176 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
f Aug. 39, 1898. 
old 40 footers upward in which new yachts are added and 
many races sailed each year, as was once the case in the 
40ft , 53ft., 70ft, cutter classes and the 90ft. schooner class. 
Apart from the exigencies of Cup defense, the building of 
such racing yachts ceased with Wasp in 1893, Emerald in 
1893 and Amorita in 1895. 
If the development of American yachting is to depend on 
hmited classes, on yacbts of 15 and 30ft measurement, while 
Biitish yachting supports the 90ft. class, the 54ft h. r. 
class, and half a dozen smaller classes, it needs no prophet to 
say_ which will win in the end when international racing is 
revived, and that may be at any lime, as our rivals appre- 
ciate their increasing strength and our increasing weakness. 
The day has gone by when the strength of the Cup defense 
lay in the yacht of 80 to flOft. waterhne. Conditions have 
changed since the time of Mayflower and Q-alatea. and the 
guardians of the Cup cannot afford to sleep comfortably 
without a thought of the future. The great bar to all Brit- 
ish challenges for the Cup — I he objection to the new deed — 
has been swept away by Lord Dunraven. The accompany- 
ing incidents of his lordship's yachting career, unpleasant as 
they have been to both sides, will never stand in the way of 
new challenges, and one may be looked for at any time ; if 
not this year, at least as soon as the large cutters of 1897 
have been thoroughly tested and the extent of their advance 
over those of 1895 has been gauged. 
We deem it an impossible task for America to compete 
with England in the permanent maintenance of the 90ft. 
class; in fact, we do not see now bow it can t)e made possible 
to establish and maintain a much smaller classj but that is 
obviously the most desirable end to work for. 
There is much in the fact that the leaders of American 
yachting, the men who have built and raced the Cup defend- 
ers of the past, the men who represent the combination of 
money and yachting spirit necessary to the higher ranks of 
racing, have this year created for their amusement a class of 
80ft. waterlinc, with the cost limited to $3,000. 
The question now is, can theise men and their fellows be 
induced to create a new and larger class, of such size as to 
be suitable for international racing and the defense of the 
America's Cup? 
Considering the deterrent causes of modern yachting, the 
first cost, the ccst of running and racing, the rapid course of 
outbuilding and the natural limitations of draft, the best 
size of yacht for this work would be withm the limit of the 
70ft. racing length class, a yacht of sone 65ft. l.w.l., quite 
as large as Queen Mab, and, with the altered form ot the 
day, very much larger than the old 70 footers. 
The creation of such a class under some restrictions, as 
few as possible, but calculated to give a reasonable amount 
of head room and accommodation ,"^and some guarantee of a 
fau' fighting chance for at least the second and third season 
to every fast boat, would give an impulse to yachting that is 
sorely needed just now. 
The Seawanbaka Cup. 
The Tachtsman., In its issue of Aug. 6, pays its compliments to 
various matters American as follows: 
Although the Seawanbaka CoriDtbian Y. C. small boat international 
challenge cup has never been taken very teriously by us or the gen- 
erality ot English yachtsmen, the fact ot its havmg been won this 
year by a member of tbe Royal St. Lawrence Y. 0. has been the 
means of casting a curious light upon the working of the American 
mind in all matters that affect the Yankee's national vanity, be the 
subject never so small. 
First of all, it is very well known to the Seawanbaka executive that 
last year both Mr. Linton Hope and Mr. J. A Brand were anxious to 
race this year for the cup; for, in fact, both challenged. But Mr, Dug- 
gan had the good fortune to lodge his challenge before either of these 
aspirants, and therefore he became tbe now memorable challenger of 
1896. With this knowledge, however, the Seawanbaka C. Y. 0. stooped 
to draft a challenge from some unnamed member of its own organiza- 
tion to the Royal St. Lawrence Y. C. before the decisive race between 
El Heirie and Glencalrn was actually finished, and to throw down this 
gauntlet to Mr. J. C. Almon, secretary of the Royal St. Lawrence Y. 
C. Cv^ho was at the time their guest aboard the committee steamer), 
the moment Glencairn had crossed tbe winning line. This actiou has 
characteristically been hailed with loud patriotic applause in America 
— and we regret to see that the Forest and Stream is content with it. 
But what a light it casts upon patriotism as opposed to fair play in 
the minds of trans-Atlantic yachting men. Tbe cup, such as it is, is 
to become forever a challenge cup between the Royal St. Lawrence 
Y. C. and tbe Seawanbaka Corinthian Y. 0.— that at least seems to be 
the logical result of this latest patriotic move. Of course it would ill 
become us, who abhor the idea of any future yacht racing between 
England and America, to draw attention to this if we consider IS- 
looters to be yachts. But we don't, and a glance at the Illustrations 
given by us last week will amply bear us out in our opinion. Yet we 
see in the short history of tbe Seawanbaka cup some points that 
throw a wondrous tint on all American histories of the America Cup. 
Mr. Brand last year protested against Etbelwynn for shipping bal- 
last within the prohibited time before one of the races. The fact was 
not denied, though the protest was disallowed— we have always held 
that the Minima Y. C. by the letter of the law won the cup last year— 
but we read in the Forest and Stream that after the second race this 
year the two yachts were carried up on the beach in front of the 
boat house and carefully placed on trestles. Tbe plan of turning on 
the bilge, as adopted by Etbelwynn last year, was not followed by 
either. This seems to indicate a feeling that Mr. Brand's protest was 
after all not quite so ludicrous as ibe club's committee aflfeeted to 
believe. It would, we think, be decidedly inconvenient for either the 
Royal St. Lawrence Y. C. or tbe Seawanbaka C. Y. C. to give Mr. 
Linton Hope the choice of seven possible challengers built by him. 
We fancy indeed (without any intention of dispai-aging Mr Duggan's 
energy and talent) that El Heirie would in that case have been rather 
more badly beaten than she was by Glencairn. iSay, more, if Mr, J. 
A. Brand last year had obtained the valuable concession yielded to 
Mr. Duggan, we should not be able to claim the cup for the Minima 
Y. C. on the ground of an unfairly decided, if somewhat imusual 
protest. 
Mr, W. P. Stephens, who may be fairly called the promoter, if not 
the father, of the American international 15-footerB, has not indeed as 
yet paid any attention to these matters; but no doubt that will come 
in time. His disappointment at Glencairn 's victory is as great as his 
desire for the reform of type in small yachts is new born. Here we 
join bands with him, for he seems to have learned a lesson which has 
this season been drilled into our own Y. R. A. This is the moral that 
he draws from tbe loss of the Seawanbaka cup: "If there la any one 
cause for regret over the result, it is the technical moral that extreme 
power pays In this class, a conclusion reluctantly reached by the de- 
signer of Glencairn, and that will be quite as reluctantly accepted by 
many designers and yachtsmen. Whether this is indeed the true and 
only moral of the victory of Glencairn, and if so, just what deductions 
are to be drawn from it, is entirely too broad a question to be discussed 
off-hand." 
The "deductions" seem to us to resolve themselves into the fact that 
either tbe Seawanbaka rule of measurement, which Thalassa used 
to admire so much, is faulty, or that Mr. Duggan is a better designer 
than Messrs, N. Herreshoff, Stephens, etc. We are inclined to adopt 
the former opinion, and would recommend to the Seawanbaka C. Y. 
C. the adoption of our Y. B. A. rule, with such modtfiiations as may 
seem desirable. 
If Z7ie Yachtsman had not shown itself capable of discussing fairly 
and truthfully many issues of the day, national and international, in 
yachting, we should be less surprised at the attitude which it has held 
for nearly a year, since it took up the cause of Mr. J. A. Brand. As it 
baa had no personal representative In this country at either of the 
contests, its knowledge has necessarily been at second hand; it has 
done us the credit of reprinting many of our accounts of the races and 
comments thereon, ana it has drawn liberally upon Mr. Brand's store 
of protests, complaints and grievances. The article quoted above is a 
typical sample of its methods throughout, in ignorUig and misstating 
plain facts and accepting as facts statements that are not and cannot 
be verified. The whole tone of its comments in tbe present article, as 
In many previous ones which we have passed unnoticed, is calculated 
to create a feeling against American methods of sport and especially 
against tbe Seawanbaka 0. Y. 0. 
On the first pnint whicb it takes up, the gross impropriety of the 
Seawanbaka 0. Y. 0. challenging for the cup without asking the per- 
mission of other clubs, we confess that this view of the case had not 
struck UB before. As far as Mr. Linton Hope Is concerned, the club 
had offered to accept bis challenge second to that of the Royal St. 
Lawrence Y. 0. on the condition that It still held the cup; more than 
this it could not do. It did decline after con sidei-ation a proposal, 
made if we remember by Mr. Hope, for a triangular race of two chal- 
lengers from different clubs against one defender, on the ground that 
such a contest might not settle fairly the possession of an inter- 
national trophy, but outside of this it has done everything possible to 
give Mr. Hope a race. As to Mr. Brand, while the club has stood 
readv to accept a challenge from him in order, we must remind The 
Tachtsman that ho has never yet challenged for 1896, AH that he has 
done is to write an informal notice of challenge immediately after the 
last race in 1895. with the assurance that the formal cballensre from 
the Minima Y. C. would follow, added to which he stated verbally to 
the committee and members of the club that he would not come over 
alone this year, but that if he could get a syndicate together to build 
a Spruce IHII. he would challenge again. This is as far as the matter 
ever went. The Seawanbaka C. Y. C. has never received a formal 
challenge from the Minima Y. C. nor from Mr. Brand. 
In spite of the objections of The Tachtsman we do not quite see yet 
why it was not proper for the club to challenge at onceif or the cup, or 
that in thus doing it infringed upon the laws of fair play and the 
rights of other possible challengers. Whatever grounds there may 
be for an objection to passing the notice of challenge upon the club 
steamer, there certainly could be no objection raised if the committee 
had, on reaching the club bouse, telegraphed to the Royal St. Law- 
rence Y. C. at its headquarters in Montreal, thus delaying tbe chal- 
lenge half an hour. It is unquestionable that the club bad from the 
circumstances a great advantage over other intending challengers, 
but we can see nothing unfair in its availing itself of it. 
The intimation that the challenge is from an unnamed member and 
consequently irregular is a sample of The Tachtsman^ii methods. The 
published conditions distinctly state that a challenge must come from 
a club, and not from an individual, and there is no member, named or 
unnamed, behind it. In this respect tbe challenge is perfectly regular 
and proper. 
We were tempted several months since. In justice to ourselves, to 
reply to a personal attack by The Tachtsman In tbe matter of Ethel- 
wynn's ballast, but we did not, for tbe reason that American yachts- 
men at least have made up their minds as to the merits of the com- 
plaints of both Lord Dunraven and Mr. .7. A. Brand, and are no longer 
interested in their discussion. As The Tachtsman continues to bring 
up this question upon every possible occasion, regardless of its igno- 
rance of the facts, we will give for its benefit tbe exact details of Etbel- 
wynn's ballasting in all the races. We do not expect that it will be 
able to find space for tbe whole of this article, but we hope, in justice 
to us, that it will place this portion of it before its readers, after ex- 
ploiting the other side for so long. 
Tbe rights of the two competitors as regards ballast are precisely 
the same under the Seawanbaka as under the Y. R. A. rules; practi- 
cally the only limitations are that the yacht shall not exceed the 
measured length, tbat no ballast shall be shifted during a race, and 
that no ballast shall be added or removed after 9 P. M. of the day pre- 
cecing the race. As a matter of cui^tom outside tbe rule the British 
challengers for the Aniprica Cup, Thistle, Valkyrie II. and Valkyrie 
HI. , have each made important changes by the addition of ballast on 
tbe off days between races, thus establishing an unimpeachable 
precedent. In tbe first trial race Etbelwynn sailed with no 
ballast at all, in tbe second she was tried with lOOlbs. of lead, 
four pigs of 251bB ea'cb, stowed just abaft the fore bulkhead, two on 
each side of the trunk, and fastened by cleats screwed to the floor 
timbers and sides of trunk. Both were drifting races and the yacht 
apparently sailed as fast with the ballast as without: as she was a 
long way inside pf her measurement, the ballast was retained through 
the series of trial races. 
When she came under the measurer's tape on Aug. 19, the after- 
noon preceding the first race with Spruce, she was first measured 
with this same weight of lOOlbs. in addition to the ofllciai .SOOlbs., her 
water line being 15 14ft. She was then measured with two more pigs 
of 25lb8. each stowed just forward of the fore bulkhead, being laid 
loosely across tbe keel; the water line with ISOIbs. thus being 15.24ft. 
The allowance of sail for this would be SlSsq. ft. It is plain then that 
at no tune was she near the limit of weight and length measurement. 
The extra 501ba. was left in over Friday night by the owner, though 
really not necessary, and was carried on Saturday. In examining the 
compartment on Saturday morning just before she left the float, we 
noticed tbat the two pigs were unsecured and liable to do serious dam- 
age in a little sea. Mr. Ball crept inside the hatch and nailed a couple 
of cleats to secure them; but it was done in a hurry and was not en- 
tirely safe. We left the club bouse immediately after the stopping of 
tbe race on Saturday afternoon, and have no personal knowledge of 
the changes of ballast between then and Monday, but Mr. Field 
assures us that Immediately on tbe return to tbe club bouse he wrote 
to the committee stating tbat he proposed to remove tbe extra SOlbs., 
and tbat the committee indorsed its consent on the note, the ballast 
being removed that same afternoon. Under the rules no such notifi- 
cation or consent was nece.'isary, the committee having nothing to do 
with the amount of ballast carried so long as the yacht was within her 
measurement. 
When we came through New York on the way to Oyster Bay on 
Monday we stopped and bought a couple of stout screw eyes to put 
in the keel to carry a lashing for tbe two pigs, as they would have 
gone through the bottom if left loose in a seaway. We reached Oyster 
Bay late that morning, and on speaking to Mr. Field just before tbe 
start he said that tbe screw eyes were not needed, as they had decided 
to carry but lOOlbs. of ballaft. 
This time, as it happened, there was a race, Etbelwynn beating 
Spruce 7m. 41s. It being Monday, we were under the necessity of 
writing up the race on the spot in order to get it to New York in time 
for publication next day, and our work was done hurriedly, the 
maneuvers of the two requiring close attention, and it being necessary 
to take careful notes of one part of the race while writing a precea- 
ing part. In describing the preparation of Etbelwynn, we wrote, 
after describing how the boat was beached for cleaning, "Only 
lOOlbs. of her lead was replaced, the SOlbs. carried just inside the fore 
bulkhead on Saturday being removed." This statement, so far as it 
infers that the ballast was removed on Monday, was incorrect; we 
had no knowledge at the time of when the ballast was removed, and 
gave no thought to the matter or to the 9 P. M. rule, tbe only thing in 
mind being to make a note of tbe alteration of ballast, of which we 
bad just been informed by Mr. Field. Our account of the race ap- 
peared in the Forest and Stream of Sept. 28 and was on the club 
table after the race of Sept. 25. being examined by Mr. Brand and 
others on account of the long illustrated article on the English J^- 
rating class and tbe various Spruces. Mr. Brand, in common witn 
every one else about the club house, had seen Etbelwynn turned on 
her side on Monday morning and her ballast laid on ttie beach, the 
four pigs in the well, they being liable to slip from under the cleats 
when tbe boat was turned on edge. He also saw the Forbst and 
Stb»am and presumably the report of Monday's race and the change 
of ballast. No protest was made, however, and the racing continued. 
After Mr. Field's withdrawal on Thursday he spoke to us about 
replacing the SOlbs. of lead, and we advised him to do nothing with- 
out tbe consent of the committee, not that it was necessary, but 
merely as a formality; tbe following letter was then sent to tbe com- 
mittee: 
OYSTfiRBAT, N. Y., Sept 26, 1895.— Begatia Committee, S. C. Tacht 
CZiib,-— Gentlemen: I d<^sire to notify you tbat F. S. Ball will take my 
place as crew of tbe Etb«lwynn. Mr. Bali and his brother can, I feel, 
do better in heavy weather on account of their longer experinnce, and 
I wish to do everything possible to try and hold the cup. We will also 
probably put back our additional ballast of EOlbs., with whicb we were 
officially measured. In event of my own absence on business during 
tbe balance of tbe races, Mr. B. C. Ball will be authorized to represent 
me as owner ot boat. Yours respectfully, 
C. J. FiKLD, owner Etbelwynn. 
Tbe extra 501ba. was placed aboard that afternoon and carried 
through tbe two deciding races, theeyebolts being screwed to tbe keel 
and the two pigs securely lashed. On Saturday morning we assisted 
Mr. Ball, in the absence of the owner, in beaching and turning over 
the yacht and rubbing her down. The forward SOlbs. was left in place, 
as it could not fall, but the four pigs beside the trunk were lifted out 
and placed on the beach, being replaced under the cleats on launching 
the yacht. Tbe whole thing, as on Monday, was done openly and with 
tbe aid of a number of people, there being no thought at the time of a 
violation of the rule. No objection was made by Mr. Brand on either 
occasion to the boat being thus handled, and it was not until next day, 
after he was defeated by ten minutes in tbe final race and bad had tbe 
advice of friends, tbat he began to search the rules for some grounds 
for protest; the result beuig as follows: 
Sept. 29, 1895.— iJace Committee, Seawanhaka Corinthian T. C: On 
behalf ot the Minima Y. C. I have tbe honor to inform you that I have 
drawn the attention of your Hon. Secretary, Mr. 0. A. Sherman, to the 
fact tbat Etbelwynn is not entitled to yesterday's race, as she broke 
Rule XXVI., Sec. 1, by discharging and taking in ballast after 9 P, M. of 
Friday evening, the day preceding the race ; and that she broke Rule 
X.XV., Sec. 2, by not having a serviceable life-buoy aboard during tbe 
race. I must protest against the prize being awarded to Etbelwynn 
on these two grounds, at any rate unUl 1 have heard from my club. 
(Signed^ J. Arthur Brand, owner of Spruce. 
It was not until some weeks later that Mr. Brand complained f urthe 
r 
of the alteration in Ethelwynn's ballast between Saturday and Mon- 
day, basing bis complaint on the statement in tbe Forest and Stream, 
as we have already quoted. We are not aware tbat any formal pro- 
test has ever been made to tbe club on this ground by Mr. Brand, and 
although we have heard at times of a formal presentation by the Min- 
ima Y. 0. to the Seawanhaka C. Y. O. of Mr. Brand's protests and 
grievances, none such has been made; the club evidently baving tbe 
good sense to accept the situation on its merits. Mr. Brand paid no 
attention at the time to the handling of Etbelwynn on the beach or 
the statement concerning her ballast, and in making bis complaint 
later on he has accepted the statement in tbe Forest and Stream 
without making the slight investigation necessary to show him tbat it 
was erroneous so far as the time of removal of the ballast was con- 
cerned. 
The only possible ground for protest tbat he has is the removal of 
Ethelwynn's ballast when she was beached on two occasions, though 
it was immediately replaced in its original position. This, we admit, 
was a technical violation of the rule and should not have occurred, 
but it in no way altered tbe ballast, infringed on the plain intent of 
the rule or did any injury to Mr. Brand. He apparently acquiesced i 
it at first, and only saw a possible ground for protest when he was 
smarting with defeat, after baving tbe cup thrown almost into his 
hands, by tbe groundless withdrawal of Ethelwynn's owner from a 
race. Granting for tbe moment tbe contention of The Tachtsman 
that the cup belongs to the Minima Y. C, and tbat the club would be 
willing to accept it on such a technicality coupled with the inglorious 
second race, it would be perfectly fair to contend that Spruce IIII. 
should be disqualified in all her races, because she repeatedly violated 
Rule XIV., and did not carry her owner's private signal at the peak. 
The plain record of tbe races shows tbat Spruce IIII. was outsailed by 
a faster yacht, and any fair and impartial examination of the circum- 
stances attending tbe races wUl show that the challenger had every 
courtesy and every privilege that he could ask willingly accorded to 
bim by the club, tbe committee and the other yacht. 
The unfair and one-sided nature of The Yachtsman''s criticism is 
well shown by Its remarks about the handling of the yachts in the 
recent races, intimating that there was something unfair in the mere 
turning of Etbelwynn on her side. In the trial and cup races this year 
the yachts were handled according to circumstances and the inclina- 
tion of their owners. Ideal, Vesper, Die Hexe and others were turned 
on edge just as Etbelwynn was, while El Heirie and Glencairn were 
carried upright and rested on trestles. One good reason for the dif- 
ferent treatment is that the latter pair were perfectly flat and sat up- 
right of themselves, while the others, with much dead rise and V sec- 
tions, would not rest upright on the trestles unless carefully shored. 
As neither El Heirie nor Glencairn carried a pound of ballast, we fail 
to see how the manner in which they were bandied has any bearing 
whatever on tbe case of Etbelwynn. 
The Tachtaman''B remarks about a choice of challengers for Mr. 
Hope and concessions to Mr. Brand do it no credit, they are a misrep- 
resentation of the case whicb even ignorance cannot excuse under the 
circumstances. In Mr. Brand's esse, though he challenged specific- 
ally with a certain yacht. Spruce HIL, he was offered by the Seawan- 
haka C. Y. C. the privilege of substituting another yacht after his own 
boat promised to be a failure. As a matter of fact be actually opened 
negotiations with Mr. Hope for tbe purchase of Lotus, and these only 
failed because of tbe disagreement as to price. We can vouch for tbe 
fact tbat Mr. Brand secured every concession that be asked for with 
two exceptions; he was even allowed to bring a paid hand : though the 
class was intended to be, as it certainly should be, a purely Corinthian 
one, he bad tbe privilege of selecting another yacht, and his wishes 
were consulted in every minor detail. The only requests refused him 
was that for a reaching course, straight out and back across the 
wind, something unheard of in match sailing, and that for a limitation 
of spinakers to 40sq. ft., an absurdity in American weather. 
Tbe conditions governing the cup nave been widely published, and 
are probably accessible to The Yachtsman if it really desired to know 
them. Article IV. provides tbat neither club shall be required to 
name its representative yacht In advance of the races, so that Mr. Lin- 
ton Hope or any other future challenger is at liberty to choose from 
seventy yachts instead of seven. This also disposes of the slur in the 
preceding number of The Tachtsman over the presence of Riverside 
at Oyster Bay on the day of tbe first race. 
Though The Yachtsman seems to doubt it, we trust that we are pos- 
sessed of enough of the spirit of sport to accept gracefully a defeat 
in such a large and goodly company and by two such craft as El 
Heirie and Glencairn; at the same time we plead guilty to the posses- 
sion of some old-fogy prejudices in favor of what we believe to be 
shipshape and yachtlike. We have from tbe first accepted the 15- 
footers for what they obviously are, modern racing machines and 
nothing else; at fbe same time we have beli«ved it possible to make a 
yacht fast without making her unlike a yacht and like a packing case 
or a cofiftn. That we were in the wrong in this class we are compelled 
to admit, both as to form and power, but we have at least used our 
best efforts to keep the class as near as possible to what we believed 
it should be, and we are not altogether sorry for it. 
So far as the Seawanhaka rule in any but the two smaller classes is 
concerned, these races point no special moral; they indicate what we 
have long suspected, that no one rule of measurement can be made 
to cover tbe large yacht with deck and ballast and the small, half 
open, unballasted shell. As far as the Y. R. A. rule goes, we cannot 
see why Glencairn should not win imder it even more easily than 
under the Seawanhaka rule. 
We have devoted a good deal of space to this special article of The 
Tacht»man because it is but a part of a long-continued effort In the 
same direction. We do not question the right of The Yachtsman to 
oppose all international racing if it so chooses, and to use all of its 
influence to put an end to it, but we do object to its methods as unfair, 
and tmworthy of a paper of its standing. 
The Wrecking^ of Isolde. 
The Cowes racing has been brought to a sudden termination by a 
very sad accident on Aug. 18 in which the Herreahofl 20-rater Isolde 
was partly wrecked and her owner. Baron von Zedtwltz, lost his life. 
The cable report of tbe disaster is as follows: 
Tbe races of the Royal Albert regatta at Soutbsea were Interrupted 
to-day by an accident which caused the death of Baron von Zedtwltz, 
the owner of the 30-rater Isolde, and endangered the lives of the cap- 
tain and crew of tbat vessel, all of vriiom were knocked overboard. 
The large raters started at 10 o'clock this morning to sail over the 46 
miles course, and the small raters started at 11 o'clock to sail over the 
same course, but only once round- 23 miles- tbe prizes being £50 and 
£25 for the big boats, and i315 to the winner of tbe race for small 
raters. Tbe starters in the big race were Ailsa, Britannia, Meteor and 
Satanita, and in tbe small rater race Saint, Niagara, Samphire, 
Audrey, Penitent and Isolde. The big yachts had finished the first 
round of the course and were just starting upon the second when sud- 
denly tbe boats of both classes seemed to have become jammed to- 
gether. Isolde, which was sandwiched between tbe two yachts of the 
larger class, received a severe blow from Meteor, causing her mast to 
snap in two and fall overboard. The shock was a heavy one, causing 
Isolde to careen and, as she did so, all on board of her were spilled into 
the sea. When Meteor struck tbe small yacht there was a great crash, 
and blocks, fragments of the broken mast and other parts of Isolde 
were sent flying in every direction. As soon as the collision took place 
the other yachts stopped and put out boats to rescue the men strug- 
gling in the water. Baron von Zedtwitz, tbe owner of Isolde, who was 
on board of bis yacht, was struck on the head by a block or a piece of 
broken mast and knocked overboard. He was taken out of tbe water 
as soon as possible and conveyed on board a steam yacht to tbe club 
house at Ryde. Baron von Zedtwitz was unconscious when picked up. 
He received every possible medical attention at Ryde, but he did not 
regain consciousness, and died soon after reaching the club house. A 
strong wind was blowing at the time of tbe accident, kicking up a bad 
Eea, and it was raining very bard. Isolde was badly damaged and was 
towed to Portsmouth. The bowsprit of Meteor swept her deck and 
carried away all ot her gear. Several members of Isolde's crew were 
picked up in an exhausted condition. The crew experienced some 
very narrow escapes, but fortunately all of them were res- 
cued. A saUor belonging to tbe British gunboat Ant, whicb 
was lying at anchor near the scene of the collision, 
rescued one of Isolde's men in a drowning condition. 
He could not have survived thirty seconds longer. The accident cast 
a gloom over everything, and the races were abandoned for the days 
Capt. Gomes, tbe skipper of Meteor, ascribes tbe collision of Meteor 
with Isolde to the fact that Britannia did not make wuy for Meteor to 
pass Isolde. All tbe club houses at Spithead and Ryde are flying flag, 
at half mast in consequence of the death of the Baron. As a yachtsman 
Von Zedtwitz was a good sportsman, and he was well liked in all of the 
English sporting centers. His wife, tbe Baroness von Zedtwitz, was a 
daughter of the late Charles Roosevelt, of N-^w York. To-morrow's 
yacht races and the fireworks with which it was intended to signalize 
tbe ending of tbe Royal Albert Y. 0. regatta at Soutbsea have been 
postponed until after the funeral. Isolde was a aO-rater yacht, con- 
structed by the Herreshoffs at Bristol, R I , in 1895, for Prince Leopold 
of Germany, who sold the boat to Baron von Zedtwitz. Meteor, which 
Is owned by the German Emperor, is a steel cutter of 236 tons, and 
was built in tbe Henderson's yards on the Clyde in tbe early part .of 
this year. 
Baron von Zedtwltz was thirty-eight years old, He was a personal 
friend of Emperor William, and it is remarked upon as strange and 
sad that he should have been killed in a coUision with His Majesty's 
yaebt. Tbe Baron had been in the German Diplomatic service, but he 
