Sbft. 19, 1896. 
FOREST AND STREAM„ 
2S8 
This ia a very good tnonth's showing for any boat, but it 
is even better wben analyzed. But three boats have beaten 
Bo Peep outside the little Bristol flyer Cock Eobin. She of 
course is an easy winner always. Of the others, the home 
built craft, only Jack Tar, Tautog and Water Lily have 
scored once each over Bo Peep in the eight races sailed. 
Jack Tar's win in the Hull club race Aug. S3 was a clear 
case of outsailing. She was just oflE the ways, and sailed a 
fine race, while Bo Peep was a little off her form, not having 
been tried in such conditions of weather. 
Water Lily's victory was an equally clear case of winning 
by a fluke, and Tautog also won her lead over Bo Peep, the 
single time she bf at her, by saiUng in different water. 
Thus, leaving Cock Robin aside, it is not too much to say 
that Bo Peep is decidedly the best of the other knockabouts, 
although the margin is not enough to prevent the others tak- 
ing a race now and then, as -lack Tar's win under the condi- 
tions noted goes to show. 
Altogether Bo Peep has made a very creditable record, 
both for her designer and builder, George Lawley, and for 
her helmsman, Mr. L. M. Clark. Mr. Lawley did not re- 
ceive the order until July 5, and the boat was launched 
Aug 4. Necessarily there w^as little time for working the 
design down to the last refinement, but ihe slight faults 
were all in the right direction, and the boat shows an im- 
provement over Mr. Lawley's othar creations, as well as 
those from the boards of the other Boston designers. 
The boat floated somewhat above her lines on being 
launched, and required 1501b?. of inside ballast, as well as 
the weight of her crew on board, to bring her down where 
she complied with all the restrictions. Mr. Clark considers 
that with a little less weight in some details of spare rigging 
and equipment, and with the above SOOlbs of extra weight, 
(crew and inside ballast) taken off her displacement, fixing 
up her bow and stern a trifle, the boat after a good tuning- 
up would be quite a little faster than at present. 
Some stress has been laid on these points, because taking 
everything together the boat has undoubtedly made a good 
up-hill fight, and has shown that aft( r all the model is not 
outclassed to the extent to which at fir^t it appears Cock 
Robin can beat the Boston-built craft. 
At all events, it has been a sporting proposition that 
Messrs. Clark and North made to celebrate July 4 that they 
would give the class another try at the eleventh hour of the 
season. 
Mr. Clark had had the first and second Spinster in the 
class, and had failed in many a ship of many a class before 
that, as every Boston yachtsman knows 
Mr. North has only taken up yachting the past three or 
four seasons, and went in for knockabouts from the first. 
His first boat was Otatsu, one of the sturdy pioneers. Last 
season he had the unfortunate Toyo, a very fast and nice 
looking boat, but just outside the class on some of her 
dimensions, so that she was not eligible for many of the 
xaoc's. 
Mr. Clark has sailed the Bo Peep and has made as little of 
the handicap of an untried boat as any one could. Alto- 
gether Bo Peep is rather an cncouragment than the reverse 
to those who look forward to seeing Cock Robin matched 
and the knockabouts again a good fighting class next year. 
Southern Y. C. 
El Hkirie has been sold by 0. H. Crane to T. 6. Bush, 
of New Orleans, through Tams & Lemoine, and will be the 
fii-st of a fleet of 1 S-froters which it is proposed to establish 
on Lake Ponchartrain. The Southern Y. C, of New Or- 
leans, is undoubtedly noted as one of the oldest yacht clubs 
m the United States, and as one of the first to encourage 
yacht racing; tor forty j^ears or more it has labored to sup- 
port the racing sandbagger built under a length rule, it has 
owned the fastest yachts of the type ever built, and it has 
offered most liberal prizes for their races. The experience of 
the club is identical with that of clubs in tbe North and 
West, that the days of the length rule, of unlimited crews, 
ballast and sail have passed away ; that this type of yacht 
costs a great deal and provides but a limited amount of 
sport, keen enough at times for a brief interval, and then 
daclining for an indefinite period. The members of the club 
are fully awake to the present unsatisfactory condition of 
their racing fleet, a lot of yachts of all sizes and classes, and 
also to the benefits to be derived from the building up of a 
few strong classes, and they are about to start in ^vith the 
15ft. class, as giving a craft of moderate cost and draft, cap- 
able of good class racing and useful foj- general sailing in 
the abundant shoal water. The Times- Dermerai says : 
It is not in the indiscriminate building of yachts, as it now 
goes on from year to year, with but one new boat in one or 
two different and almost obsolete classes, that will most bene- 
fit yachting here. There are too many classes, and not 
enough boats in a class. The old timers should be left to 
fight it all over alone from season to sea?on, and the new 
boats that are ordered for next season should be restricted to 
one of three classes. There are those who consider that if 
racing was restricted to three classes here there would be 
considerable more enthusiasm. As it is now, with thirteen 
classes, there is hardly an average two in a class, which a 
mim with half an eye can see does not make good racing. 
A half-rater or 15ft. class, a 20ft. open sloop class and a 
25 to 30ft. waterline cabin sloop class would afford all the 
sport the most enthusiastic yachtsman could desire. The 
half-rater has proved one of the most popular boats and the 
class has protiuced more racing than all other classes com- 
bined in the North. The 20ft. open stoop, of the Jeanne 
and Alice type, will afford the '•sandbagger" all the sport 
he desires. If a larger boat is desired it should be between 
25 and 30ft. waterline and a cabin sloop. As they are build- 
ing yachts nowadays with overhangs, a craft of that water- 
line length would have fine accommodations, a length over 
all of 40ft., and would be a fine all-round cruiser. Some- 
thing should be done for racing. A beginning should be 
made with the half -rater and a class of more evenly matched 
boats got up for nest seasoa. A dozen or more of them can 
be built in the Southern Y. C, as many yachtsmen want 
to build, but wait for someone else to "take the initiative. 
Com. Lawrence O'Donuell has within the last few days 
made known his intention of building a half rater. Others 
who will build are T. W. Campbell, E. Fesle, T. W. 
Boone, Jr., Jack Campbell, Garrette Drown, Joe R Beh- 
rens, F. F, Claussen, P. S. Anderson, W. H Bruaet, 
Holmes Harrison, B. B. Howard, R. A. Palmer, E, L. Cope 
and L. D. Sampsell. 
There are a number of others who would build if the 
racing becomes exciting, and thera is no reason why the 
owners of the large sloops and schooners should not have 
them, as one could be easily carried on a big cruiser. A 
sweepstake race could be sailed every Sunday, and the club 
would offer a handsome cup to be won by the boat making 
the most wins during the season. 
Knots and Miles. 
TiTERE is, unforl;unately, a growing practice of making an 
improper use of the word knot, not only with landsmen, 
engineers and shipbuilders, but also with sailors, who ought 
to know better. The prevailing idea at present appears to be 
that the knot is the same thing as the geographical, nautical 
or sea mile, and the word knot is used to prevent any possi- 
ble confusion with the statute land mile. But this usage is 
quite wrong. The knot is the cosmopolitan unit ci speed, 
employed at sea by sailors of all civilized nations. One knot 
is a speed of one nautical mile an hour, the nautical mile 
being the mean sexagesimal minute of latitude on the earth's 
surface, so that it is 90x60=5.400 miles from the equator to 
the pole, and this is the only mile the sailor knows and uses. 
The nautical mile is a little over 6 080ft , the Admiralty 
measured mile (we do not say the Admiralty knot), so that 
one knot is a speed of a little more than 100ft a minute, 
more nearly 101 to 103ft. a minute; thus, on a leg line, with 
a half minute glass or interval of time, the distance betweeu 
the knots should be 50ft. or. a little over, say 51ft. The 
word knot is derived from the knots on the log line; the 
number of knots that pass over the ship's taffrail during the 
half minute, or other interval of time, giving the speed of 
the ship in knots. The only occasion then, in which it is 
permissible to use the word knot as the equivalent of a 
length, is in spacing the knots on the log line, and then, by 
a familiar tendency in language, the "distance between two 
knots" is abbreviated in speech to the "length of a knot. " By 
a curious perversity and straining after precision, the incor- 
rect expression "knot an hour," to express the speed of a 
ship, is creeping into general use, with the effect of displac- 
ing the word mde by knot; so that now it is common to read 
a steamer's d dly run as given in knots (e. g , Teutonic'.^ 
daily runs, 473 knots, 496 knots, etc., total distance, 2,806 
kuotp); and the coal endurance of a man-of-war given as 
say 26,000 knots at lO-knot spr'ed, thus using the word knot 
where mile should be used, No real sailor would say that a 
rock or the land was half a knot, one knot, etc, away. It 
is too often urged that the expression "knots an hour" is so 
much clearer and more definite; but we might just as well 
measure pref-sure in "atmospheres per square inch " Not 
only in navigation, but also in astronomy, the nautical mile 
should be the unit of length, and the knot the unit of veloc- 
ity. To summarize, distance at sea is measured in miles, 
and speed in knots; and the expression knots an hour per 
speed, and knots for distance in miles, are nautical barbar- 
isms. — Nautical Magazine. 
The Meteor-Isolde Collision. 
Fob the second tirae in two seasons British yachtsmen have been 
shocked by a fatal collision during a race, in which the largest class 
of cutters have played a prominent part. In July, 1894, the second 
Vallcyrie was sunK in collision with Satanita, of her own class, at the 
start of a race In tbe Clyde, one of her paid hands being fatally 
crushed between her and a steam yacht. The latest collision, of 
which we have already published the first incomplete cable reports, 
took place off the Tsle of Wight on Aug. 18, the principals being the 
cutter Meteor 11., owned by the Emperor of Germany, and the smaller 
cutter Isolde, of SO rating, owned by Baron von Zedtwitz, a friend of 
the Emperor and one of the foremost oC German yachtsmen, who 
was killed almost instantly. The day was cloudy and rainy, with a 
moderate and puffy S.W. wind. The largest class, Meteor, AUsa, 
Satanita and Britannia, started at 10 A. M. to sail the Nab and West 
Buoy of Ryde Middle course, two rounds; the 52ft linear rating class, 
the old SO raters, Penitent, Audrey, Saint, Isolde, Samphire and Ni- 
agara, started at 10:45 A. M. to sail the Warner and Northeast Buoy 
of Ryde Middle course, also two rounds. At noon the two classes fell 
in together as both approached the committee vessel, the gunboat 
Ant, anchored off the Spit Fort, to pass to leeward of it; they were 
close together, all on the wind, and both classes in a hot flght, as the 
times at the end of the round show: 
Samphire 12 05 13 Isolde 12 07 27 
Audrey 12 05 23 Meteor 12 07 30 
Ailsa 12 06 09 Saint ^ 13 07 80 
Niagara 12 06 35 Satanita 12 08 00 
Britannia 12 07 26 Penitent 12 08 15 
The fleet of a dozen yachts passed the committee boat within three 
minutes, the four larger yachts having just overtaken the smaller 
ones. They were about SOOyds. beyond the mark when the collision 
occurred. The exact details will probably never be known; the evi- 
dence at the coroner's Inquest was not of a nature to bring them to 
light, and there is a material difference in the views taken by two op- 
posing parties. The leaders. Samphire, Audrey, Ailsa and Niagara, 
were clear ahead ; of the second quartette Britannia was the leeward 
and outside yacht, with Isolde inside of her, close on her weather 
beam. Meteor was astern of Britannia, somewhere near her weather 
quarter, while Saint was on the lee quarter of Isolde; the distance 
between Britannia and Isolde as they ran side by side was very small, 
it is stated as but 30ft. Not only were the big boats traveling much 
faster than the 53-fonters, but Meteor was gainiogr on Britannia, 
being in the position of an over*aking boat with regard to all three. 
The first movement was a luff on the part of Samt across Isolde's 
stern, for the reason, as given by her crew, of avoiding Meteor, diin- 
gerously close astern. In crossing Isolde, Saint's topmast stay fouled 
Isolde's boom end. Meteor, trying to get through Britannia's weatl^ar, 
struck Isolde, t^e bowsprit piercing the mainsail and then sweepmg 
the deck; then Meteor's boom swung over Isolde's dock and brought 
down her mast, Isolde at the same time being thrown into Britannia 
by the force of the collision. 
According to the claim of Meteor she had an ovorlap on Britannia 
and thus could not possibly bear away and go on Britannia's lee side; 
while at the same time, as all were going just before the luffing of 
Saint, she had plenty of room to pas.s between Isolde and Britannia. 
The cause of Ihe collision, as she claims, was the lufling of Saint iu 
order to pass Isolde, the resulting foul between the stay of one and 
the boom of the other, and the throwing of Isolde off her course and 
directly in the path of Meteor, there being no time to avoid her and 
no chance to do si save by running over Britannia. 
On the other side it is claimed that Meteor in tbe first place was 
under every obligation to keep clear of the yachts just ahead, which 
she was approaching at a high speed; that she could and should have 
gone to leeward of Britannia instead of trying to force a weather 
passage through the crowded fleet; and that at no time was there 
space for her safe passage between Britannia and Isolde. The orig- 
inal iufaag of Saint is ascribed to the dangerous proximity of the 
larger and faster boat; and it is also claimed that Isolde was diverted 
but litt le from her course by the first loul, as it was very slight. 
The Meld lays the blame entirely on Capt. Glomes, and calls in very 
strong language for a more searching investigation on the part of the 
Royal Albert Y. C : "The attempt to shift the blame from tbe right 
shoulders, as allowed by the Isle of Wight deputy coroner, was one of 
the meanest things ever perpetrated in the history of yachting, and 
the matter ought not to be allowed to rest. Tne Royal Albirt Y. C, 
however, has, we understand, complacently concurred in the amazing 
summing up of the coroner, and attributes the disaster to the act of 
Saint, whereas, It she hadliot made the timely luff, she would herself 
have been run over by Meteor. The club commlrtee appear to have 
shown a want of appreciition of the real facts of the situation." 
The other Englisn yachting journals take a very mild view of the 
matter, setting it down to an unavoidable accident, and laying the 
blame, if at all, on Saint. We are unable to reproduce the photos 
published in the Field and Yachting World, a number of good views 
having been obtained of tbe various stages of tbe disaster; and with 
our Inadequate knowledge of the facts at this great distance we are 
not competent to pass our opinion; but all that ws have read, backed 
by the evidence of the photos, inclines us to the belief that Capt. 
Gomes ia to blame, and he alone The following report of tbe ic quest 
is from i he London Times; our readers can form their own opinions 
aa to the thoroughness of the investigat'ion. 
The inquest on Baron von Zedtwitz, who was killed while sailing on 
his yacht, the Isolde, on Tuesday, Aug. 18, when she was run down by 
tne German Emperor's yacht Meteor, m a held on Wednesday i" the 
Elephant and Castle, Ryde, by Mr. E, F. Blake, Deputy OoroneiT for 
the Isle of Wight. Mr. 0. H. Lindon represented the deceased gentln- 
man'a family, and Mr, R. W. Beale, Imperial German Vice-Coneul, 
Portsmouth," watched the proceedings on behalf of his Government, 
and obtained perunission to make notes of the evidence. 
William Miles: I am captain of the yacht Isolde, and live at Wool- 
aton. I was in the service of the deceased, and have been captain 
hia yacht since Jan. I last. I have been captain of yachts from 20 
tons downward for twelve years. The Isolde took part in the racing 
yesterday, the others In our class being Penitent, The Saint, Audrey, 
Niagara and Samphire. Three classes started before us; theB'-ifan- 
nia, Meteor, Ailsa and Satanita went round the Nab Lightship and our 
class round the Warner. Between 12 and 1 we were coming from the 
Northeast Middle Buoy crossing Southaea. Both classes— the first and 
the fourth — got in together. Ailsa was ahead of us in the large class, 
but there were several of the 20-ratera ahead of me. Ailsa was going 
alone, then went Samphire, then Audre.v, and then Niagara, They 
were astern of the Ailsa, and we all had just rounded the markboat. 
The Niagara had passed before us. Closely following us was 
The Saint, within a length of us, then came the Britannia and 
Meteor. Both were on the lee side of us, and the Meteor was closer 
to us than the Britanni<». The Saint was just under Isolde's lee 
quarter, Thfei flrs^ thing I noticed was The Saint lufflng to try to get 
to windward of me. Her topmast stay caught my boom end, which 
caused my yacht to slew. 'That drove my bow to leeward and toward 
the Meteor. At that time the Meteor had not got up to me. I was not 
watching her, but the next thing I saw was the Meteor's bowsprit 
coming up under ray lee. It was under my lee quarter. I could not 
Bay if the Meteor was going out of her course, as I could not tell how 
my bows were bearing at the moment, whether my bowsprit had been 
payed off to leeward to get out of Th'^ Saint's way. When I saw the 
Meteor's bowsprit it was onl.v about 6ft. from me. It was then impos- 
sible to avoid the collision. Instantly her bowsprit struck our main- 
sail and swept our deck of everything. I jumped into the water and 
was rescued by a lifebuoy. I did not see the deceased at the time of 
the collision. The last time I saw him alive was when I went forward 
to get clear of the wreck. Before that he was not near the helm. At 
the time of the actual collision he had not been struck. When I got 
on board again the deceased was under the rigging. Two of my crew 
were already on board, and helped to get him up. Others from the 
other vessels were helpin-g. He was put into a small boat, and from 
there to a steam yacht, Bohemia TI. If The Saint had not touched the 
boom the Meteor would have been under my lee, and from the time I 
was slewed round to thn moment of the impact was about thirty sec- 
onds. We were only off our coufse for a mom»nt or ao. I should say 
Tbe Saint, having touched ua, had to do with the cause of the acci- 
dent. We were heading for the Warner, and the larger vessels for 
tb° Nab; and the Nab is to leeward of the Warner. 
Mr Lindon produced a set of models of the several yachts, and the 
witness placed them in the order in which the yachts stood at the 
moment of the accident. The Saint's bowsprit, he explained, struck 
th» Isolde's rnainboom at the stern, slewing her bowsrouid into the 
course which the Meteor was taking. He was not prepared to swear 
that if he had not been touched by The Saint the Meteor would have 
passed him clear; he could not say whether or no the Meteor could 
have altered her course in time to avoid the accident. 
By the Foreman: We had luffed round and flattened our sheet 
when The Saint tried to luff us, and struck us with her topmast stay. 
From the time The Saint touched her and the accident happened it 
wa3 about thirty seconds. 
By Mr. Lindon: The Saint Slewed ns out of Our course three or 
four points. The course to the Warner would be several points 
southward of the Nab, but at this point the angle would not be ob- 
servable. We had nine hands on board, and she was well founded 
both as to crew and gear. 
John Richard Carter, captain of the Britannia, said: I was in charge 
of the yacht Britannia. Yesterday I formed one of four which started 
for the race. We atarted at 10 o'clock. This accident occurred a little 
after 12. There were several ahead of us of two different claases. 
The Ailsa was In front of those of our class, and she got clear of the 
markboat The Samphire and Audrey led the fourth class and they 
were clear; then came the Isolde and The Saint, Isolde being nearest 
the mirkboat. We were overtaking them and going faster. PaBSing 
the mark abreast of them, I saw The Saint's bowsprit touch the end of 
Isolde's boom That slewed her head round to port. The Saint only 
just touched Isolde and immediately cleared herself, going by oh her 
starboard side. I was about 30ft. from them at the time. The Meteor 
was coming about a length astern of us. When theaccident happened 
the Britannia was clear of the committee boat and the Meteor was in 
the act of rounding. The Meteor could see exactly where they were, 
and her right position would have been to have taken the lee or port 
side of Britannia. She was coming up to windward, thinking there 
was room, but, according to the rules of the sea, as she was the over- 
taking vessel, she ought to have passed me on the lee side and not to 
have tried to come under my weather. If she had gone under the 
Britannia's lee the accident would not have happened. 
The Coroner: You think, then, that it was an error of judgment on 
the part of the Meteor to try to pass you to windward? Capt. Carter: 
Yes, sir. 
The foreman explained that in the rules of the sea there was no law 
to compel the overtaking vessel when both were on the starboard tack 
to go to the leeward aide of the forward vessel, but the custom of rac- 
ing was for the forward captain to do all he could to prevent the fol- 
lowing vessel from passing on the weather. This explanation of the 
rule of racing Capt, Carter acquiesced in. 
By Mr. Linton : Witness could not say if thwe was time after the 
two 20s had touched for the Meteor to bear off to leeward in time to 
avoid the accident. 
By a juryman: As the Meteor was the overtaking ship, it was her 
place to give way on tbe lee side to everything. The mixing of the 
different classes of yachts while rounding was a rare occurrence. 
Robert Gomes, cautioned as to answering any incriminating ques- 
tion, said: I am the captain of the Meteor and have been in tbe serv- 
ice of the German Emperor for the past five years. The Meteor 
took part in a race at Southsea, starting about 10 o'clock. After the 
Isolde and The Saint passed the mark Britannia and Meteor passed, 
overlapping them. I saw The Saint touch Isolde; she gave her a 
knock and slewed her round. I attempted to come up on the weather 
side of Britannia and came in contact with the Isolde. We were on 
the weather side of Britannia and could not go astern if we wanted 
to. I do not know of any rule that I should have gone to the lee side, 
but if the Isolde had not payed her head off out of her course I should 
have got through clear. From the time The Saint put tbe Isolde out 
of her course to tbe moirent we struck was not, I should say, more 
than ten seconds. If the Isolde had kept in her course we should all 
have clearpd, for we all had room. If we had turned to leeward to 
clear Isolde we should have run into the Britannia, for we were al- 
ready overlapping her, and could not have passed under her lee. IC 
the two 20s had not touched we should all have had plenty of room; 
the two blocked our way. Her headgear was knocked awaybythe- 
Britannia, and the Meteor struck the Isolde amidships 
Wihiam George Jameson said: I was on board the Britannia when 
the accident occurred. I represent the Prince of Wales. I saw there 
was danger in keeping too close to the SO-tonners. There was a pro- 
cession of yachts around the markboat. We passed almost abreast 
of The Saint, but to leeward, and the Meteor came after us. I heard a 
good deal of shouting on board the two 208, and we had our attention 
on them all the time because we wanted to keep as near to them as 
possible without running into them. I did not actually see the two 
20s touch one another. The Meteor was going a great deal faster 
than we when rounding the mark. 
By Mr. Lindon: The Meteor altered her course to come to windward 
of ua. She had room to come up on the lee side of the Britannia. 
Explaining the position from the models, witness said the Isolde was 
slewed round and struck the Britannia, when the accident immedi- 
ately happened. The Isolde did not touch the Britannia until the 
Meteor collided with her, and then she was driven round into the 
Britannia's bows. 
William Terrell Dawson, of New York, said he was a qualified medi- 
cal practitioner. He waa on the White Ladye, steam yacht, which was 
anchored at the Spit Buoy when the accident happened. He saw the 
coUialon very plainly. He was about a mile from the spot; he went to 
see If he could render any assistance. When he reached the scene the 
deceased was in the Britannia's dinghy. The witness made a superfi- 
cial examination of him, but could not see any external signs of in- 
jury. He accompanied the deceased to the steam yacht Bohemia II. 
The deceased had expired by that time. He was taken into the cabin. 
The witness had not made an internal examination of the deceased, 
but had not the least doubt that death was the result of internal in- 
juries. 
The coroner remarked that other witnesses were ready to be called, 
but he did not think it necessary to call them. The jury had the facts 
before them, and the witnesses appeared to have given a clear and 
straightforward account of the event. He had come to the conclusion 
in his own mind that this unfortunate accident took place through the 
regrettable circumstance of The Saint having turxied to some extent 
the Isolde out of her straight course. All the evidence pointed to 
this conclusion, and it was clear that if the Isolde had continued her 
course there would have been sufadent room for the Meteor to have 
passed between the Britannia on the one hand and the Isolde and The 
Saint on the other. Unfortunately, however, just at the time when 
the Meteor was almost level with tbe Britannia, The Saint, by a sim- 
ple accident, touched the Isolde and threw her out of her couise. The 
Meteor was at the moment coming up nearly double the pace of the 
Isolde, and tbe accident happened. If tbe jury looked at the matter 
as be did, their verdict would be one of accidental death. 
Jhe court was cleared for about twemy minutes, during which tim 
the jiu-y arrived at the following verdict: "That, on the 18th in 
