74 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[JxiLT 34, 1897. 
International cup series. Beginning with the triangular 
course, the windward-leeward to be sailed in alternation, the 
races coming on successive days from July 12, and continuing 
until a choice had been made, at least three races to be sailed. 
Under the general conditions the yachts were limited to 20£t. 
racing length, 500sq. ft. of sail, a crew of three men, one pro- 
fessional allowed, no shifting ballast, oft. draft for fixed 
keel boats, and 6ft. for centerboard boats. The races were 
to be sailed within ."ix hours. The arra-ngements were in the 
same hands as in 1895--6, Mr. Oliver E. Cromwell heing chair- 
man of the race committee, Mr. Chas. A. Sherman secretary, 
with Messrs. C. W. Wetmore and Walter C. Kerr. The fifth 
member of the committee, Mr. D. LeRoy Dresser, as one of 
the crew of a competing yacht, of course ceased for the time 
being to serve on it. The steamer Dunderberg being still 
disabled, the committee chartered the steam yacht Chfere 
Ami, better known as the Puzzle, for a committee boat; and 
she answered very well, carrying a number of guests, in- 
cluding ladies, and quite a party of reporters, artists and 
photographers. 
First Day— First Raoe. 
Mo7iday, Jxdy IS. 
TBIANGDLAR COURSE. 
Monday morning promised a continuance of the prevailing 
hot weather and a,t best a moderate breeze, but never were 
indications more completely at fault. Some of the racing 
yachts sailed out of Seawanhaka Harbor to the start with a 
fresh southerly breeze that induced them to turn in a reef or 
two, while others went out in tow of launches, the distance 
being some two miles. Arauca was not launched until just 
before the committee started from the club house. Idea laid 
up at Oyster Bay, but all the rest had moorings in Seawan- 
haka Harbor. With her 6601bs. of live ballast up to wind- 
ward, Skate made no show of reefing, but went out ixnder 
whole mainsail and working jib, lugging her sail ably 
enough. 
The wind was south and quite fresh when the steamer 
anchored S.E. of the Center Island Buoy, and after waiting a 
little time for the laggards, blew the preparatory signal at 
12:15. The boats, with the exception of Arauca, busy tying 
in a reef, gathered about the line, most of them being close 
to it when the start was given at 13:20. Though first over, 
Skate made a slow start, swinging about on the line; Keneu 
was better timed, coming with a swift rush from a distance 
and cutting the line just after Skate. Close at hand were 
Al Anka, Shark, Idea and Montauk, all making very good 
starts. Mary and Momo were slower, the later losing about 
one and one-half minutes. Arauca was just a second short 
of five minutes late. 
Keneu and Skate set the pace, traveling very evenly, with 
balloon jibs to port and sheets lifted. Al Anka and Shark 
were side by side when the former luffed unintentionally. 
Shark also luffed to clear her and struck a dinghy in tow of 
a small yacht just on the course. As it proved, she stove a 
hole forward and began to make water, but so slowly that it 
was not noticed for a time. The first mark was timed; 
Keneu . 
Mary. 
Mark. 
Elapsed. 
.12 33 40 
0 13 40 
12 33 45 
0 13 45 
12 .35 08 
0 15 OS 
12 5:5 50 
0 15 50 
12 36 30 
0 16 30 
12 3(5 50 
0 16 50 
12 37 15 
0 17 15 
12 38 05 
0 18 05 
Not timed. 
Though timed after Keneu, Skate made the better turn 
and came on the other's weather after the jibe. With sheets 
flattened they all hurried across to the second mark, most of 
them luffing well up and Shark alone steering a straight 
course. Skate, under her whole sail, traveled even faster 
than before, though the tide was helping her less. She 
made a good lead on Keneu before they were timed at the 
second mark. 
Mark. Elapsed. 
Skate 12 46 16 0 12 31 
Keneu 12 47 19 0 13 39 
AIAnka 12 50 13 0 14 22 
Shark 12 50 35 0 14 87 
Momo 12 51 10 0 14 40 
Montauk... 12 53 08 0 16 18 
Mary 12 53 22 0 164)7 
Idea ..1 12 57 10 0 19 OS 
Arauca...... 12 57 20 
Arauca caught Idea at the mark, but would not mind her 
helm and lay in irons for some time. 
With a little westing, the wind was now nearly on end 
from the Center Island mark, while the tide, a swift ebb, 
was cutting across the course. Skate held to the port tack, 
past the mark and to the westward, but Keneu, Shark and 
Al Anka stood over for the Lloyd's Neck shore. There was 
more than enough wind for some of the boats with two reefs 
in, and a bad sea that was rapidly getting worse. The beat 
across was stirring work, but the little ships were mostly 
well handled under exceptionally trying conditions. When 
Skate worked up to the turn from out in the Sound, Shark, 
Al Anka and Keneu were all well astern ot her as they came 
across the mouth of the harbor on port tack. Montauk 
stopped for an extra reef, as did others of the following 
boats, but Skate drove along under whole mainsail. The 
end of the round was timed: 
Elapsed. 
Elapsed. 
* 
Mark. 
Leg. 
Kound. 
0 50 69 
1 17 15 
0 51 35 
1 21 47 
0 51 45 
1 S2 20 
1 42 33 
0 51 22 
1 93 32 
0 .M 18 
1 24 40 
0 58 02 
1 as 21 
1 01 08 
1 34 00 
1 54 25 
1 02 45 
1 34 25 
0 57 48 
1 'c5 48 
Shark, the leader of the Eastern division, had done vei-y 
good work on the wind, carrying her reefed sail well; point- 
ing and footing fast, she had beaten both Al Anka and 
Keneu. She neared the mark, however, with her bow flush 
with the water, and skipper Hoyt hailed the steamer for a 
line, which was quickly passed aboard. She had been leak- 
ing ever since the collision, and was now waterlogged and 
in a dangerous condition. A launch soon took her in cow, 
and the steamer hurried on in the wake of the flying Skate. 
Idea and Arauca finished the round close together, and the 
latter, after steering very badly all day, ran away and slid 
her huge deck up over Idea, the two then giving up. The 
first mark was timed after another free reach: 
Mark. Elapsed. 
Skate ....u^.,.. 1 50 80 0 13 15 
AIAnka.. 1 57 10 0 15 23 
Momo 1 58 00 0 15 38 
Mary 1 59 00 0 14 20 
Keneu 2 01 .30 0 16 09 
Montauk ii . ....i.kkk., Not timed. 
The second leg was sailed under the same conditions as on 
the first round, but with even more wind and sea, the times 
at the lee mark being: 
Mark. Elapsed. 
Skate... , 2 03 20 0 12 50 
Momo 2 10 35 0 18 35 
Al-Anka , 2 10 45 0 12 35 
Mary 2 15 53 0 16 53 
Keneu 2 15 50 0 14 20 
Montauk ; Not timed. 
After a poor sta,rt, Momio had worked along, until now 
she was second boat, and the most aangerous rival of the 
apparently invincible Skate. The latter, however, had 
lugged sail entirely too long, and the time had come when 
she was compelled to reef. She hammered along over the 
seas for some fifteen minutes and then had to luff up and 
tie in. Her si.ster boat, Keneu, had long since come down 
to three reefs, and even then had all the wind she 
wanted. Skate took in a couple of tucks, losing so much time 
that Momo, pegging along steadily to windward, was nearly 
up with her. She had on board only her working jib, a 
large sail, with no means of reefing it.' No great time was 
required to show that the boat would not work to windward 
under a double-reefed mainsail and no headsail, and Mr. 
Dresser was sent forward and spent a bad quarter of an 
hour on the extreme bow in the effort to set the jib with an 
Irish reef in, just enough to pay her head off and make it 
possible to steer her. The result was a bag that enabled her 
to lay a course, but at the same time held her back. Mean- 
while, at 3:30, Al Anka caused some excitement among the 
spectators by capsizing, her crew sliding out to windward 
and standing on the centerboard until they pried her up and 
got her on her course. She sailed on for about twelve min- 
utes, when over she went again, and to stay. A little water 
that had got below in the first capsize made her tender, and 
her mast had filled with water, while her crew was nearly 
exhausted. Com. Benedict, who of course was on hand 
with Oneida, at once went to her aid, righted her and towed 
her in. 
The race between Skate and Momo was now close and ex- 
citing; clipped of her big wings. Skate's wonderful speed 
was now a thing of the past, and though Momo was also 
poorly canvased, she was evidently doing the better work. 
The distance to the finish was short, and when she crossed 
Memo's bows at about 2:37 Skate seemed safe to win. They 
worked along slowly, tack by tack, until Skate made her 
last tack for the mark, at 3:02, when over she went. The 
crew of this ideal craft had been for over three hours astride 
of her deck edge or hanging out on her side, the flush deck 
offering no foothold, even if the wind had not made it ne- 
cessary to hang out as far as possible to windward. Mr. Cox 
had, of course, never relinquished the tiller for a moment, 
and Mr. Bullock had handled the main sheet, without once 
belaying it, from the start. During the first round Mr. Cox 
parted with his eyeglasses and was not able to see beyond 
the end of the boat. Mr. Dresser had done the deck work, 
including the reefing of the jib out on the front piazza. The 
strain and hard work of lugging whole sail so long had told 
even on the magnificent physique of this exceptionally heavy 
and sturdy crew. When the boat came about the 
main .sheet jammed for a moment and she was 
over like a flash. Dresser and Bullock climbed out 
to windward, but Cox went down to leeward and 
came up in the water to windward, climbing up 
on the centerboard and aiding the others to right 
her. Up she came, with sheets in a tangle and some 
water below, the oval hatch, though small and only ■ 
intended for stowing light sails, etc. , being open, and tlie 
hull open from end to end. The others took the sheets, but 
in reaching for the tiller Mr. Cox went once more into the 
drink, the boat running away and leaving him to swim. As 
she started off on her own hook, Momo came up on port tack 
and the two struck, though very lightly. Again Skate went 
over, her crew having no command of her, and this time it 
was to stay. Filled with water, all attempts to right her 
were in vain; she lay with her mast afloat, and beyond the 
power of any two men to lift her. Mr. Cox swam about for 
a time, unable to see the boat, but was picked up by Mr. 
Thomas Webber out in a power launch. When near to 
Skate he jumped over and swam to her, but by this time she 
had turned completely bottom up, so that the 2801b. steel plate 
slid quietly out of her to the bottom of the Sound. With the 
best intentions in the world, a naphtha launch came up and 
passed a line to the sunken hull, and the Skate crew righted 
her and started to stow sail and clear away. While they 
were at this work, and entangled in sheets and halyards, the 
launch started ahead at full speed, and towed the yacht and 
her crew completely under water. Fortunately she stopped 
in time and all got clear, the steam yacht Giralda coming up 
to help. Left alone, Momo soon crossed the line; but it was 
a long time before the second boat, Montauk, finished and 
after her came Keneu, the only ones to cover the course. 
On the first round Mary did some very good work to wind- 
ward, and even with more wind and sea on the second slie 
seemed to like it, making very good weather, and rapidly 
coming up with the leaders. She followed Skate to the 
westward, but knowing nothing of the waters, overstood the 
mark; then when she might have lifted sheet and come for 
the line in second place, the turnbuckle of her starboard 
shroud parted, so that she was compelled to lie to with jib 
down for repairs. Knowing nothing of the capsize of Skate 
and the withdrawal of others, when she finally came to the 
finish in fourth place, she failed to cross the line. The final 
times were: 
Whole 
Finish. 3d Leg. 2d Round. Course. 
Momo 3 11 06 1 00 31 1 28 34 2 51 00 
Montauk 3 22 OO 1 28 00 3 03 06 
Keneu 3 25 48 1 09 56 1 40 25 3 05 46 
Mary.........,.,,, Disabled. 
Skate.......... Capsized. 
AIAnka Capsized. 
Shark .^a^.m.,.. Disabled. 
Arauca i.. .. .Withdrew. 
Idea. .tx^f-.,.... Disabled. 
It was just S o'clock when Skate capsized, and it was 7 
o'clock before her tired crew had her safely moored along- 
side the gangway in front of the club house, with Mr. Burn- 
ham, of Norota, hard at work pumping her out while the 
tide rose through a couple of holes in her bottom. In the 
meantime she had been made fast astern by Mr. Renwick's 
steam yacht Giralda and towed in as carefully as possible, as 
the least lurch sent her over again. Even after Giralda was 
anchored off Mr. Bullock's home in the harbor. Skate per- 
formed fresh antics, cutting across the tide and capsizing, 
then jamming herself under the yacht's counter in close 
proximity to her wheel. In the course of these various an- 
tics during the afternoon she received a couple of taps from 
the wheel which stove in her bottom; her light sails were 
washed out, but were picked up by a rowboat, and her rig- 
ging was cut and strained. Mary also met with a second 
misnap when sailing up to her moorings in the harbor; her 
rudder stock broke, being of the almost invariable faulty 
construction. The blade being of mahogany, floated to the 
surface, and was picked up and taken to Oyster Bay, where 
a local smith fitted it with a new steel stock. 
The race was in one sense unfortunate and disastrous as 
interfering with the proposed series of races and preventing 
a thorough light-weather test of the boats, but on the whole 
the fieet came out very well indeed from a most exceptional 
and very severe trial. Had the wind blown at the start as it 
did after the first rqund, and with the same sea, the race 
might not have been started; and the conditions were quite 
as trying as any that the boats are likely to reach in several 
seasons of hard racing. In spite of the fact that only three 
finished, the fleet came through most successfully, and the 
damage was by no means what might have been expected. 
The yachts are light in hull and most of them still lighter in 
rig, and yet there were no serious failures. The one great 
trouble was that not one of the nine could be properly 
balanced under storm canvas; not one had the right headsail 
to balance a three-reefed mainsail, nor had the crews any ex- 
perience in handling them under the conditions of a half gale 
and bad sea. 
The capsize of Skate was due immediately to her poor can- 
vasing, had she been able to set a storm jib when she reefed 
her mainsail, she would have finished easily and quickly, 
beating Momo. It is plain that all of the centerboard boats 
ftre easily capsizable, and Skate might have capsized just as 
Al Anka did, for no special cause; but the same is true of all 
types of small centerboard racing craft and is no serious de- 
fect from a racing standpoint. 
The winner, Momo, went through the hard pounding with 
out harm to hull or rigging, though the latter is very light. 
Montauk is strongly and heavily rigged, and with the proper 
reduced canvas she would probably have come well to the 
front on the last leg. Keneu came through without injury. 
Shark's mishap was a pure accident; she sailed one round 
without anything giving way, and sailed remarkably fast in 
the windward work. Al Anka came to grief in that her light 
hollow mast, already sprung in a capsize in Boston and 
served at the deck, was filled with water in the capsize, and 
after being drenched all day Tuesday went all to pieces early 
in Wednesday's race, the glue dissolving and the two parts 
separating. Apart from this no harm was done to her. 
Mary broke down through a faulty turnbuckle, and her 
rudder broke, as it well rhight, but otherwise she was all 
right. Arauca, with her big shoal hull and very shallow 
rudder, was unmanageable; she went up to Oyster Bay after 
withdrawing for a new rudder, and it was not known 
whether her hull stood the strain or not. Idea sailed through' 
the race all right until disabled by Arauca. 
After such a race it would have been in no way surprising 
to find every hull leaking, fittings broken, rigging strained 
and stretched and spars carried away or at least badly 
sprung, and it is greatly to the credit of the new fieet as a 
whole that the boats came through with only the few minor 
casualties reported above. 
The day was a remarkable one for the numerous and to- 
tally disconnected mishaps outside of those in the race; 
when the committee boat came into the harbor she ran close 
inshore and just to windward of Montauk and Momo, at 
their moorings. While a naphtha launch was at the gang- 
way to take off the passengers, the steamer blew down on 
Montauk and threatened to go on the beach, a strong wind 
still blowing. One of her hands cast off Montauk's mooring 
line and jumped on to the little boat, which at once drove 
ashore and began to pound her fin in the hard sand. The 
steamer started ahead to get way on and run offshore, and 
in doing so carried away the stack and boiler casing of the 
naphtha lauuch, which burst into a great column of flame 
alongside. The launch was anchored and the steamer ran 
clear, the fire, fortunately, burning itself out without serious 
damage. Meanwhile Messrs. Sherman, Hoyt and Chas Davis 
put off in a dinghy with a sailor and towed Montauk to her 
moorings, but, in coming in, with a fourth man aboard and 
all of Montauk's light sails, the entire outfit capsized and all 
went into the drink. About the same time the steam launch 
Seawanhaka managed to blow the packing out of her cylin- 
der head, the steam flying in the face of the engineer, who 
jumped and thrust his foot under the crank, where it was 
quite badls^, but not dangerously, crashed. While he was 
under repairs on the piazza of the club house, the chandelier 
in the billiard room fell, for no assignable reason, filling the 
room with gas. 
After comparative quiet was restored, the race committee 
talked with the racing men and decided to postpone the sec- 
ond race until Wednesday. The men were completely tired 
out, sails were soaked and the hulls more or less wet, while 
Skate had no centerboard and Mary no rudder, so all hands 
welcomed the change of plans. 
It was well that the race of Tuesday was abandoned, as 
the day was a miserable one, with a heavy rain and very 
strong winds, much damage being done at different points 
on the Atlantic coast. While Mr. Cox went to the city for a 
new board, the Huntingtons beached Skate by the boat- 
house and rigged a tent over her, under which they worked 
hard to repair the holes in the hull and to smooth down the 
entire bottom. To save time, the hall was flnised with shel- 
lac, which dried of different colors and gave the boat a most 
patchy and unpleasant appearance. In spite of the specially 
disagreeable weather, the day gave a good rest to most of 
the racing men, and such work as was necessary was done 
on the boats. 
Second Day— Second Race. 
Wednesday, July IL. 
■WINDWARD AND LJSEWABD COUBSE, 
By Wednesday morning the fleet was once more in shape 
for racing, though not off the beach until the committee 
boat was ready to start; Skate had a fairly smooth bottom, 
the leaks had been stopped, a new centerboard shipped, and 
she was in reasonably good shape. Mary had a new rudder 
in and the shroud had been secured anew. Vagary, the 
newest one of the class, had her new rudder shipped. Only 
Arauca was missing when the whistle blew at 12:50 off Cen- 
ter .Island Buoy. The day was of the bestj save in the one 
important detail of wind ; a clear sky and bright sun to warm 
and dry the sailormen after any chance ducking, smooth 
water and a light wind W.byN. It was now the turn of the 
windward-leeward course, which, as already stated, had 
been changed to three rounds of a four-mile course. In order 
to get the windward leg first, the yachts were sent off 
to the westward, something never before done in these races. 
From the very start there was a fear that the wind, already 
too light and fickle, would shift to the south and 
make a reaching race, but there was no other alternative 
but to start, in one direction or the other. When the start 
was given at 13:40, Keneu was again the first over, followed 
by Skate, Idea, Momo, Al Anka, Shark, Mary, Montauk and 
Vagary. The latter was about three minutes late, but all the 
others started v eil together, going over on starboard tack, 
heading in for Pine Island. Momo made a short hitch on 
port tack to get a clear wind, and then came out once more; 
Shark following with the same maneuver. Slowly as they 
moved, the fleet soon divided, Momo heading the leaders, 
with Ai Anka, Shark and Kenue astern of her. While the 
four were in close company, the fifth boat, Montauk, was a 
good distance astern, and beyond her werejMary, Idea, Skate 
and Vagary. Al Anka was doing pretty well for the first 
twenty minutes, but her hollow mast, soaked on Monday, 
sprung apart in the glued joint and left her only able to run 
in for the harbor under her jib. The leg was sailed slowly, 
the first mark being timed; ' 
Mark. Elapsed. 
Momo 1 lf> 25 0 .35 25 
SU^rJr. t •.k.i'.ii-B.k^t.i>a.«««'».* » ■-■-«ja44 • f ■ 4 •••<>«•• ^ 17 25 0 3T So 
Keneu. 1 17 55 0 37 55 
Montauk ii. 20 28 0 40 28 
Skate ...... 1 21 H 0 41 11 
Mary 1 31 20 0 41 20 
Idea ... I. .i. 1 24 00 0 44 00 
Vagary............ 1 27 00 0 47 00 
AIAnka , Withdrew. 
When Momo came by the mark on port tack her spinaker 
boom was down and the sail mastheaded, breaking out as 
she turned. Shark, however, with better judgment, jibed at 
the mark and then set her spinaker, the others following her 
lead. After running for about three minutes Momo had to 
jibe and shift her spinaker, losing some little time in the 
maneuver before it was drawing on the starboard side. 
Balloon jibs were soon set and the fleet ran down slowly 
with the tide, being timed at the line: 
Mark. Elapsed. 
Momo 1 64 30 0 .39 05 
Shark 1 69 45 0 43 SO 
Keneu a 01 40 0 43 45 
Montauk ...2 04 45 0 44 17 
Skate....... , 2 05 17 0 44 08 
Mary 9 06 20 0 45 00 
Idea. - 3 07 30 0 43 80 
Vagary .,...5.,,... 2 13 00 0 46 OT 
With a very light breeze, Momo stood across on starboard 
tack once more and Shark followed her. A ripple on the 
water close inshore attracted Momo, and she held over for 
