482 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[June 13, 1806. 
American and British Steam Yachts. 
Batb, Me., May 29.— Editor Forest and Stream: Under ordinary 
circumstances I am opposed to any newspaper controversy, but your 
reply to my letter of May 9 certainly demands of me another letter. 
You acknowledge tbat Eleanor's performance on her cruise around 
the world was excellent. I will go further still and say that it stands 
uneqaaled to day by any vessel of her class. As I understand your 
reply, you also agree with me as regards the workmanship and ac- 
commodations of the yacht, but the point we apparently cannot agree 
on is her appearance, which you claim is decidedly unyachthke. 
I have not had the opportunity of seeing Eleanor since she arrived 
in New London after having successfully circumnavigated the globe, 
and therefore I know not how much she has deteriorated in appear- 
ance, but I speak of her as she was when she left her builders m 1893. 
At that time she was the handsomest steam yacht that I had ever 
seen. Her neat sheer and handsome bow and stern were admired by 
all, and the vessel in all particulars, appearance, arrangement and 
detail, represented a decided advance in steam yacht architecture, not 
only in our own country, but also in Europe. Your remark that she 
is from ten to twentv years behind time as regards appearance is cer- 
tainly erroneous and needs no comment. 
You are fixing the standard of steam yacht appearance on your own 
Ideas and taste, but you must remember that in this particular people 
differ greatly in their opinions, and no such standard can be placed 
that will suit all classes. What you consider pleasing to the eye, 
graceful and yachtlike, another person might think directly the re- 
verse, Not even the best educated experts can agree on this subject. 
Most yachtsmen were very enthusiastic over the appearance or 
Eleanor, and when Peregrine was being designed Mr. B. fi. White de- 
sired that a sheer and ends somewhat similar to Eleanor's Bhould be 
given her. The designer must necessarily cater somewhat to the 
tastes of the owner, and if a naval architect can design steam yachts 
that please their owners as far as appearance is concerned it matters 
not if they do fall short of any one person's ideas of symmetry and 
proportion, for it is a fact that no designer can please all. In large 
steam yachts especially the design ia of cen handicapped by whims of 
the owner. . . 
According to your editorials the British steam yacht is perfection 
as regards appearance, while the American yacht is beneath com- 
parison. To me one of the most gratifying features concerning 
American shipbuilding is that our designers and builders seek to pro- 
duce something original, or at any rate something different from the 
usual British practice. They are working on different lines, and are 
trying to avoid the bow and stern that so characterizes a British 
steam yacht. Apparently you like the ends of a British yacht, and 
because Americans don't follow suit and build precisely the same 
thing you condemn their appearance. There are many expertB and 
yachtsmen in this country whose opinions are just the reverse to 
yours on this point. 
Excepting a slight difference in the sheer and a number of minor 
details, the representative British steam yacht of to-day is precisely 
the same as ten or fifteen years ago, and 1 myself cannot see where they 
progress. There is a great similarity between British steam yachts. 
Almost all have the same ends and general appearance, so that you 
can readily distinguish them in any fleet. 
Judging from your article you term all the J. Beavor Webb designed 
yachts "British," so in that case he cannot have become an American 
citizen. This takes from our list of American yachts Sultana, Intrepid, 
Utawana and Corsair. Of these Sultana is generally regarded as the 
best looking, but the rig of the three former (ttiey being auxiliaries) 
has something repulsive looking and very unyachthke about it. 
Moreover, the yachts, especially Intrepid, I am informed, lack the 
ability to carry the canvas given them. 
The St. Clare Byrne yachts are Namouna, Alva, Valiant and more 
recently Arcturus. These yachts probably conform with some peo- 
ple's ideaB of what a yacht should be, but the most expensive of all, 
the sumptuously furnished Valiant, cannot be termed handsome or 
yachtlike. Neither could Alva, and even Namouna has a heavy, 
clumsy look about her. 
I acknowledge a certain handsome appearance of the British yachts 
Bona, Sapphire, Valhalla, etc., but I cannot say the same of such 
boats as Giralda, SylviH, Hermione, etc. 
Now, as regards American steam yachts, outside of Eleanor, 
Peregrine and Illawara, I think the following boats could be added as 
good-looking, successful craft, besides a very large fleet of smaller 
craft too numerous to mention here: Susquehanna, Alicia, Toinette, 
Beverie, Embla, Free Lance, Ballymena, etc., etc. Of the large 
American steam yachts Columbia and Thespia are all that you have* 
said of them, and neither Nourmabal, Electra or Comanche can be 
called very handsome, although they are not by any means failures. 
Peerless, Stranger and Kanapaha (Corsair 10 were good boats when 
built, but Atalanta was, I acknowledge, a mistake from the first. 
Wild Duck is a very good boat as an auxiliary cruiser, and Wadena, 
neither in appearance or performance, brings discredit to her builders. 
Dungeness nas a certain peculiar appearance, but she is a boat no 
designer need be ashamed of. Such craft as Oneonta are generally 
regarded more as freaks, therefore I will not mention them in this 
criticism. 
Sagamore you evidently think was designed by C. B. Hanscom. 
This is not so. She was' built in 1888 of wood at the New England 
S. B. Co.'s yard. Bath, Me., from designs by W. S. Pattee, Bath's once 
famous wood ship designer. I do not intend to champion Sagamore, 
for she cannot be called a modern yacht. Her stern is particularly 
poor and the hull has a clumsy appearance throughout. Yet as re- 
gards workmanship of both hull and furnishings and performance as 
a cruising yacht she will stand comparison with any yacht of her 
type. 
Now, as regards A. Cary Smith's experience as a steam yacht de- 
signer, I think you will find that Embla is indirectly his work, even if 
she was built and designed by Seabury & Co. Free Lance, of 
course, he is credited with, and I should say, after seeing the plans of 
Josephine, now building at Lewis Nixon's, that he is also indirectly 
connected with the design of that boat. His experience and remark- 
able success with the Peck and Lowell are also to his credit, even if 
they are a totally different type of vessel. C. E. Hanscom, designer 
of Eleanor, Peregrine and Illawarra, was born in Portsmouth, N. H., 
and is therefore an American in every sense of the word; but, by the 
way, will Mr. Stephens kindly inf orm me, for information's sake (being 
ignorant on this point;, as to the place of his birth, because it seerus 
improbable to me that an American, no matter how conscientious, 
could so advocate British yachts. 
You say that the Payne bill, in order to be consistent, should pro- 
tect the designer also. This is very true, but as the bill, if passed, will 
protect the builders and all their employees, it should not be con- 
demned for this one point. It is better to protect 99 out of 100 than 
not to protect a single one. If your ideas on this subject should ever 
come to pass and materialize, I think it would kill American steam 
yacht designing and building. Americans would continue to go 
abroad for their yachts for reasons which I have before stated, and 
our designers and builders would never be given an opportunity of 
showing their ability. Thus there would be no inducement whatever 
for naval architects and builders to make a speciality of this type of 
vessel. w. A. F. 
It would be useless to argue over what is a matter of taste, and in 
answer to the first part of our correspondent's letter we will only 
record our opinion that while the British steam yacht by no means 
represents perfection, the latest of them belong to a new school of 
designing which represents the highest point yet reached, and which 
is being more generally recognized each year as the standard. Elea- 
nor, on the other hand, has the characteristic oval stern Imported into 
this country many years ago, and almost universally used on the lar- 
ger steam yachts; a stern that has been long out of date. Iu default 
of any existing authority that might decide in such a matter of taste 
we are quite willing to leave the question of her entire appearance to 
the decision of time;. if the whole course of yacht designing is not 
turned backward by the passage of tue Payne bill, we are certain that 
before five years have parsed our correspondent will appreciate that 
the yachts he names as superior in a ppearance to any oth< rs afloat w ere 
really behind the Dimes now, and noc up to the highest existing stand 
ards. 
It is a matter of regret that the average owner of a steam yacht is 
apt to consider his own particular craft as the sole standard of beauty • 
and that among yachtsmen generally such craft as Nourmahal and 
Electra have long been accepted as handsome. There has been how- 
ever, a great change in tbis respect of late; and American yachtsmen 
are now fully cognizant of the deficiencies of the home-built steam 
yacht. t 
If the effort of American designers to produce something original in 
appearance, as mentioned by our correspondent, has yet resulted in 
aoything but a succession of f ailures, we will be glad to learn of it 
The examples of this school which have come under our notice start 
out with a big gold eagle under the bowsprit and end with a stern like 
a dishpan We hope that the time may come when the American 
steam yacht will sbow s sheer and sail plan that is bold, symmetrical 
and harmonious, in which the curve of the stem, the figurehead, the 
sheer of rail, planksheer and gold stripe, the counter and the taffrail, 
will not only be graceful and pleasing in themselves, but will harmon- 
ize with each other Until this time does come, designers will do 
better m copying the latest British yachts throughout than in inerelv 
assembling a number of odd and discordant parts 
This much must be said of the British steam yacht, that for at least 
twenty years past it has been in appearance bold, shipshape and 
sturdy, appealing to the eye as the work of one thoroughly conver- 
sant with ships. The American steam yachts, on the other hand, 
•ook as though they were made by a tinsmith for sale in a toy 
store. 
We certainly consider Mr. Webb's yachts as of British and not 
American design. If Mr. Watson, Mr. Fife or Mr. Byrne should come 
to this country and take out papers, we should still consider their 
yachts of British design. 
Our correspondent has us at a disadvantage in that if we would 
discuss with him the various yachts mentioned by him we must make 
invidious comparisons of the work of different designers. This we 
do not desire to do; but there are some yachts whose defects are so 
generally known that there can be no objection to a reference to 
them here. 
Both Namouna and Alva have always been considered very hand- 
some yachts; what our correspondent terms a heavy and clumsy look 
is but a matter of taste; the British idea of a large steam yacht is 
derived from sea-going vessels, the American is derived from mere 
river launches. Of the two we prefer the British, as in Namouna, to 
the American, as in Atalanta and Peerless. Valiant is certainly not 
a handsome yacht, but she is the work of a shipbuilding firm, and 
not of a yacht designer; she will not compare in appearance with 
Alva. "Girnlda" we have never seen, but the largest of the several 
yachts bearing that name is generally admitted to be a remarkably 
fine craft. The Herreshoff yachts, Ballymena, Toinette and many 
more, cannot be called handsome, their counters alone would place 
them out of the category; and they, with others mentioned, belong to 
a smaller class. Stranger and the first Corsair have both done good 
service for years; they are probably the best looking of their kind, 
lacking some of the striking peculiarities of the American steam 
yacht, but there is nothing remarkable about them in the way of 
beauty. Peerless, with an indifferent counter, has a specially ugly 
bow and figurehead, while her whole side resembles the enlarged 
river launch rather than a seagoing yacht. Wild Duck cannot be 
considered as a striking example of good design, as it was found 
necessary to hip her out, the work being done in a specially clumsy 
manner, so that she now carries two huge excrescences on her sides. 
Wadena suffered from the same fault, and was only made safe at a 
considerable cost by cutting in two and lengthening. 
Embla has a stern which is something unique in its way. She has 
done so well in actual service that we do not care to criticise her se- 
verely, but the less said about her appearance the better; certainly 
our correspondent has never seen her, or he would have omitted her 
from the list of good-looking craft. We agree with him that the ap- 
pearance of Dungeness is peculiar; most men who have seen her 
characterize it by stronger terms. 
Mr. A. Cary Smith's work on Embla was limited solely to the under- 
water body, the sheer plan having been already approved by the 
owner before he was called upon to assist in the superintendence. 
He had nothing whatever to" do with the new Josephine, and Free 
Lance is his first and thus far only steam yacht. 
Only on condition that he will not reveal it, we will inform our cor- 
respondent that we were born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, on the banks of the "American Clyde," but at the earliest op- 
portunity we crossed the river to New Jersey and have lived there 
ever since. Our ancestors too, for at least two generations, were of 
American birth, Our only experience under a foreign government 
has been during ten years' residence in Hudson county, New Jersey, 
which is ruled by the Irish with the aid of a few Germans. We have 
never found it in the least inconsistent with our conception of a 
proper spirit of Americanism to criticise what was wrong and bad 
and to contend for higher standards; we take a pride in that develop- 
ment of the American sailing yacht and that recognition of the de- 
signer by American yachtsmen to which we and our able predecessor 
have contributed by criticism that, though condemned at the time as 
un-American, has since been justified by history as technically 
honest, fair and true. 
Tank vs. Breaker. 
The use of fixed tanks and more or less elaborate plumbing arrange- 
ments, which is universal in this country in the smallest yachts, is the 
exception in Great Britain, where wooden casks or breakers, stowed 
below or in skids on deck, are used in all small yachts and even in 
some larger craft. As will be seen from the following editorial note 
in the Meld of May 30, objection has been made to this arrangement 
in Niagara: 
The question about Niagara's water tanks was of a rather serious 
nature, and was raised last week on a formal report to the Y. B. A. 
A committee under Bule 5 of the Bules for the Guidance of the Council 
was summoned, but nothing could be done until there was an oppor- 
tunity for inspecting the yacht. This occurred on the day of the race 
on May 32. The tanks were found to be fitted underneath the sofa 
seats in the bilges and are connected by a pipe, so it was quite obvious 
they could be used as shifting water ballast. The captain stated the 
tanks were used for carrying fresh water on making passages. No 
proof appears to exist that they have been so used, and all the com- 
mittee suggested was that the pipe connection should be severed. It 
was stated that the other American 20-rater, Isolde, was similarly 
fitted. This is an arrangement we are not used to on tbis side of the 
Atlantic, andwe hope to hear tbat the arrangements for filling and star t- 
iug the water from the tanks have been altered, as the Y. B. A. com- 
mittee have asked they should be at once. It was stated incidentally 
that the tanks are made of copper — not a very satisfactory arrange- 
ment for carrying fresh water tor crew unless means exist for clean- 
ing them out. 
The following letter from Niagara's owner appeared in the Field of 
June 6: 
Editor Field: 
Sir— In your issue of the 39th ultimo there appeared an article re- 
garding the Niagara's water tanks, which, although it does not state 
how they might be so used, intimates that they "could be used as 
shifting water ballast." 
As the article might mislead some of your readers into the belief 
that they have been used for a purpose both unsportsmanlike and 
contrary to racing rules, I desire to state emphatically that the tanks 
have never been used for water ballast or for any purpose whatever 
other than to carry water for the needs of the crew; also, that the 
Niagara was measured this year for a Yacht Bacing Association cer- 
tificate with her tanks empty, and has always raced with them in that 
condition. Even it the tanks were filled, the idea that they could be 
an advantage is absurd, as it would take 8 or 10 minutes for the water 
from one to run into the other through the small pipe connecting 
them. 
I may add that nearly all racing yachts built in America use tanks 
in preference to carrying water in breakers, which can so readily be 
moved from one side of the boat to the other. 
Had the committee advised me of their intended visit it would have 
afforded me much pleasure to have met them aboard the Niagara and 
aided them in their investigation. Howard Gould. 
The following letter has been sent officially by the secretary of the 
Y. E. A.: 
London, May 27.— Dear Sir: A report was made to the council of the 
Yacht Bacing Association that your yacht Niagara was fitted with a 
water tank under the seat on each side of the cabin, and that these 
were connected by a pipe, so as to make it possible by merely turning 
a cock to run water from one tank into the other, and thus use them 
as shifting water ballast, which might be advantageous in certain 
cases. 
Three members of the council were, in consequence, requested to 
inspect the tanks, which they did Immediately after the race of the 
Boyal Thames Y. C, on May 22, and in your absence were afforded 
every facility by Capt. Barr. 
The members of tne council do not wish to convey any idea on their 
part that the tanks were used for the purpose indicated. On the con- 
trary, their impression is the other way. But I am requested to sug- 
gest, in order to place the matter beyond suspicion, tnat it is desir- 
able to make impracticable the run of water from one tank to the 
other, which could readily be done by a small alteration in the pipes. 
I should be glad to hear, for the information of the council, that 
this will be done at once. Dixon Kemp. 
Unless there is something radically different in the plumbing of 
Niagara from that in similar yachts, we do not understand how it 
would be possible to use the tanks in the manner mentioned. If they 
are under the seat in this shallow hull they must be of very lim- 
ited capacity, so small that the shifting of the contents of one 
necessarily for a very limited distance from the center line would 
have no appreciable effect on the stability of a yacht which carries her 
sail only by virtue of a deep and heavy lead bulb. Also, if they are 
arranged in the usual manner, the pipe connecting them must be so 
small as to require some time to discharge from one into the other. If 
it should appear that the yacht has two tanks of large size, and fitted 
with such an arrangement of pipes and valves that the contents of 
one may be quickly transferred to the other, there might be some 
grounds for tne suspicions of the Y. E. A., but it does not appear that 
the arrangement on Niagara differs from what ia so common here, of 
a system of metal tanks connected by suitable piping for filling and 
emptying. In most cases it would not be possible to use the tanks for 
water ballast to windward, as they are situated directly on the keelson 
and under the floors; but owing to the very limited room in Niagara, 
the only place for them is on each side under the lockers. 
Steam Yachts and Marine Machinery. 
Complete machinery "outfits" for boat builders, mauo oy Marine 
Iron Works, Chicago. Light draft work a specialty. Catalogue free. 
Knickerbocker Y. C. Annual? Regatta. 
COLLEGE POINT— LONG ISLAND SOUND. 
Saturday, June 0, 
Among- the smaller New York clubs the Knickerbocker Y. C. has 
long been recognized as one of the most progressive and enterprising. 
Over fifteen years ago the old club station at Port Morris was the 
headquarters of a notable set of young Corinthians, men who not 
only sailed, but cared for their own boats; who were as expert with 
the scraper and the paint brush as at the tiller; to whom work of any 
kind about a yacht was a pleasure and a thing in which they could and 
did take a just pride. 
The club was among the first to adopt the Seawanhaka rule, In 
spite of much opposition. The amateur designer, builder or skipper 
who wandered over to the old club house of a holiday, in winter as well 
as summer, was always sure of plenty of congenial company, ready 
alike for a discussion of current yachting topics or to lend a hand in 
any practical work. Many of these young amateurs have long since 
graduated into larger craft, but the old spirit of Oorinthianism still 
survives in the club in its new quarters at College P<unt. The annual 
regatta of Saturday, the second general regatta of the Yacht Bacing 
Union programme, favored by a good breeze, passed off most pleas- 
antly, both for the sailormen in the fleet and their friends aboard the 
club steamer. Tbe conditions of the race were: 
The starting and finishing line will be between two floats anchored 
off club house. 
Courses: For schooners, 51ft.. and 43ft. classes of sloops and yawls, 
arouud all buoys on Execution Bock Shoals and return, leaving said 
buoys on starboard hand, 17.5 nautical miles; for 36ft. and 30ft. classes 
of sloops, yawls and catboats, and special 30-footers, around Gangway 
Buoy and return, leaving same on starboard band, 14.5 nautical miles; 
for all other classes, around Big Tom Buoy and return, leaving same 
on starboard hand, 10.5 nautical miles. Yachts must leave all Govern- 
ment buoys on proper hand excepting Gangway Buoy, which may be 
left on either band by yachts sailing the longest course. All yachts 
must pass to the westward of Stepping Stones Lighthouse. The 
spindle on Success Bock may be left on either hand. 
Crews: The total number of persons on board a yacht shall not ex- 
ceed the allowance in the following schedule: Schooners, 13 persons; 
single-masted vessels and yawls (cabin), 51ft. class, 11 persons; 43ft. 
class, 9 persons; 38ft. class, 8 persons; 30ft. class, 6 persons; 25ft. 
class, 5 persons; open catboats, 30ft. class, 10 persons; 25ft. class, 8 
persons. 
As this race will be sailed under Corinthian restrictions, except in 
the schooner class, each yacht must be steered by the owner or other 
amateur and must be manned by amateurs, except that any cabin 
yacht may carry and use her regular professional crew. 
The regular racing rules as to measurement, number of crew, etc., 
apply to the three special classes only in so far as they do not conflict 
with the rules under which these classes were originated. 
The starters were: 
SPECIAL 30BT. CLASS. 
Length. 
Vaquero HI., H. B. Duryea , 30.00 
Musme, J. MaeDonough \ !!!. 30.00 
Hera, Balph N. E'lia. !!,.3o!oo 
SPECIAL 21FT. CLASS 
Houri, E. B. Hart. Jr 21 ,00 
Celia, C. A. Gould , 21. utl 
SPECIAL ^o RiTER CLASS. 
Willada, W, G. Newman 15,00 
Olita, H. C. Bouse 15^00 
Question, L. D. Huntington, Jr '. , ,16.(0 
Hope, Arthur Lelin. ' .15 00 
Paprika, C. S. Hoyt , 15.00 
Ulmec, W. W. Howard 15. 00 
CLUB SLOOPS — OVER 51FT. 
Arrow, Edwin Oliver 66.08 
Whileaway, F. H. Boyuton ,, .' 64 58 
Active, John F. Phillips , 53.23 
sloops— 43pr. class. 
Gypsy, L. H. & S. Shanks 38.96 
Gurnard, L. H. Zocher 36.79 
Eurybia, Charles Fryer [ , ,40.02 
SLOOPS— 36lTT. CLASS. 
Mignon, Joseph Fornier 35.17 
Bel Ami, Daniel Nnble ,. , ,, 34 05 
Yolande, A. E. & W. H. Kuper 30.48 
Edith, George H. Cooper , ', 30.10 
sloops— 30pt. class. 
Herbert B 
sloops— 26ft. class 
Gem, O. L. Strohmenger, Jr 23.00 
Doris, Eev. W. Everett Johnson 23,00 
CABIN CATS— 30FT. CLASS 
Leisure, F. B. Myrick 26 64 
Oconee, C. T. Pierce ,,',,.26.00 
CABIN OATS— 25FT. CLASS. 
Weasel, T. E. Ferris ,,,,,,,,,, 24 , 98 
Dolphin, G. H. Montrose ',',',,, ,,,.:S5,00 
Jonquil, H. W. Warner , ,'.,23.00 
Mary II., W. E. Elsworth '. . . , ,', .22.30 
Waltz, C. 0. Converse 20. 00 
OPEN CATS— 30FT. CLASS 
J. I. M., I. J. Merritt. Jr 
Violet, G. A. S. Wieners .' 20 08 
Apart from the 30-footers and the 15-footers, 1 here were few new 
yachts. The three old-time sloops, Arrow, Kirby's famous old craft, 
Whileaway and Active, made an odd contrast to the m odern 30-footers. 
Mary IL is a catboat built late in 1894 for Thomas Howell from a 
model by Philip Elsworth, a nice-looking boat, with a moderate over- 
hang at each end, and very clean fore and aft lines without a hollow. 
She was recently bought by W. E. Elsworth and renamed Mary H., 
after the larger Mary so unfortunately lost at sea last winter when 
bound for Florida. She has had a low cabin house added this season 
by her new owner, with a new racing mainsail. Weasel, a new yacht 
last year, has been rebuilt and radically altered during the winter, her 
bottom btiag cut out and replaced, making a deep S section with ex- 
tremely hollow floor, with a lead keel. 
The new addition to the 15ft. class, Ulmec, owned by W. W. Howard, 
was huilt, as before mentioned in our columns, by Fry, of Clay- 
ton, N. Y. She is a peculiar craft, long, narrow and shoal, a round- 
bilged boat of light displacement and low power, with a saucer- 
shaped section and easy fore and aft lines. She belongs to the 
type of Sorceress and Ethelwynn, and hot to the scows and 
sharpies, but is unlike either of the former. Her rig is small in area 
and peculiar, the mast well aft, a long foot to the jib, long boom and 
gaff, low hoist and very low peak, The jib is rigged with a club 
swiveled to the mast like a spinaker boom and handled by lines to the 
tack, by which it can be squared off, thus setting the sail as a spinaker. 
The jib does not roll on the stay, as in the English half-raters, but the 
rest of the arrangement is the same. The cockpit is watertight and 
self- bailing, the floor curves down from the sides of the coaming to 
the top of trunk, making a sort of trough of semi-elliptical section. 
The centerboard is of aluminum and very light. She steers with a 
long tiller, made of two long pieceB exactly like the leg of a camera 
tripod, on the fore end is a jointed piece about 2ft. long, used when 
the crew is sitting well out. With her crew in their places the boat 
trims so that the square transom is just immersed, while the fore end 
of the waterline is nearly under the mast, nearly a third of the boat 
being thus out of water forward. 
The hull is very lightly and beautifully built. 
Since the preceding Saturday Question had been scraped of her old 
coat of lead color and stained a aark red, the deck being repainted a 
sort of drab pink. In spite of the familiar rig many of the spectators 
failed to recognize tbe old boat. 
There waB no wind in the early morning, the atmosphere being dull 
and heavy, but fortunately a nice breeze came in from E.N.E , enough 
to make a few boats turn in a reef and some others wish that they 
had. The start, advertised for 11, was half an hour late, the prepai - 
atory being fired at 11:20 and the start at 11:30. The one-gun start 
was used throughout in all classes, the yachts getting away nicely. 
The first leg was close-hauled from off the station out by College 
Point and across the Sound, then came a beat to Throgg's Neck, and 
so on to the outer marks. The tide was running a strong flood at the 
start. In the 30ft. class Vaquero III. crossed first and Musme second, 
but Hera had the weather berth and improved it as they stood across, 
taking first place when the beating began. Paprika, sailed by C. Sher- 
man Hoyt, was first across of the 15-footers, followed by Question, 
Ulmec, Olita, Hope and Willada, the last pair being well astern of the 
others. Ulmec had not gone far before her jib tack parted, but after 
a little delay her crew made the tack fast again and she continued, 
Hope also parted something aloft and lost a little time in repairing 
the damage. Paprika made a wise tack up close under the Point, fol- 
lowed by Olita and Question, while Hope and Willada held the start- 
ing tacK until well across the Sound. 
The 25ft. class offered a very pretty fight between Weasel and Mary 
H., the latter taking the lead when clear of College Point. Once on 
the wind, which was coming in very fresh by this time, Weasel laid 
down on her side after the manner of the old tonnage cutters and 
Mary began to get away. Mary had two reefs and with them stoo • up 
to her work, the other lying at an angle wbich allowed the wind to 
blow over her sail. Paprika gained on the fleet of little ones in the 
windward work and soon had a long lead. After getting well clear 
of the Point and out in the Sound, Question parted her peak halyards 
and withdrew. When Paprika nearcd Fort Schuyler she had a long 
lead on the fleet, Olita, Hope and Ulmec being near -together and 
