March 3, 1894.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



193 



fit to become or remain members of the A. 0. A. in its present social 

 position. You compare the. League of American Wheelman with the 

 A. C. A. The L. A. W. started its social decline with the "what do I 

 get for my dollar" idea that you are trying to put into the minds of 

 the A. C. A. men at present. 



There are many estimable men in the L. A. W. and not a few canoe 

 men among theni, but the rank and file are not such as you introduce 

 into the bosom of your family. There are very few A. C. A. men that 

 you would not. Is not the cruiser benefitted by this? I am a cruiser, 

 I go to the meets, to get some cruising to and from and about there; 

 to see my friends; to see the races and to get all the points regarding 

 fittings, sails, etc., that is possible, and I accomplish all that I go for. 

 There are usually about seven-eighths of the men in attendance that 

 do the same as I, for the same reasons. Of course a man can go to a 

 meet, make no friends, see nothing, and do nothing. Such are no use 

 to themselves or anyone else, and ought to go home and give up 

 canoeing. Yachting with a skipper and a chef would be much better 

 exercise for them. 



Let us work for a large membership of the right kind of men, and 

 then we can do something for our members. Above all don't growl 

 till we meet at the meet. Ilex, 



Boston, Feb. 18. 



The A. C. A. Meet of 1894. 



CROTON POINT, HUDSON RIVER, JULY 13-27. 



The indications thus far point to a very good attendance and a 

 pleasant camp at the next annual meet of the American Canoe Asso- 

 ciation. The site has, on close inspection, proved decidedly better 

 than was anticipated, and its accessibility is likely to induce a general 

 rather than a merely local attendance. 



The '94 camp is located near the extreme western end of Croton 

 Point. Approaching the camp from Sing Siug by water one passes 

 the large bay south of the Point, into which the Croton River empties. 

 The water in this bay is comparatively shallow and well protected 

 from the northwest and northeasterly wind, forming a splendid sailing 

 ground in case the water should be rough north of the Point . Follow- 

 ing the west shore line, which is a bluff ranging from 20 to 50ft. high 

 and quite rocky, one comes to a charming stretch of sand beach, hard 

 and clean, free from large stone and debris and with very few peb- 

 bles; in fact the beach is one of those charming little stretches of sand 

 found on the northerly side of most of the points along the Hudson. 



This beach extends in almost a half circle for several hundred yards. 

 The camp site lies back of and south of this cove. The Ladies' Camp 

 will be located on the extreme northwestern point. The ground is 

 high, sloping gently back from the beach, and the outlook in all direc- 

 tions is very fine. In this respect the entire camp is as attractive, and 

 the scenery as fine as any of the Association camps in the past. Back 

 of the cove, where the main camp will be, there is a somewhat limited 

 extent of level ground. Then a hillside giving opportunities here and 

 there for the pitching of a small cluster of tents, until at the top 

 is found a nearly level field, giving abundant space for the location of 

 tents with charming scenery and outlook to the northwest. The dock 

 Is already built, having been constructed very substantially for the 

 use of a brick vard on the point, which will =ave the Association con- 

 siderable expense. There is also a well of fine water within compara- 

 tively short distauce. and when the underbrush that is now scattered 

 over the proposed camp site is clear, it will present an attractive ap- 

 pearance. It is proposed to make Sing Sing the basis of transporta- 

 tion on the Hudson River Railroad, and to have a boat from there to 

 camp. The village of Croton is situated to the north of the Point and 

 about two miles away. A plan is under consideration to make ar- 

 rangements with a Croton storekeeper to deliver orders in camp each 

 day, and thus do away with the necessity for a camp store. The St. 

 Lawrence River Skiff, Canoe and Steam Launch Co. have been granted 

 the privilege of having a repair and supply tent in camp, and promise 

 to have a competent boatbuilder there all through the meet. 



At the November meeting Com. Dorland was empowered to appoint 

 a committee to report at the July meet on the question of a continu- 

 ance of the present plan of a different site each year, or of various 

 proposed plans for a permanent or semi-permanent site. The names 

 of this committee have been announced as follows: Eastern Division: 

 G. H. Parmele. Howard Grav. Atlantic Division: R. H. Peebles, L. W. 

 Seavey. Central Division: R. S. Oliver. W. R. Huntington. Northern 

 Division: E. B. Edwards, J. N. MacKendrick ; chairmaD, W. P. 

 Stephens. _____ 



What Can We Do for Racing? 



Editor Forest and Stream: . . __ 



The Hon Secretary-Treasurer of the A. C. A., Mr. Douglass,was in the 

 Hub recently. We were talking over the aspect of the racing at the re- 

 cent meets. The fleet of starters has been growing beautifully less 

 each year. And why? In my humble opinion the main reason is that 

 an injustice is done the younger sailors and paddlers in making them 

 sail or paddle against the expert and older men. This opinion leads 

 me to express the further opinion that the time for class racing is now 

 at hand. Would it not be much more encouraging to the new men to 

 compete against others more nearly their equals? Why it's enough to 

 "rattle" a beginner to watch Butler. Qoddard, Oxholm, Palmer, Doug- 

 lass, Gray, Archbald, Barrington and a few other expert canoe sailors, 

 let alone competing with them. Let us see how we can arrange it. 

 First make a senior class, an intermediate class and a junior class. A 

 lower-class man can always go up, but a high-class man cannot come 

 down. However, if a junior wins a race in the intermediate class he 

 becomes a senior. Prize winners in the different classes move up one. 

 The senior class will never be too full, as from that men naturally re- 

 tire from active racing. The first job of classifying will be the hardest 

 one, and a council of the racing men should make the first classifica- 

 tion. After that the scheme would work itself. If I am not greatly 

 mistaken this step will soon be a necessity if interesting racing is to 

 continue a feature of the meets, A discussion of this scheme would 

 probably s :> crystallize the idea of the many into one perfect gem, that 

 it would dazzle the regatta committee into transforming the racing 

 rules into lin^ wilh the idea, Ilex 



A. C. A. Membership. 



Atlantic Division: J. Thomas Rice Atwater and Wm. C. Frazee, 

 Arlington, N. J.; H. W. Evans, Jersey City; G. W. Boschen, Hoboken. 



CANOE NEWS NOTES. 



We are in receipt of inquiries as to practicable canoe routes between 

 the headwaters of the St. Francis Kiver and the Connecticut, from 

 some canoeists who propose making the trip next summer, starting 

 from Albany via Lake Chnmplain and the Richelieu, and then up the 

 St. Francis and across to the Connecticut. Any information concern- 

 ing the lower St. Lawrence and the Chaudiere will also be acceptable. 



From the latest reports it is now likely that while there will be no in- 

 ternational racing this year, in 1S95 the New York Y. C. will be called 

 on for the forth time to face a challenge from a yacht of 70ft. water- 

 line. Lord Dunraven has admitted that in company with Lord Wol- 

 verton, his fellow owner in Valkyrie, he will challenge for the 

 America's Cup in 1895, with a Watson cutter of 70ft. l.w.l. Lord Wol- 

 verton is now in India and no definite plans have been made, as ample 

 time remains before a challenge can be sent. 



drifting. 



As regards the immediate prospects, it is unfortunate for all parties 

 that Valkyrie will not race here on account of the absence of Vigilant 

 from the class; and in fact the absence of any important class racing 

 on the part of the larger yachts. It is quite natural that the syndicate 

 owners of both Vigilant and Colonia should be averse to spending 

 more money on either yacht, and in the case of the former there is 

 everything to lose and nothing to win by further racing with the Val 

 kyrie and the American 87-footers. At the same time there is an op- 

 portunity for the finest racing that has been seen for years, with such 

 a. fleet as Vigilant, Valkyrie, Colonia, Jubilee, Volunteer and Navahoe 

 in one class at New York and Marblehead. Valkyrie, Colonia and 

 Navahoe are capable of great improvement over their more or less 

 imperfect form of last year, and with the rebuilt Volunteer would 

 make the finest racing class of large single stickers that has yet been 

 seen afloat, and the results of a series of races would be most valua- 

 ble, besides giving a needed stimulus to what promises to be an ex 

 ceptionally dull season. As the owners of these yachts are among the 

 wealthiest and most spirited of American yachtsmen, the difficulties 

 in the way of bringing together the whole fleet of 87-footers can 

 hardly be considered insuperable. 



In reading of the yachting exhibition now open in London we con- 

 fess to a feeling of envy of our more fortunate fellows who are within 

 reach of it, and also wonder why something of the kind cannot be 

 done, or is not done, here in New York. It can hardly be because 

 English yachtsmen are more enterprising, or that they are quicker to 

 appreciate the interest and importance of such a collection; but what- 

 ever the reason may be, it never has been done here, nor is there any 



promise that it soon will be. An exhibition was held in Boston in 1889 

 and was quite successful, but it was by no means what such an exhi- 

 bition should be. 



Royal Aquarium Yachting Exhibition. 



From the Field. 



Whatever may be the merits of this exhibition, one thing is certain 

 that it is a fairly good representation of British yachting from its 

 earliest days— the days of Charles II.— to the present time. The rep- 

 resentation is pictorial, literary, architectural and mechanical. There 

 is a portrait by Vandevelde (loaned by Mr. C. Newton-Robinson) of 

 the yachts of Charles H. off Greenwich, and portraits or designs of 

 yachts of different ages down to the last photograph of Britannia and 

 Navahoe. by West & Son . Yacht racing is represented in all sorts of 

 ways, from the days of the old Arrow to the time, 1875, when Prince 

 Batthyany established the Yacht Racing Association out of chaos, 

 and made a distinct epoch in yacht racing. There are drawings of 

 such varied forms as those of Mr. T. Chamberlayn's Arrow of 1P8S; 

 Prince Batthyanv's Flyina; Cloud of 1852, his famous cutter Kriemhilda 

 of 1872. Sir Richard Sutton's cutter Genesta of 1884, and a beautiful 

 model of the Prince of Wales' cutter Britannia of 1893. It will thus be 

 seen that yacht racing is historically well represented. Before leav- 

 ing the models we must call attention to two beautiful specimens of 

 the modeler's art loaned by Mr. G. L. Watson. These represent the 

 Marjorie cutter and Lenore schooner (now a yawl). We have seen 

 these models before, but they will bear looking at over and over again. 

 The vessels are beautiful in form, which pleases the eye, but what 

 most interests the yacht-loving spectator is their equipment. They 

 are completely rigged from deck to truck, and have all deck fittings 

 accurately represented. From either of these models one could make 

 a complete outfit of spars, rigging and deck fittings of a yacht, and 

 they are certain to attract a large amount of attention in the exhibi 

 tion. Another model should also be mentioned, that of the steam yacht 

 Lady Torfrida, owned by Sir Wm. Pearce. This model is also fully 

 equipped '-nth the outfit of an auxiliary steam yacht. Another model 

 of an auxiliary steam yacht is that of the Valhalla, Mr. Laycock; it 

 is not so highly finished as the models of Marjorie, Lenore and Lady 

 Torfrida, but then it was made by the Valhalla's carpenter, H. Bal- 

 lantine. "Chips" is always regarded as a man of inexhaustible in- 

 genuity, and he of the Valhalla has quite kept up the fame of his craft 

 by this model of Valhalla, all the fittings and rigging of which he 

 turned out with his own hands. The model yachts of the Round Pond 

 and Serpentine, etc., are not so well represented as they were last 

 year; but there are several good specimens, from the rectangular, 

 vertical— longitudinal section to the short fin bulb keel. 



W r e had almost forgot to mention that the Atlantic races are repre- 

 sented, the first and most memorable being that between the Henri- 

 etta (Mr. James Gordon Bennett), Fleetwing (Mr. Osgood) and Vesta 

 (Mr. Lorillardl. The yachts started on Deo. 11, and Henrietta arrived 

 at Cowes on Christmas Day at 5 P. M. Mr. John White, the well- 

 known shipbuilder, immediately sent an invitation to Mr. James Gor- 

 don Bennett and his friends to come to bis house and partake of 

 Christmas fare, which was accepted, as might be expected, with very 

 great joy and interest, as an experience of the old-fashioned English 

 Christinas entertaining. Of the three competitors, it is to be noted 

 that Vesta was the only one fitted with a centerboard, and her draft 

 of water with the board housed was only 7ft. Mr. Lawrence Jerome, 

 a guest on board the Henrietta, at a dinner at Cowes in honor of the 

 event, thus described how the match came to be sailed: "Our yacht 

 race was made up at a dinner. Two gentleman arranged it, and one, 

 as if to outdo the other, said, 'Let us make it from Sandy Hook to the 

 Isle of Wight.' 'That suits me,' was the reply. 'Let us make the 

 stakes $30,000 (£6,000) each ' 'That suits me,' was the reply. 'Let us 

 sail in the stormv month of December.' 'That suits me,' was the 

 reply. Then a modest young gentleman, Mr. James Gordon Bennett, 

 aske'd if tbev would allow his yacht Henrietta into the match, and this 

 they willingly did because she was considered the slowest boat of the 

 three." 



The yachts started Dec. 11, and had a very fast run across the Atlan- 

 tic before westerly gales, the time to the Needles being: 



Days. H. M, 



Henrietta, Mr. James Gordon Bennett 13 32 46 



Fleetwing, Mr, G. A. Osgood 14 7 1 



Vesta, Mr. Pierre Lorillard 14 7 41 



The Vesta was ahead up to the time of reaching the Scilly Isles, 

 when she was taken out of her course and Henrietta passed her. 

 Fleetwing was hove to for four hours searching in vain for six men 

 who were washed out of the cockpit. She also met with accidents to 

 her spars. She was the favorite at starting. 



There are also pictures representing the Cambria-Dauntless Atlantic 

 race of 1870 and the Coronet-Dauntless race of 1887. 



In connection with yacht racing we may here mention that one of 



the exhibits is a selection of regatta cards, with colored racing flags, 

 collected during the racing career of Prince Batthyany's Flyiug Cloud! 

 and Kriemhilda, both of which figure in most of the matches to which 

 the cards refer. The collection goes back to the year 1856, and ia 

 themselves form a sort of history of yacht racing. 



Cruising yachts are perhaps even more adequately represented,, 

 whether it be in the form of the yawl, schooner or steamer. A see of 

 lithographs by Sir Oswald Briefly shows the sort of adventures yachts* 

 men went in 'for in the days of the Crimean War, and among the. 

 yachts looking on at the bombardment of Bomarsund— in the very 

 thick of it— is the Pet, the Baltic Pet as she was termed. It is worth 

 noticing that this yacht was only of 8 tons, and was taken to the Baltic 

 by Capt. J. W. Hughes (late owner of the 3.5-rater Humming Bird), 

 his brother and one seaman. This set of lithographs must be rare, as 

 we only remember one other set. and that is in the club house of the 

 Royal Dart Yacht Club at Kingswear. There are a very large number 

 of Yachting pictures, but as at the time of writing (Friday) the cata- 

 logue of the exhibition was not ready, we must defer a detailed notice 

 until later on. We may say, however, that the Royal Thames Yacht 

 Club has sent a most' interesting collection of paintings and yacht 

 designs, including the working drawings of the yachts of the old 

 Coronation Sailing Club, out of which the Royal Thames Yacht Club 

 sprang. 



Among the exhibits in the loan collection are several models de- 

 signed by Mr. G. H. Wilraer, of the New Brighton Sailing Club. These 

 are interesting, because they include such well-known names in boat 

 sailing as Tyro and Zinnia. The If tter had a wonderfully successful 

 career on the Mersey since 1888, and has always been sailed by her 

 owner, Mr. G. H. Wilmer. Messrs. Watkins & Co., of Blackwall, have 

 a good show of models, including that of the 30ft length class boat 

 Bonina, which came to the fore a dozen years ago on the Solent. An- 

 other interesting exhibit is that of the successful O. U. S. C. 35-rater 

 Free Lance, owned by Mr G. F. Eyre. Mr. Herbert Crossley has sent 

 a model of his successful Windermere yacht Saturn, and Mr. Hodgens, 

 besides a model of tbe first 20-rater built, Vreda, has also contributed 

 a model of the well-known Dublin Bay sailing boat Pitti Sing. Mr. G. 

 Mollett has a collection of six models, including his concave-bottomed 

 boat Gossip. This peculiar and more or less successful boat was built 

 in 1890 for Mr. A. C. Roberts, and her achievements were much dis- 

 cussed in 1891. The Societe Nautique de Geneve send a very interest- 

 ing set of models of yachts which sail in the matches on Lake Geneva* 

 Such English designers as Mr. C. P. Clayton and Mr. A. E. Payne are- 

 represented in this collection, and Mr. A. Carey Smith, the American 

 designer. Capt. Longridge exhibits his form of "drop bulb" center- 

 keel, designed to combine the advantages of the fixed bulb-keel with 

 those of the lifting centerplate, without encroaching on the inside 

 space or greatly lessening the stability when the keel and bulb are 

 raised. This in a very ingenious arrangement, and much improved in 

 form since we first saw it, It still has, however, the defect (from the 

 racing boat point of view) of Dot housing. 



Among the "relics" at the exhibition is a wooden grapnel or anchor 

 loaned by Col. Fitzroy Clayton. The grapnel is formed of part of a 

 young fir tree, tbe stumps of the branches forming the arms or spikes 

 of the grapnel. It was found in 1860, when a barrow containing a 

 Viking ship was opened on the Isle of Gottland in the presence of Lord 

 Lonsdale, who was on a cruise lu the steam yacht Nortbumbria. Mr. 

 H. J. Powell sends drawings of Lord Belfast's famous brig Water- 

 witch. She was sold into the navy on account of her great reputation 

 for speed, and was one of the experimental squadron of half a century 

 ago. The lines of a famous brig captured from the Dutch in 1795 is 

 exhibited by Mr. W. J. Melville; and he also contributes the lines of a 

 fast revenue cutter of 1830. named Lapwing. 



We have already referred to the extremely interesting collection of 

 yacht designs of the old "Cumberland Fleet," loaned by the Royal 

 Thames Y. C. This "Fleet" was established in 1775, and was greatly 

 occupied in match sailing. A print is shown of a race sailed in 1782 for 

 the Duke of Cumberland's Cup. Strange to say, this cup was dis- 

 covered in a pawnbroker's shop in San Francisco in 1889. In 1823 the 

 club took the name of "His Majesty's Coronation Sailing Society;" 

 but, a dispute having occurred over a prize, a large number of mem- 

 bers seceded and formed the Thames Y. C. In 1831 the Coronation 

 Sailing Club was dissolved, the leading members going over to the 

 Royal Thames Y. C, as it was in that year termed. According to 

 this the Royal Thames Y. C- has an ancestry almost as remote as that 

 of the Royal Cork Y. C, which dates back to 1720. Not the least in- 

 teresting 'relic" in the exhibition is a model of the "Old Arrow," now 

 seventy-two years old, loaned by the Royal Southampton Y. C. There 

 are some interesting pictures loaned by Mr. Thomas Bartlett, and 

 some account of the late Mr. Thomas Bartlett's visit to Cronstadt in 

 1852; he was at the time commodore of the Royal London Y. C , and, 

 in compauy with a fleet of about a dozen yachts, went to the Baltic 

 to take part in the brilliant regatta festival the Emperor Nicholas had 

 organized at Cronstadt. Mr. Bartlett's cutter Warhawk won a "gold 

 cup" at this regatta, and a Russian nobleman was so delighted with 

 her that he bought her. Similar festivities were being organized for 

 1853, but the Crimean war put a very different complexion on the 

 visit of the yacht fleet to the Baltic in that year. Tbe pursuits of this 

 fleet are shown in the exhibition by a set of lithographs by Sir Oswald 

 Brierly. 



In what is termed "Abbey Section," there are several interesting 

 exhibits from yacht builders and yacht fitters. Messrs. Ramage and 

 Ferguson, of Leith, have a fine show of beautifully-made models of 

 stpam yachts, they have built from 2,000 tons to 150 tons, aud also a 

 model of one of the large four-masted sailing ships they have built. 

 The Victoria Steamboat Company exhibit a grand model of their 

 paddle steamer Royal Sovereign, which became such a favorite with 

 Londoners last season; she is 312ft. long, and her speed is said to be 

 19J4 knots an hour. The LoDdon, Woolwich, and Clacton Steamboat 

 Company exhibit models of their "Belle" steamers, and amongst them 

 the London Belle, which, like the Royal Sovereign, is said to exceed 

 nineteen knots an hour. Among the boatbuilders there is a good show 

 of full-sized models, from the 0.25-rating boat exhibited by Mr. F. 

 Brewster, to the 35ft, Thames skiff exhibited by Messrs. Hammerton 

 of Long Ditton. There are also sailing dinghies by Messrs. Watkins & 

 Co., of Blackwall, aud any number of up river pleasure skiffs for row- 

 ing, and very elaborately fitted. Capt. T. B. Heathorn exhibits his 

 "wiggle waggle" propelled skiff; and Messrs. Andrews, of Maidenhead, 

 show some, good sorts of punts. The "folding boats" are well repre- 

 sented. There is Lieut. Sayce's kijak, in which the occupant is pretty 

 well cased in ; and the open folding boat of Mr. J. B. Wright, of Croy- 

 don. Still another is that known as "James," manufactured by 

 Messrs. Lane and Neeve, East Ferry-road, Millwall. A specimen of 

 this boat is shown which was carried last year by Mr. F. W. Ley bourne 

 Popham, in his steam yacht Blencatbra on her visit to the Yenesei 

 river, Siberia. The boat appears to have seen a good deal of service, 

 and. as the model is shapely, we think it. likely to become a favorite 

 with yachtsmen for small yachts, as it is not an awkward boat to row. 



Among steam propelled craft Messrs. Simpson and Strickland, of 

 Dartmouth, show a very fine specimen of a 25ft, steam launch, fitted 

 with their compact boilpr and machinei\y. Messrs. Vosper & Co., of 

 Portsmouth, exhibit one of their 16ft. oil launches, which seem to be 

 coming into fashion; and the Daimler Motor Company, Leadenhall 

 street, show a 21ft. launch driven by their oil motor; they also have 

 several specimens of their motors adapted for various kinds of work. 

 Messrs. Kerby Bdwen exhibit an electric launch, which is also capable 

 of carrying a good spread of canvas, the accumulators acting as 

 ballast. In the yacht fitting line Messrs. Blake & Sons, of Gosport, 

 make a great show of their sail attachments, and Messrs. Bryer, of 

 the Minories. London, display specimens of their well-known corn- 

 passes for small yachts. They also show a centerplate winch for 

 very small "raters," and nearly everything else that is required in the 

 equipment of a yacht. Perhaps one of the most useful exhibits in the 

 building is the Sheppard capstan, exhibited by Messrs. Simpson & 

 Strickland, of Dartmouth. At first sight this looks like an ordinary 

 winch top capstan, but in reality it is a very ingenious contrivance for 

 changing speed to power. For instance, supposing a yacht is warping 

 to a wharf, or say, to another yacht, there is always a lot of slack to 

 get in, and this capstan will take it up like a steam windlass; then, 

 when (he strain comes on, without throwing anything out of gear or 

 altering the direction of rotation, the power can be increased fourfold 

 —but, of course, with a corresponding decrease in speed. This is a 

 very delightful piece of machinery to have on board a yacht. 



Among the exhibitors of appliauces for steam yachts are Messrs. 

 Starnes, of Broad street, Ratcliffe, who show their patent stern .tube 

 valve, engine-room telegraphs, aluminum and phosphor bronze fittings 

 etc. In this line the Phosphor Bronze Co., Summer street, South- 

 wark, also have a good display, including the model of a yacht built 

 with their Bull metal angles. Among the yachtsman's waterproofers 

 are Messrs. Anderson, of 27 Queen Victoria street, London; they have 

 a very large exhibit. To the amateur builder the exhibit of Williams, 

 Carlisle street, Westminster Eridge road, will have many attractions: 

 they exhibit specimens of every conceivable kind of wood used in yacht 

 and boat building: and as they make a speci dty of these things, the 

 boat builder can easily gft from them what he desires. 



The exhibition of model yachts is not so varied aud interesting as it 

 was last year, but the Serpentine Model Y. C. show some specimens 

 of their 10-tonners and 10-raters. These 10-raters are of the fin bulb 

 keel type; in some the bulb and fin are long aud run almost parallel to 

 the load water line, while in others it goes down almost, to a point, 

 like an inverted cocked hat. One of the latter is the Britannia, shown 

 by Mr. T. Miller and designed by Mr G. Hale. The Mosquito, also de- 

 signed by Mr. G, Ha!e, shows a longer fin and bulb. Mr. 0. F. Wan- 

 hill's Muriel has a short bulb, aud Mr. W. Hildersley's Niobe a long 

 one. How they figure so well on the water without a helmsman is a 

 wonder, looking at the forms of their neighbors the 10-tonners. 



