April i3l895. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
299 
pulling on the guy ropes, we managed to get awav without doing 
any damage; but finding a strong current setting us irresistibly 
toward the nets again, we dropped the anchor, and I climbed 
back on board completely tired out. 
In five minutes a good strong breeze sprang up from the south- 
past and we got under way again, standing along the coast close 
hauled on port tack; we passed between Salt Island and Salt 
Ledge, a dangerous sunken reef, wbere the swells of the Atlantic 
were surging and boiling as they rolled over it. 
A mile outside of us was a little yawl, about our size, bowling 
along with her lee rail awash. She had had a spanking breeze, 
while we lay perfectly idle; but after once getting started we over- 
hauled her rapidly, and at Eastern Point we had crawled to wind- 
ward of her. 
She could not keep the pace we set her, and fell farther and 
farther astern every mile. The breezB freshened gradually, till 
we had a good stiff wholesale breeze and flew along, occasionally 
uipplng into a comber and sending the spray flying over our heads 
*a9 though a calm was a thing that had never existed. We ran 
into Magnolia, and picked up our mooring, lying there the rest of 
the season. 
cent.; provided that the challenger "shall not exceed the. largest 
boat in the fleet of the challenged club by more than five per 
cent. 
3. Time allowance shall be given Tor any difference in size ac- 
cording to the rule generally in vogue in the United States at the 
time of the race. 
4. The sailing rules of the challenged club to govern, and the 
race to be sailed over the customary course of that club, unless 
another course be selected by the committee having the race in 
charge; this committee to consist of two members of the regatta 
committees of each of the contesting clubs; provided, that in 
case of a club having its station so far from the location of the 
races as to make it inconvenient for its regatta committee to at- 
tend, the challenging club may select two other gentlemen to act 
for it, who shall, whenever possible, be regularly enrolled club 
members. This committee shall select a referee, not a member of 
either club, whose decision upon all questions shall be final. 
5. Races shall take place not less than 30 nor more than 60 days 
from the date of the challenge; provided, that in the event of a 
challenger hailing from a port foreign to that of the club holding 
the cup, the committee may, at its discretion, extend the time 
GA.KETH. 
Chapman. The plans for the races for the cups presented by 
Com. Gould will be clianged, in consequence of the alteration ot 
the cruising programme. The club membership is rapidly in- 
creasing, and the present season promises to be a most prosperous 
one in all ways, 
Half-Rating' Racers- 
The promised visit of an English half-rater this summer has 
awakened a most unusual degree of interest among American 
yachtsmen, who, as a rule, have given very little attention to.craft 
smaller than an 18-ft. cat-boat, while in the larger clubs even a 
30-footer has been until of late years considered a pretty small 
craft. In view of the great expense of yachts of 40 to 50ft., and the 
falling off of building and racing in the once popular classes, it is 
a matter for rejoicing that the smaller classes are at last receiving 
some attention, as they are now the only ones within reach of the 
great majority of racing men; who must build at least every sec- 
ond year, if they would still continue to win prizes. 
The half-rater is a very small boat, just a size removed from a 
canoe, and the man who wishes to yacht at ease, who is too inert 
to move qUiculy, or who fears a wetting, has no place in one; at 
the same time, when the racing is as keen in the class as it has 
been for some years about the Solent, it offers plenty of good sport 
at a less outlay than any other class. 
We have printed the Y. R. A., or "Rating" rule, so many times 
within the past eight years that our readers might be expected to 
know just what "rating" is; but the many inquiries which we 
have lately received makes another explanation necessary. The 
rule was proposed by Mr. Dixon Kemp, "and adopted by the Yacht 
Racing Association in 1887, among the first yachts built under it 
being" the cup challenger Thistle. The formula is: 6 000 * ~ 
rating. The lengta on water-line is multiplied by the sail area, 
the product being divided by the constant 0,000, thus, in the 40 
rating class, to which Queen Mab belonged, a length of 60ft. and a 
sail area of 4.000sq. ft., multiplied together and divided by 6,000 
would give 40. In the half-rating or (.5) class, a water-line of 18ft, 
and a sail area of 166.6sq. ft. would give .5 rating, or a water-line 
of loft, with a sail area of 200, would make the same measurement. 
The proportions of length and sail area may be varied at will in 
any class by owner or designer; but in practice they are fixed 
within comparatively narrow limits, outside of which success is 
not possible, the yacht being too short for the class or under- 
rigged for anything by extreme weather. The official measure- 
ments of some of last season's boats are as follows: 
L.W.L. 
Ft. • 
Sagamore 16.88 
Lady Bird 17.22 
Ragamuffin III. .. .15.76 
Coquette 16.28 
L.W.L. 
S.A. 
Ft. 
Sq.ft. 
M. • • v 
....16.23 
181.60 
. .,14.65 
201.70 
Spruce III. . . 
....15.52 
104 CO 
168.50 
177.20 
S.A. 
Sq.ft. 
178.80 
173.70 
186.50 
182.60 
Modern Bulb Fins. 
The accompanying illustrations, tor which we are indebted to 
Le Yacht, show two of the latest English bulb fin "creations," 
Gareth, the very successful 2 1-2 rater designed and built by C. E. 
Nicholson in 1892. but still one of the fastest of the class, and 
Contest, a newer boat. The peculiar forms of fin, quite different 
from the first Herreshoff boats, is very clearlv shown. The boats 
were photographed on the quay at Marseilles, after being lifted 
from the steamers on which they hadjeome out from England. 
First Race of the Season. 
The Huguenot Y. C. will open the yacht racing season on Long 
Island Sound on Saturday, April 20. E. Burton Hart, Chairman 
of the Regatta Committee, has issued a circular which gives the 
following information: The cruisers race slated for April' 20 will 
be sailed over the square course. Boats will start from an imagin- 
ary line off the easterly end of Huckleberry Island, aud will then 
go to Gangway Buoy, old Hen Buoy and the S. W. Red Buoy off 
Hen and Chicken and then home. 
Five minutes before the gun a red flag will be hoisted for Class A. 
Cabin cats.— A blue flag will be hoisted for open cats. 
Five minutes after these preparatory signals have been hoisted 
a gun will be fired and boats will then be timed as having started. 
Z The one gun start and four-sided course is something entirely 
new on Long Island Sound, and the baby organizations of those 
waters deserves great credit for doing something original. The 
experiments will be watched with interest by yachtmen all over 
the country. 
Southern Y. C. 
New Orleans, April 5.— The Southern Y. C. held its annual meet- 
ing and election of officers on April 4. There was but one ticket 
in the field, that headed by the former rear-commodore of the 
club, Judge Lawrence O'Donnell. O'Donnell and his well-select- 
ed ticket was elected by acclamation, in direct contrast to the ani- 
mated campaign of last season. The officers for '95-'96 are: 
Com., Lawrence O'Donnell; Vice-Corn.. Alexander Brewster; 
Rear Com., S. F. Heaslip; Sec, L. D. Sampsell; Tread., James 
Buckley^ 
Governing Committee.— C. L. De Fuentes, J. W. Stone, Albert 
Baldwin, Jr., A. M. Aucoin, and Thomas Sully. 
House Committee.— Peter Labouisse, Robt. Lynd, W. W. Crane, 
J. D. Farrell, and A. M. Cooke. 
Fleet Surgeon.— J. B. Elliott, M.D. 
Measurer.— A. Fourchy. 
The flagships of the season will be Com. O'Donnell's sloop r lor- 
ence; Vice-Corn. Brewster's sloop Mephisto, and Rear-Com. S. F. 
Heaslip's schooner Viola. C. P. Richardson sloop Nepenthe will 
be fleet-captain. The newly-elected commodore, one of the most 
illustrious members of the Southern bar, is one of the most ponu- 
lar members, and, withal, one of the most thorough-going yachts- 
man in the South. He designed and built the very fast sloop 
Lady Sarah, now Nyanza, still champion of the 22ft. class. He 
next designed the present flagship, the 35ft. water-line sloop Flor- 
ence, the fastest boat of her class, and at the same time a noted 
cruiser. Florence, though only built two seasons ago, will be re- 
modeled and given a modern spoon bow with an addition of five 
feet to the water-line length. 
The Regatta Committee in their annual report recommended a 
change from the old system of water-line measurement to a rac- 
ing length classification. The South is fully alive to the impor- 
tance of an international year, and, if possible, there will be more 
sport and enthusiasm here than ever before. A large delegation 
from the Southern Y. C. will attend the cup races this year, as 
heretofore. The latest addition to the Southern fleet is the 75ft, 
steam yacht Oneida, owned by Col. Eugene May, of New Orleans. 
She was built in Chicago. 
The entire fleet is now in commission, except , several small 
sloops to be launched this week. S. 
A Challenge Cup on the Pacific Coast. 
A San Francisco yachtsman, Mr. Will Brooks, whose name will 
be familiar to some of the older readers ofjthe Forest and Stream, 
has lately made a suggestion which has been taken up eagerly by 
the Corinthian Y. C, of San Francisco, for a challenge cup for in- 
ter-club competition on the Pacific Coast, north and south of San 
Francisco. The scheme was discussed at the annual banquet of 
the club, on March 3. and under the leadership of Com. Pew a 
large part of the necessary funds was -subscribed in a short time. 
The design for the cup was made by Mr. Brooks, an urn-shaped 
loving cup, supported on a capstan as a base, against which rests 
an anchor, the chain around the barrel of the capstan. The three 
handles represent the prows of ancient galleys, the spaces between 
them being filled with a wheel, bearing the ai ms of San Francisco, 
a medallion for the inscription, and a second medallion with a 
yachting scene. The cover has as a handle a golden phoenix, the 
cup and cover being of solid silver. 
The general conditions under which the cup will be established 
are as follows: . , 
1. The cup shall never, under any circumstances, become the 
property of any yacht or club; but shall be held as a perpetual 
challenge cup, to be raced for not more than once in a year. 
2, Any yactit belonging at the date ot the challenge to an estab- 
lished yacht club, one having officers, constitution, sailing regu- 
lations, a flag and more than three yachts on its roll, located on 
the Pacific Coast or elsewhere, may, upon authorization by 
her club, challenge for the cup, upon giving her name, owner, 
club, and sailing length; this last to be calculated according to 
the Seawanhaka rule, or any rule which may come into general 
use in its stead, by a majority of the leading yacht clubs of the 
United States; such yacht to be met by a yacht belonging at the 
date of challenge to the club holding the cup; which yacht shall 
not exceed the challenger in sailing length by more than five per 
not to exceed sixty days. Provided also that the committee may, 
at its discretion, postpone the race for not more than two weeks 
from the date fixed for it to take place. b*< 
6. No challenge shall be considered a valid one, which fixes a 
date which will call for a race to take place during the months 
that the yachts of the challenged club are not usually in commis- 
sion. , ,. 
7. The challenger, if successful, shall give the former custodian 
a receipt for the cup, in which it shall bind itself to hold it under 
these rules. Any club holding the cup going out of existence, or 
failing to nominate and provide a yacht during its yachting sea- 
son to meet the challenger, shall at once forfeit and relinquish its 
right to hold the cun, and shall return it to the last previous hold- 
er; and the notice of the acceptance of a challenge shall be sent 
to the challenging club within ten days of its receipt. 
S. The competing clubs shall jointly bear all necessary expenses 
incurred by the race committee. 
Atlantic 1Y. C. 
A special meeting of the Atlantic Y. C. was held at the Waldorf 
on March 31. at which some imyortmt business was transacted. 
The proposed classification by racing length in place of water-line 
was adopted, as follows, accompanied by a limit of crew: 
Schooners.— Class 1— All over 95ft.. racing length; Class 2— Not 
over 95ft. and over 85ft., racing length; Class 3— Not over 85ft. and 
over 75ft.. racing length; Class 4— Not over 75ft. and over 65 ft., 
racing length; Class 5— Not over 65ft., racing length. 
Sloops, Cutters and Yawls.— Class 1— All over 80ft., racing 
length; Class 2— Not over 80ft. and over 70ft,, racing length; Class 
3— Not over 70ft. and over 60t't., racing length; Class 4— Not over 
60ft. and o% r er 51ft., racing length; Class 5 — Not over 51ft. and over 
43ft.. racing length; Class 6— Not over 43ft. and over 36ft., racing 
length; Class 7— Not over 36ft. and over 30ft , racing length; Class 
8— Not over 30ft. and over 25ft., racing length; Class 9— Not over 
25ft., racing length; Class 10— All opeu sloops. 
Cat- Rigged Yachts.— Class 1— Cabin yachts over 25ft.. racing 
length; Class 2— Cabin yachts under 25ft., racing length; Class 3— 
All open cat-rigged yachts. 
Crews to be limited, as follows: Schooners.— Class 1, one man to 
every two feet; Classes 2 and 3, one man to every three feet; 
Classes 4 aud 5. one man to every four feet. Single-Masted Ves- 
sels.— Class 1, three men for every five feet; Class 2, one man for 
All of these boats, with very few exceptions, are Uug rigged, as 
shown in the accompanying sail plan of Niny, and in that of the 
Petit Poucet, published in the Forest and Stream of March 9, 
Under the Y. K. A. rule, the measurements of sail are taken from 
a certified sail plan, the headsails being measured as one triangle 
whose base is the distaure from the fore side of the mast to the 
point where the line of luff of the foremost headsail cuts the bow- 
sprit or hull; and whose perpendicular is the distance from the 
deck at the mast to the point on the mast or topmast, where it is 
cut by the line of luff of the foremost headsail. If no headsail is 
carried, as in a cat-boat, the spinaker can only be carried if meas- 
ured as a headsail. its base being the spinaker boom. The sails 
other than headsails are each measured separately by triangula- 
tion. any excessive round, as !in the head of some lug sails or on 
the leech of a battened sail, being separately measured. Topsails 
are measured, if carried, contrary to American practice. 
The accompanying drawings have already appeared in the Forest 
and Stream, some three years since, being then reproduced from 
" Wassersport," but they are of immediate interest just now as 
illustrating one of the most successful types of half-raters, which 
immediately preceded the present Solent boats; the first fin-keel, 
as distinguished from the more extreme plate and lead bulb. 
The half -rating class originatea in 1891, with the Bembridge 
Sailing Club, in the Isle of Wight, which, in pursuance of its 
policy of encouraging small boat racing, went to work deliberate- 
ly to build a fleet of small yachts of but .5 rating. Most of these 
boats were designed by Mr. Arthur E. Payne, and built by his 
firm, Kittiwake, being about the best of the year. In 1892 she was 
sold to Prince Henry of Prussia, for whom, in the same year. Mr. 
Payne built Niny, a very similar boat, whose dimensions are' 
Length over all, 18ft. 7in.; length of l.w.l., 17ft. 6in.; beam ex- 
treme, 5ft. lin.; beaml.w.wl.. 4ft. 6in.; draft, 3ft. 
The sail area hero shown is slightly larger than allowed for a 
half -rater in England. 
The latter part of 1892, the second season of the class, saw a lit- 
tle American added to the fleet, Wee Winn, designed and built by 
the Herreshoffs for Miss W. Sutton. This boat was a diminutive 
El Chico, a bulb-fin craft with long ends, but with a neatly carried 
out counter, unlike the sawed off termination of El Chico and 
Wenonah. She made a notable record, coming out far ahead of 
the home boats, among the least successful of the latter being a 
pretty little bulb-fin boat by Mr. Payne, Pique by name, built for 
Miss Maud Sutton. She had a very moderate foie Overhang a 
square transom slightly raked, with rudder hung in yawl boat 
every three feet; Classes 3, 4 and 5, one man for every four feet; 
Cla c s 6, one man for every five feet. Cat-rigged vachts, one man 
for every five feet, racing length, not including the Uelmsmau. 
Some changes were also made in the club courses on the Bay and 
outside the Hook. The date originally set for the club cruise, in 
August, was changed, with the whole scheme of the cruise, ar- 
rangements being made for a joint cruise in company with the 
Larchniout Y. C, the rendezvous being at Larchmont on July 12, 
In the absence of Com. Gould, Vice-Corn. F. T. Adams will be in 
ommand of the Atlantic Y. C. fleet, while Com. Gillig will be in 
command of the Larchmont boats. The runs, for prizes, will be 
iriade alternately under the Atlantic and Larchmont flags. Com. 
Gould appointed as a special committee to confer with the Laroh- 
raont Y. C. over details; Vice-Com. Adams and Mr. J. L. Bliss, of 
the Regatta Committee. The details of the cruise will be settled 
later, the final arrangements being made at a meeting of captains 
on the night of July 12, 
Resolutions of condolence over the death of Eugene Maxwell 
were adopted. Mr. Latham A. Fish was elected an honorary 
member, being one of the oldest active members. An amendment 
to Art. XIX. of the constitution was passed, by which active mem- 
bers of over 15 years' standing may become life members upon 
payment of $100; and members of shorter standing upon the pay- 
ment of $.'50. A painting of Vigilant defeating valkvrie in the 
final race of 1893 was presented to the club by Col. A. P. Ketch um 
on behalf of some of the members; the artist is Mr. Carleton T. 
CONTEST. 
fashion outside the transom, a canoe form and plate, fin and bulb. 
Wee Winn, unlike the Solent boats, was rigged with a boom and 
gaff maiusail, with a small jib. The success of Wee Winn con- 
tinued through the following season, the record being as follows 
for 1893: 
Wee Winn 
Dancing Girl 
Pique 
Coquette 
Isomer 
Musquitn 
Ladybird 
Ragamuffin 1 
Kagarnuffin 1 1. . - - ■ 
The record for tin 
Wee Winn 
Pique 
Spruce. Ill 
Ragamuffin HI — 
Coquette. 
M j 
The most remarkable thing in the above table is the record of 
Pique, a comparative failure in 1892, but showing the highest per- 
centage of wins to starts in the fleet in 1894, in her third season. 
;arts. 
1st 
Other 
Total. 
Amount. 
Prizes. 
Prizes. 
16 
12 
3 
15 
£30 
17 
9 
3 
12 
17 
17 
1 
7* 
11 
- 12 
65 
41 
14 
55 
115 ; 
15 
4 
4 
8 
hi 
13 
18 
30 
32 
39 
8 
16 
21 
13 
3 
4 
7 
23 
10 
9 
19 
23 
past 
season stands: 
21 
36 
23 
8 
• J 
28 
20 
j» 
21 
J. 
63 
18 
33 
51 
33 
13 
15 
28 
61 
15 
15 
30 
23 
4 
?\ 
11 
