particular the 

 news of the business meetings of the A. C. A. for tbe information 

 of the large number of members who cannot be present. It is also 

 our business to have positive opinions on all that occurs in canoe- 

 ing, and to express them editorially; whether or no we are always 

 correct does not matter so long as our views are honest and im- 

 partial, and this point we leave to the many canoeists among our 

 readers. In the present case a very important step has been 

 tahen by the committee, a step in which every member of the 

 Association is interested, and we have endeavored to publish a 

 truthful and accurate account of tbe business transacted, relying 

 at first entirely on official information. This has been a very 

 difficult matter, from the fact that the official minutes as a. matter 

 of course do not. contain a full report of the long and complicated 

 discussion; and though we have since sought for information 

 from the members present, thoro is a difference of opinion on the 

 part of some as to tne most important points. To instance only- 

 one, the proposer of a very important motion declares that it 

 means what the wording would infer, while the seconder asserts 

 that something totally different was contemplated. It is most 

 important that all the facts of the case shall be fully known, and 

 if, in soite of special diligence, we are in error on any points, we 

 shall be glad of correction. 



Concerning the motives of the members of the executive com- 

 mittee we have no means of knowing them, and most certain I 

 do not intend to cast any reflections upon them; we have worked 

 too long and too intimately with these same men to believe 

 that they bad anything in view but the welfare of the Associa- 

 tion. As to their acts, the case is entirely different, not only 

 are tbe official acts of the committee a fitling subject for the 

 discussion and even criticism of the members, but in cases 

 where a mistake has been made, no matter from what motive, 

 it is the duty of every member to work for its immediate cor- 

 rection. 



in the present, case two very serious mistakes have been made; 

 in the first Dlace the executivecommitt.ee has exceeded the powers 

 granted it by the laws of the Association, and has deliberately 

 set these laws aside in order to accomplish a certain end. In the 

 second place the firmly established custom of open and informal 

 discussion of all changes of the laws has been departed from, and 

 tbe proposed change was introduced only at tbe last moment and 

 at a most unexpected and unusual time. The results of these 

 measures are too plain to be mistaken; tbe rules have been so 

 seriously disturbed as to destroy all the permanence and stability 

 that has thus far characterized tbe sailing regulations, leaving 

 them to be altered at the mere whim of a minority of the com- 

 mittee; the feeling of confidence on tbe part of the members at 

 large in the judgment and also good faith of the executive com- 

 mittee has been seriously impaired, and finally, the actual work 

 has been done in such a slipshod manner and the wording of the 

 motion is so loose and ambiguous that it must fail entirely of at- 

 taining the end in view. 



Looking first at this latter point, we may assume from Mr. Ed- 

 wards's letter that the intention was only to prohibit standing 

 sails so large that they cannot be practically handled with safety 

 in a canoe. This view is not in accordance with that of Vice- 

 Corn. Brokaw, who would prohibit all standing sails; but Mr. Ed- 

 wards was the proposer of the motion. Tne actual words are, 

 "After the presen t season the regular races of the American Canoe 

 Association shall oe confined to canoes whose sails cau be readily 

 lowered when afloat." The man who reads this in tbe light of 

 past discussions, and who wishes to be on the safe side beyond 

 doubt, will abandon all standing sails and go to the meet with a 

 lull lowering rig. At the same time, there are a uumber of skill- 

 ful canoeists who, in the stiffer canoes, can readily lower a stand- 

 ing sail of large size when in still water, and there is nothing in 

 the above rule to prevent, a man entering a race with two stand- 

 ing sails, say a mizen of 60ft. and a main of 5u, such as are now 

 being used, and on winning, coming up before the regatta com- 

 mittee and laying both of bis sails snugly on deck. That this 

 would be an evasion of the spirit of the rule there is no doubt, but 

 it would comply with the letter; and, if the action of the commit- 

 tee is not. rescinded, we shall see canoes built next, year for the 

 purpose of carrying standing sails and yet evading the rule. 



In connection with this matter of the wording of the motion is 

 its form; there is no question as to the proper place for such a 

 restriction, it obviously belongs to Rule 1 of the Sailing Regula- 

 tions, with other similar limitations of hull and board, but 

 insiead of placing it there the committee has preferred to put it 

 in the form of a general ed ict. something that has never been done 

 before. So much has been said in regard to the action of the 

 committee in changing the sailing rules without even notice to 

 the regatta committee that such a step was in contemplation, 

 that t he defense is now made that the motion is not a part of the 

 Sailing Regulations, but w«s passed by the committee under the 

 powers given them in Act VI. of the constitution for the "general 

 government of the Association." We doubt very much whether 

 this point is technically correct, there being laid down » apeoiflg 



