S84 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 4, 1895. 
The prize of $100 in the Herald's name competition has been paid to 
the person first suggesting the name selected by the syndicate, by the 
way, a six-year-old child. The comments we have heard on the selec- 
tion are by no means favorable, and the opinion is freely expressed 
that the owners of the yacht have avoided the trouble of a critical 
examination of the list of suggested names by taking the first com- 
monplace term that suggested itself. As the yacht, will not be 
launched for six weeks or longer, there is still time to remedy the 
mistake, and to give her a name that is more definite and distinctive in 
connection with a yacht which, whether successful or otherwise, is 
certain to become historical. If no better name can be found, there 
is the one which we mentioned some time since— Gimcrack ; that of a 
historical craft, intimately associated with the New York Y. O, whose 
first meeting took place in her cabin; and commemorative of those 
two good yachtsmen, Com. John C. Stevens and his brother, who 
brought to this country what has since been known as the America's 
Cup. 
Among the "important, if true," news of the week is a rumor that 
the Prince of Wales proposes to visit the United States this fall to 
witness the international raws, and another to the effect that Ailsa 
will accompany Valkyrie III. to this country, with a view to the 
chosing of the faster of the two as a challenger after trials here. 
Should the Prince decide to cross the Atlantic, which is, at the least, 
very doubtful, he could be sure of a hearty welcome, and of seeing 
some good racing. The idea of sending more than one boat over and 
of sailing trial races on this side was first suggested by the Forest 
and Stream some months back, and its merits are self evident. 
Whether the New York Y. C. would be willing to accord the privilege 
of substituting Ailsa for Valkyrie III. is yet uncertain; under any 
reasonable construction of tha new deed the defending club has no 
right whatever to allow such a substitution, but as matters now 
stand, the New York Y. 0. has decided that the new deed means only 
what the club deems proper at any given time, so this question need 
not be discussed. 
Whether the club will vote, later on, to allow the selection of another 
yacht than that owned by Lord Dunraven and specifically named by 
him' in the original challenge, is still a matter of doubt. If Cup racing 
is to be a test of actual superiority, then the challenger should be 
allowed the same privilege as the defender, of choosing the best of 
several yachts after trial; to make this a permanent feature of the 
Cup contests, however, some change of the conditions would be 
essential. As matter- now stand, the club has virtually decided that 
it has the right to da as it pleases in all details of the racing, and the 
question is solely whether it is willing to accord the challenger two 
chances instead of one in the important matter of dssigning and 
building. 
In any event, even though the challengpr be limited to Valkyrie III., 
it would be a wise thing to send Ailsa over with her, for the purpose 
of tuning up, and as the home racing will be. less keen than usual this 
year, Britannia and Ailsa being the only large yachts that will make 
the usual circuit, the Prince's yacht might well come also. 
It would make keen work here, and it might not be a bad move for 
the Royal Yacht Squadron to send over Valkyrie III., Britannia and 
Ailsa in time for the New York Y. C. cruise in August, or for a series 
of trial races in the latter part of that month, for the selection of a 
challenger, or at least for the proper working up of Valkyrie III. after 
the ocean trip. The ocean ferry is now such a trifling obstacle that 
many British yachtsmen wouid gladly avail themselves of the oppor- 
tunity of witnessing the triple series of British and American trial 
races and the final contest; a yachting carnival such as has never 
been attempted. We hope that the Prince will come, and that Britan . 
nia and Ailsa may accompany him. 
While the idea of manning the defending yacht with an American- 
born crew is likely to have no practical result in leading to the general 
employment of American seamen in place of Scandinavians, the idea 
is one that appeals to Americans as particularly appropriate under 
the circumstances. At the same time we confess to a feeling of sym- 
pathy for the Neilsens, Jansens, Hausens, Petersens and Andersons, 
who are sitting idly on the stringpiece waiting for a berth afloat, 
These men, though some of them were, it is true, guilty of the crime 
of being beaten last year in Vi >ilant, have been the backbone of the 
yacht fleet for many years, and on the whole they have done their 
work well. As a class, they have proved themselves honest, temper- 
ate, capable and willing; they pulled and hauled on Mischief, Puritan, 
Mayflower, Volunte-r, and above all, on Vigilant in 1893; and until the 
latter vessel was defeated in 1834, no complaint was made against 
them. That they should now feel that they have not been treated 
quite fairly, is most natural. 
That petting and patting on the back which they once enjoyed at 
the hands of the press has been transferred to the men from Deer 
Island, and to an extent that is likely to make the experiment of Mr. 
Iselin of little value. From all appearances, the Maine fishermen are 
good representatives of the best class of American seamen; but they 
must be more than human if their heads are not enlarged by the undue 
attention paid them by some newspapers. If their work were done, 
and they had saved the Cup, there would be soma excuse for the pub- 
lication of their portraits and biographies; but as it has notyet begun 
as they have yet to learn how to set a spiaaker.or muzzle a balloon 
jibtopsail, this newspaper notoriety is calculated only to defeat its own 
end. 
As far as our observation goes, one element of strength in the Brit, 
ish crews, such as those of Genesta, Thistle and Valkyrie II. , lies in 
the fact that each crew is to a certain extent a clan or even a family) 
made up of men from the same locality, who have grown up together 
in fishing boats or yachts, the captain, 'such as Barr or Carter or Cran- 
fleld, being looked up to as the head of the clan. As the captain goes 
from one yacht to another, the mates and crew go with him as a mat- 
ter of course, the organization being maiatained and strengthened 
from year to year. With the Scandinavian crews of American yachts, 
whether skippered by men of their own nation or by Americans, the 
conditions are by no means the same; the leading yachts are manned 
by men who are well known as skillful and competent, the pick of 
them going into the Cup defenders when occasion arises. They are 
more or less acquainted with each other and used to working together 
and probably all are personally known to the captain, but at the same 
time there is not the same esprit du corps which exists among the 
Colne men of Genesta, Britannia and Valkyrie, the South Coast men 
of Galatea or the Clyde men of the Thistle. Judging from the expe- 
rience abroad, a crew of American sailors picked from one locality 
and commanded by a skipper who was essentially one of them, could 
he made to do even better work tlan the usual Scandinavian crew; but 
to this end it is essential that the men shall have been drilled together 
for many successive seasons; and that the racing in the larger classes 
shall be permanent, rattier than intermittent and irregular. In the 
meanwhile, we are not yet in a position to turn our backs entirely on 
the ruddy, blond-bearded sailormen of the North Sea and the Baltic. 
The report is current that the first race of the new Cup defender 
will be that of the Larcbmont Y. C. regatta of July 4, Mr. Iselin ha v. 
ing promised to start hpr providad a course is laid out with a depth of 
at least SOf t. over all parts. The Larchniont Y. C. will offer a special 
prize of $500. 
Vigilant and her captain, Charles Barr, have both distinguished 
themselves by a fast passage from Southampton, just under 18 days.. 
Though four days' longer than the eastward trip last year, it is a very 
good passage. 
LONG ISLAND SOUND IN APRIL. 
S. and I left New York on the night of April 5 on the 
Maine of the Stonington Line hound for the village- of 
Noank, where we were to get a catboat, built there tbe 
past winter, and which we were to sail to Sewaren, N. J. 
We were up bright and early Saturday morning and were 
much disappointed to find no wind and every appearance 
of rain. We arrived in Noank about 7 o'clock and were 
surprised to find the Fury was not yet launched, and 
were much perturbed in spirit for fear we would spend a 
good part of our time on the trip home pumping her out, 
but the builder assured us his boats seldom leaked when 
new and we were pleased to find he told the truth this 
time. 
The Fury is a cabin cat 24ft. over all, 20ft. w. 1., with 
10ft. beam, of a modified Cape Cod design. After Ave had 
satisfied ourselves that she was as true to her lines as it is 
possible to build, preparations were made for the launch. 
She was resting with ballast in and all rigged in a cradle 
on a plank way about 100ft. f r om the water and fully 
10ft, above it. After the planks were smeared with hot 
grease we set her going by means of long levers, and the 
way she travelled when she struck the hot grease was a 
caution. I believe her momentum would have carried 
her pretty close to Ram Island if they had not provided 
a long rope to stop her. We had to wait until 11 o'clock 
before there was a sign of a breeze, but it finally came 
in from the east, which was what we wanted, though it 
was very light. We started with the best wishes of the 
builder and numerous small boys for a quick and speedy 
passage. 
We were abreast of New London by 1 o'clock, and the 
Sound hereabouts was full of ducks of all kinds, which 
were very wild, though we managed to pick up one or 
two that passed us at long range. The wind increased a 
little, bringing with it the rain, so we got out our oil- 
skins and prepared for wet weather. After disposing of 
a good supper at 5 o'clock, prepared under way on our 
little oil stove, and an extra ration of grog to keep off 
chills, we felt so well we decided to sail a part of the 
night, trying to make New Haven. The wind had in- 
creased materially, though we were still carrying full sail, 
as we were most anxious to get home; for the women will 
worry when the men are out in inclement weather, par- 
ticularly so early in the season. 
We were well up to Falkner's Island by 7 o'clock, and 
as it was going to be a thick night on account of the rain 
and the wind was now blowing fresh, we tucked in four 
reefs and got out our side lights and binnacle. The rain 
made it impossible to see lighthouses much over five miles, 
and as my companion S., though a handy man in a boat 
in the daytime, was unused to a compass course at night, 
I told him to turn in and I stood watch and did the sailing. 
By 11 o'clock we had picked up the lights off New Haven, 
and as we were making such good progress and our little 
boat behaving so nicely, I decided not to call S., but keep 
on. Every few minutes we started up bunches of ducks 
.off the Thimble Islands, which would rise with the pecu- 
liar cackle they make when disturbed at night. Day- 
break Sunday morning found us within five miles of the 
Norwalk Islands, and as my eyes were a bit played out 
I called S. to take a hand, while I turned in for a nap and 
a change of warm clothes. I had just dropped off when 
I was called by S., and on going on deck found the wind 
had increased with the daylight and was blowing very 
hard and a heavy sea running, so we decided to put in 
for a little rest and a hot breakfast. We were about a mile 
to the westward of Sheffield Island, so ran into a little cove 
made by the rocks on either side of Roton Point bathing 
beach. When anchored and our sail down, we found we 
headed up to the wind, but were rolled a good deal by a 
counter swell which came around the end of Sheffield 
Island about a mile dead to windward. As it was impos- 
sible to cook and sleeping was uncomfortable, we decided 
to try to beat our way up behind Sheffield Island and 
anchor inside a fleet of coasters and tows that were wait- 
ing there to go East. 
From the way the wind whistled through the rigging 
we knew it would be a hard sail for such a small craft, 
and put in our last reef, the fifth. We were delighted 
to find our boat worked to windward beautifully with 
this reduced sail, and received some quite complimentary 
remarks from the coasters, as we weathered them, on the 
way she handled. When we arrived at the desired spot 
about 7 o'clock and had our anchor down and everything 
snug, we went below and had a good breakfast and turned 
in for a much needed nap on my part. We were up 
again by 11 o'clock, and after a hot dinner of soup, beans 
and pressed chicken, we decided to try our luck again 
outside if the Fury would stand it, for it was blowi tig just 
as hard and tbe sea heavier. After shortening in on our 
cable and putting our close-reefed sail on her we tried to 
pick up our anchor, and found a fluke was fast under one 
of the rocks, which are numerous hereabouts, and thought 
we were going to lose it, but finally succeeded in dislodg- 
ing it. We were well under way by 1 o'clock, and stood 
out from the lee of Sheffield Island to see how our boat 
would act in the heavy sea and wind. She behaved so 
nicely and rode so easily over the white-capped waves 
we thought the best thing we could do would be to take 
the seas on the quarter and stand over to the Long Island 
shore, where we would have a little lee from the due 
easter. We found it necessary to top up our boom pretty 
well, and to trim it in so as to keep it out of the water 
when one of the larger waves would lift our counter. 
It was the finest run of my life, and the boat did her 
work like a man, crossing the Sound in this rough 
water without taking aboard a drop. We started up 
several large flocks of geese near the middle of the 
Sound, but we were too busy watching our boat to try 
them with our gun, though we were within range of one 
flock when they rose with their mournful honk. Half- 
past two found us under the lee of Lloyd's Neck and glad 
to get there. I have Bince learned from Mr. Dunn 
that the wind was blowing then about twenty-eight 
miles an hour, and those that sail the Sound will know 
this was a creditable performance for a 20ft. water line 
cat in the heavy sea and hard winds that blow at this 
season of the year. The balance of the run was an easy 
matter keeping along the Long Island shore,and when we 
rounded Fort Schuyler about 7 o'clock we were surprised 
to [find by actual count over 60 coal barges and tows 
anchored there waiting for the heavy sea to go down, 
which possibly accounted for the few vessels we saw out- 
side. We were at Hell Gate by 8 o'clock with a lightening 
wind and high slack water. 1 We shook out our reefs and pre- 
pared for the passage of this 8 miles of water, which is a 
terror to all small yachtsmen. Everything went smoothly 
and we were soon hurrying along on the first of the ebb, 
and thought for once we were to have a smooth passage, 
but as usual were sadly disappointed. 
When just above Brooklyn Bridge the wind flattened 
out entirely and a fog settled down which set the ferry- 
boats tooting and tbe fog bells on slips ringing, and our 
own fog horn going as well as an oar to keep her 
head on. It was so thick we could not see the lights on 
the bridge until we were under it, and those who have 
tried their luck in these swinging eddies will realize how 
we felt. We kept close to the Brooklyn side and tried to 
get the assistance of one or two tugs we passed, but with- 
out avail. We passed through Buttermilk Channel with- 
out seeiug Governor's Island, and when we heard the bell 
buoy ringing we knew where we were, so let go our 
anchor, which fortunately held. 
A light wind sprang up again from the east about 12 
o'clock and the fog lifted enough for us to make out the 
nearby shore lights. We got out our compass and 
weighed anchor and in a few minutes were able to see 
Miss Liberty's torch. We then bore away for Robbins 
Reef light, which we finally picked up, and rounded and 
were close to the mouth of the Kills. It did not take us 
vfry long from here, and by 4 o'clock Monday morning 
we. were tied up at our dock in Sewaren, having made we 
think a quick passage of some 150 miles. 
m Yacht Owners' Limitation of Liability. 
Thk question of the limitation of tbe liability of yacht owners, as 
affected by the recent decision of the Court of Appeals in the Val- 
kyrie-Satanita case, is thus discussed at length by the Meld: 
Every British racing yachtsman has by this time probably "buritd 
tbe hatchet" as to the maneuvering rights and wrongs of the great 
collision case between the Valkyrie and the Satanita. The questions 
of negligent navigation were never tried on the one side or the other. 
It was pleaded in defense by the Satanita that "she was hampered by 
the navigation of a small sailing boat as she approached the Valkyrie, 
and failed or was unable to keep clear of the Valkyrie; but this possi- 
ble ground of defense and fair ground for counterclaim, in that the 
Valkyrie should have seen the hampering, if it took place, and should 
have anticipated its result upon the action of the Satanita, and shouldi 
therefore, in the special circumstauces, have maneuvered to give way 
in time, even though on the starboard tack, wbs neither pleaded nor 
fought out; but the case came into the Admiralty Court solely as a 
claim by Satanita's owner for limitation of liability under the Mer- 
chant Shipping Act, which limits the amount recoverable to £-8 per 
ton of the wrongdoer who, for the purposes of such limitation, admits 
liability. 
The Valkyrie, on the other hand, opposed such limitation action, on 
the ground that rules 24 and 33 of tbe Y. R. A., under which the 
yachts were sailing, and rule 5, under which the respective owners 
entered for the race, created a contract between them, whereby they 
became liable for all damages, and that they had thereby contracted 
out of the Merchant Shipping Act. 
The Court of Admiralty held that the contract, such as it was, did 
not contemplate putting the parties out of the provisions of the Mer- 
chant Shipping Act, and in that the owner of the Satanita was not 
personally in fault or privy to the negligence causing the collision, 
gave judgment limiting the damages to £8 per ton of the Satanita. 
The Court of Appeal has now reversed that judgment, and has de- 
cided that yachts racing under the then existing Y. B. A, rules be- 
came liable for all damages resulting from a collision in such race.. 
The Master of the Rolls, in giving tbe judgment of the Court of Ap- 
peal, made it perfectly clear that the unlimited liability was confined! 
to those yachts which were racing at that regatta; that the liability 
did not extend to valuables taken on board— such, for instance, as the 
owner's wife's jewels— and that other yachts under the racing con- 
tract "would be bound by the ordinary rules of navigation," i. e , the 
Merchant Shipping Act. 
The Master of the Rolls went on to say that, "in his opinion, the' 
limitation of liability under the Merchant Shipping Act was super- 
seded by the rules of the committee (meaning the Y. R. A.). Tbe> 
yachts were to be steered and sailed by the owners or some amateur- 
friends, and therefore the competing yacht owners would lose the 
security that they would have if the yachts were to be Bteered andl 
sailed by a competent certificated master. In these circumstances it 
was only reasonable that a contract should be entered into between 
the yacht owners, that if any damage was caused by a breach of sail- 
ing rules the owner of the offending yacht should pay all damages;. 
In this case tbe yacht that was sunk was a most valuable one, and! 
was probably the best yacht in the kingdom, and it might have beeui 
sunk by one of the smallest yachts taking part in the regatta; and im 
that case, according to the contention of the owner of the Satanita.., 
Lord Dunraven would only have been entitled to recover some very 
small damages. These were the reasons which, no doubt, led to the* 
framing of these rules, and they formed a most reasonable protect ioni 
to gentlemen who would have a little gamble in the form of yat-M; 
racing. He thought they were good and proper rules." 
That, shortly, may be taken to be that the rules are "good and 
proper" if the conditions above given are correctly stated. But 
there are some points in the judgment above quoted relating to those 
conditions which are known to most racing yacht owners, but may 
not be obvious to the general public of yachtsmen. The rules of the 
committee (tbat is, the Mudhook Yacht Club) do not in any way 
affect the V. R. A. rules; the contract, if any, is formed only by andl 
undo* the Y. R. A. rules. The fact that an amateur was to steer is no ' 
part of, and has no effect upon, the Y. R. A. rules, which then formed 
the same contract in any and all races. There waa no loss of security 
by the fact that the club rules of that particular club required an 
amateur to steer Instead of a ''competent certificated master," be- 
cause under no existing rules— club, Y. R. A,, or Board of Trade— is a 
certificated master required to be on board a yacht. Of the further 
allegations of the judgment, that tbe rules, as then standing, "were, 
good and proper rules," "that the most valuable yacht might have' 
bten sunk by one of the smallest yachts taking part in the regatta, 
and that in that case Lord Dunraven would only have been entitled to. 
recover, according to tbe contention of the defendants (by and under 
tbe statute law), some very small damages," the probability is that, 
in framing the rules, tbe Y. R. A. did not clonrly see that there should 
be no opening left whereby their rules should be construed to say that 
"though the law is that where, say, a small tug sinks an AtlHntic 
liner by negligent navigation, she may limit her liability to £8 per ton 
of her tonnage, you, a small yacht, sailing at your own election under 
the Yacht Racing Association rules, and doing damage to your Atlantic 
liner— that is, "the most valuable yacht"— ought not to -be allowed the 
commercial man's benefit of the lav? of the land, nor may your under- 
writers enjoy their contemplated legal rights of the limits conferred 
by statute. 
We will consider this unbalanceable point further presently. Here 
it, by the judgment, assumes that there are two distinct principles of 
law applicable to vesse's afloat maneuvering, the sole questionheint', 
"Are they gambling for a little prize, or gambling for a little freight? ' 
Whether this judgment of the Court of Appeal is sound or not we 
do not here question, but if it is not challenged by a further appeal to 
the House of Lords, or is not reversed on such an appeal (final), a . 
very serious question— indeed, a very complicated question— is placed 
before yachtsmen as to their liability in cases of damage in collision 
whilst racing. 
As an instance of complication, and one which does not appear toi 
have been brought to the notice of the courts, take the very case be- 
fore us under the light of the judgment. Assume that the question of; 
negligent navigation has been fought out, and that the small Bailing 
yacht, which was not racing, had been joined as a defendant and beeni 
proved to have broken the rule of the road, and so caused Satanita,. 
without negligence on her part, to sink the Valkyrie. The small yacht 
(say of 15 tons, for the purposes of this view of a public case) is under 
the act, and is entitled to claim limitation of liability at £8 per ton — 
viz.,£iaQ. If, however, both the small yacht and the Satanita had 
been found in fault, Valkyrie would get only £60 from the small yacht, 
but Satanita would have to pay half of tbe whole lo?s. Whereas, the 
Satanita's liability is unlimited. Or, on another view, Y. R. A. rult) 
32 makes the whole of the rules apply to "all yachts racing, whether 
in the same or different races." Could it be held that the owner of a 
20-tonner, aware of the Satanita judgment, and therefore carefully 
insured up to, or contemplating no more liability than the top value 
of a yacht in the class he has elected to race in, viz , a 20-tonner; and 
who, at the time of entry, cannot know whether the uncertain chances 
of racing or the unknown or unalterable orderings of the Club Sailing 
Committee may not force him into close company with tbe "big cut- 
ters" of a different race; can it be held that he has voluntarily con- 
